Conversations about repentance

“Conversations on Repentance” (9 conversations) delivered by St. John Chrysostom, probably in Antioch, year unknown. The seventh conversation is currently attributed to Bishop. Severian Gabalsky, and the ninth is among the doubtful ones. In the first conversation (4 chapters) St. John speaks about the inadmissibility of despair that comes from sin, since it pleases the devil: repentance must supplant despair, for through repentance the sinner becomes a stranger to the devil. “Knowing that God not only does not turn away from those who convert, but also accepts them no worse than the virtuous; ... let us neither despair about our sins nor overly hope for good deeds, but ... let us be afraid lest we fall from excessive hope, and when we sin, let us repent.” The second (5 chapters) and third (4 chapters) conversations talk about various ways of repentance: confession to God, mourning one’s sin, humility, almsgiving, unceasing prayer. The fourth conversation (5 chapters) examines the issue of God’s temporary abandonment of man for his good, and gives as an example the falls that happened to the righteous, from which they derived great benefit. If God allows us to suffer often, it is in order to encourage us to resort to Him. The fifth (5 chapters) and sixth (5 chapters) conversations talk about fasting and abstinence, and also about the fact that God did not command people to do anything impossible. The saint says that through fasting the death sentence is canceled. Fasting does not benefit those who, while abstaining from food, do not at the same time abstain from sin. The conversation provides evidence that the Old and New Testaments do not contradict each other, but complement each other and come from the same Lawgiver. The seventh (7 chapters) and eighth (4 chapters) conversations talk about repentance, which is a cure for the wounds inflicted on the soul by sins. The example of the righteous Job, in whose family Esau was, shows God’s long-suffering towards sinners. The author cites the example of Rahab, a repentant sinner who became a prototype of the Church. Like Noah’s Ark, the Church receives kites, wolves and snakes into its bowels, but while the ark released them the same as it received them, the Church transforms them through repentance into doves, sheep, and lambs. One should be ashamed of sin, not repentance. In the ninth conversation (chapter 1) there is a call to attend church. The author recalls the end of the world and the need to do good deeds and repentance on earth. At the end of this life, such an opportunity will no longer exist. *The title of the work in Greek is Περ μετανοίας. *The title of the work in Latin is De poenitentia homiliae 1-9. About repentance upon returning from the village 1. Did you remember us when we were apart from you during this time? I could never forget you, but even leaving the city, I did not leave a memory of you. Just as lovers of beautiful bodies carry their favorite image with them wherever they go, so we, having loved the beauty of your soul, always carry with us a beautiful image of your spirit. And just as painters, mixing various colors, make images of bodies, so we, mixing your zeal for meetings, zeal for listening, favor towards the preacher and all other good deeds, as if various colors of virtue, drew the image of your soul, and, placing it before the eyes of the mind, from contemplating it received considerable consolation in separation from you. And we did this all the time - when we sat at home and got up, and when we walked and rested, and when we came in and out, we always imagined your love. And we enjoyed this contemplation not only during the day, but also at night; with us then it was the same thing that Solomon said: “I sleep, but my heart watches” (Song. 5:2); the need for sleep closed our eyes, but the power of your love awakened the eyes of my soul from sleep; and it often seemed to me as if I were talking to you in a dream. And in fact, the soul usually imagines at night what it thinks about during the day; the same thing happened to us then: and not seeing you with carnal eyes, I saw you with the eyes of love, and not being with you in body, I was with you in soul, and my ears were constantly filled with your cry. Therefore, although bodily illness encouraged me to stay there (in the village) longer and take advantage of the healing air for physical health, the power of your love did not allow this, on the contrary, it cried out and did not stop bothering until it forced me to get up even earlier than the proper time and put your community on a par with health, and with pleasure, and with everything that is good. And we, having bowed to her convictions, would rather return with the remnants of the illness than, trying for a complete healing from bodily weakness, to sadden your love any longer. While living there, I heard your reproaches - frequent letters brought them to us; and I listened no less to those who reproached me than to those who praised me, because those reproaches were the expression of a soul that knew how to love. That's why I got up and came hastily; that's why I could never get you out of my mind! And what is surprising is that, living in the village and enjoying freedom, I remembered your love, when Paul, surrounded by chains, living in prison and seeing the countless dangers that threatened him - and in prison, as if in the middle of a meadow, remembered the brothers, and wrote to them like this: “How right is it for me to think this about... you, for I have you in my hearts, in my bonds and in the answer and announcement of the gospel" (Phil. 1:7)? Outside is a chain of enemies, but inside is a chain of love for students; but the outer (chain) is forged of iron, and the inner is made of love; He often removed that one, but never tore this one apart. On the contrary, just as wives who have experienced the pains of birth and become mothers are always attached to their children, wherever they may be, so, or even much stronger than them, Paul was always attached to his disciples, and the stronger the more painful the spiritual birth of the flesh. In fact, he too was in the throes of birth, and not once, but for the same ones twice, and therefore he cried out: “My children, in the same way I am sick” (Gal. 4:19). A wife can never experience this, she will never endure the same pangs of birth another time; and Paul endured something that cannot be seen in nature - he again conceived those whom he had already given birth to once, again endured the cruel pangs of birth for them. Therefore, wanting to shame them, he said: “In the same way I am sick,” as if saying: “Spare me; no other son has ever subjected his mother’s womb to the pains of birth, and you make me endure it.” Moreover, those diseases torment one moment, and stop as soon as the child leaves the mother’s womb, but these are not so, on the contrary, they continue even for whole months. Paul was often in the throes of childbirth for a whole year, and could not give birth to those conceived by him. There is the labor of the flesh, but here diseases do not torment the belly, but attack the very strength of the soul. And to be sure that these illnesses (of spiritual birth) are more severe, (think) what mother ever decided to go to hell for her children? And Paul not only decides to go to Gehenna, but also wants to be excommunicated from Christ, if only he could give birth to the Jews, for whom he was always and continuously in the throes of birth; and when this did not come true, he said with sorrow: “My tribulation is great and an unceasing pain to my heart” (Rom. 9:2). And here again: “My children, in the image of my illness, until Christ is imagined in you” (Gal. 4:19). What is more blessed than that womb that could give birth to such children who are capable of having Christ within them? What is more fruitful than the one who gave birth to the entire universe? What is stronger than that which could conceive and transform born and grown premature babies again? This is impossible in natural childbirth. But why didn’t Paul say: “My children, to whom I give birth again,” but: “to whom I again suffer,” although in another place he says about himself that he gives birth: “In Christ Jesus... I have given birth to you” (1 Cor. 4:15)? Because there he wanted to show only affinity, but here he tried to show work. How does he call children who have not yet been born? If he is sick, it means he has not given birth yet: how can he call them children? So that you know that he is not suffering the first pangs of birth, and this was enough to shame them (the Galatians). “I,” he says, “have already been a father once and have endured for you the necessary pangs of birth; and once you have already become children: why are you again subjecting me to secondary pains of birth, why are you again tormenting me with illnesses? In fact, the falls of the faithful caused him no less sorrow than the (sins) of those who had not yet believed: it was unbearably hard to see how they (the believers), after participating in such Sacraments, deviated into wickedness. Therefore, he wept very bitterly and more piteously than any wife and said: “My children, even though I am sick, until Christ is imagined in you” (Gal. 4:19). And he said this in order to both encourage and frighten (the Galatians) at the same time. By showing that Christ was not imagined in them, Paul plunged them into confusion and fear; and by making it clear that He could be imagined, he again aroused cheerfulness in them. The words: “until he is imagined” show both that (Christ) has not yet been imagined, and that He can be imagined again. If this were impossible, then (Paul) would have told them in vain: “until Christ is imagined in you,” and would have flattered them with vain hopes. 2. So, knowing this, we will not despair, but we will not be completely careless: both are harmful. Despair does not allow one who is lying to get up, and from carelessness even one who is standing falls; This usually deprives one of the acquired benefits; this one does not allow one to get rid of the evils that have befallen. Negligence casts you from heaven itself, and despair leads you into the very abyss of evil, while the absence of despair soon leads you from there too. Here, look at the power of both. The devil was good before; but, having become careless and despairing, he fell into such anger that he never rose again. And that he was kind, so listen to what (Christ) says: “I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven” (Luke 10:18). The comparison with lightning shows both the lightness of the previous state and the speed of the fall. Paul was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and an offender; but as he became jealous and did not give in to despair, he rebelled and became equal to the Angels. On the contrary, Judas was an apostle, but, giving in to carelessness, he became a traitor. Again, the thief, since he did not despair even after such an evil life, he entered Paradise before all others; the Pharisee, through arrogance, fell from the very top of virtue; The publican, not succumbing to despair, corrected himself so much that he forestalled that one (the Pharisee). Do you want me to show you the whole city that did this? This is how the entire city of Nineveh was saved. Although the sentence plunged them into despair - since (the prophet) did not say that if they repented, they would be saved, but simply: “Three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed” (John 3:4), - however, despite the fact that God threatened, and the prophet cried, and the sentence did not allow any delay or limitation, they did not lose heart, and did not lose good hope. For this reason, God did not make restrictions (in this sentence) and did not say: if they repent, they will be saved, so that we, when we hear God’s sentence pronounced without limitation, would also not despair and not lose heart, looking at this example (of the Ninevites). But God’s love for mankind is evident not only from the fact that, although He did not place restrictions on the sentence, He nevertheless made peace with those who repented, but even from the fact that He pronounced an unconditional sentence. He did this to increase fear (in the Ninevites) and to strike at their great carelessness. And the very time of repentance shows His indescribable love for mankind: what could three days mean to atone for such great vices? Don’t you see how God’s care is revealed from here too? It was she who primarily contributed to the salvation of this city. So, knowing this, let us never despair, because the devil has no weapon as powerful as despair. And we do not please him as much when we sin as when we despair. You can see in the fornicator how Paul feared despair more than sin. Writing to the Corinthians, he said this: “There is no sense of fornication in you, and such is fornication, which is not known among the nations” (1 Cor. 5:1). He didn’t say “something that even pagans don’t dare to do,” but “it’s not even ... called,” that is, what they don’t tolerate even in name, you dared to do that by deed. “And you will become proud” (1 Cor. 5:2). He did not say: “and he (the fornicator) became proud,” but, having left the sinner, he turns to the healthy, just as doctors do, who, having left the sick, talk a lot with his relatives. On the other hand, they themselves (the healthy ones) were the reason for his pride, because they did not condemn or intimidate him. Therefore, Paul made the guilt common, so that it would be more convenient to heal the wound. It is bad to sin, but it is much worse to be proud of your sins. If arrogance in righteousness destroys righteousness, much more arrogance in sins will cause us extreme harm, and will be much more guilty than the sins themselves. Therefore (the Lord) says: “When you have done all that is commanded... say, for we are unworthy servants” (Luke 17:10). If those who have created everything must humiliate themselves, how much more is it fitting for a sinner to weep and consider himself among the last. Pointing to this then, (the apostle) said: “and no more than a poster” (1 Cor. 5:2). What are you saying? Someone else has sinned, and I will cry? Yes, he says, because we are all connected to each other like the body and members; and in the body we see that if the leg receives a wound, then the head bows. What seems more honorable than the head? But she does not look at (her) dignity in times of misfortune; so do you. That is why Paul exhorts: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). That’s why he says to the Corinthians: “And no more than a poster, let him who has done this deed be removed from among you” (1 Cor. 5:2). He didn’t say, “and you didn’t try,” but what? “No more than a poster,” - as if a general disease and infection had befallen the city. As if he were saying this: prayer and confession and fervent supplications are needed so that this disease is driven out of the entire city. Do you see the fear that filled them? They thought that the evil stopped only at the sinner, and therefore the apostle arouses concern in them, saying: “Do you not know how a little leaven leaves the whole mixture?” (1 Cor. 5:6). And this means this: evil, spreading little by little, also affects other members; Therefore, you need to take care, as befits one who cares about the general disaster. Don't tell me that he sinned alone; look at the fact that this sin is a kind of poison, and (from one member) spreads throughout the rest of the body. And just as during a fire, those who have not yet suffered from it fuss no less than those who have already suffered this misfortune, and make every effort so that the fire, spreading, does not reach their doors; So Paul stirs up the Corinthians, saying: the fire has started; prevent misfortune; Let's put out the fire before it engulfs the Church. If you do not pay attention to sin because it was committed in the body of another, then in this case you are acting very badly: after all, the one who sinned is a member of the whole body (the Church). 3. But look also at the fact that if you are lazy and do not pay attention (to someone else’s sin), it will someday take possession of you too. Therefore, if not for your brother’s sake, then at least for your own sake, rise up and stop the infection, do not let the poison spread and stop the destructive disease. So, having said this and more, and commanded that the sinner be handed over to Satan, Paul, after (the sinner) had changed and become better, says: “This prohibition is sufficient for such a man, even from many. Moreover... strengthen your love for him” (2 Cor. 2:6, 8). Since he presented him to everyone as a common enemy and adversary, separated him from the herd and cut him off from his body, look how much effort he now uses to bring him closer and unite him again. He didn’t just say: “love him,” but “affirm your love for him,” that is, show firm and unchanging love, hot, ardent and fiery; show favor equivalent to previous enmity. What happened, tell me? Didn't you hand him over to Satan? Yes, he says; only not so that he remains in the hands of Satan, but so that he can quickly get rid of his power. Look how much Paul, as I said, was afraid of despair, as a powerful weapon of the devil. Having said: “Strengthen your love for him,” he also adds the reason: “Let him not be consumed by much sorrow” (2 Cor. 2:7). The sheep, he says, is in the mouth of the wolf: let us hasten and snatch it up before (the wolf) swallows and destroys our member. The ship is overwhelmed by waves: we will try to save it before it sinks. Just as a boat sinks when the sea rises and the waves rise on all sides, so the soul, when sadness embraces it from everywhere, will soon perish if no one gives it help; and saving sorrow for sins becomes disastrous from immoderation. And look how precise the words are. He didn’t say, “Let not the devil destroy him,” but what? “Let us not be offended by Satan” (2 Cor. 2:11); and here the word “resentment” (pleonexia) means the abduction of someone else’s property. So, having shown that the one who sinned through repentance has already become a stranger to the devil and one of his own in the flock of Christ, Paul says: “Let us not be offended by Satan,” because if Satan continues to restrain him after that, then he will already steal our member, take a sheep from our flock, since he has already put aside his sin through repentance. So Paul, knowing what the devil did to Judas, was afraid that the same thing would happen here. What did (the devil) do with Judas? Judas repented: “We have sinned,” he says, “by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). The devil heard these words; I realized that Judas was embarking on the path to something better and moving towards salvation - and he was afraid of such a change. The Lord, he says, loves mankind: when Judas wanted to betray Him, He wept for him and admonished him many times; would he not be much more accepted as a repentant? When he was incorrigible, and then he attracted and called him to Himself: will he not much more attract to Himself the one who has corrected himself and recognized his sin? This is why He came to the crucifixion. What (the devil) did? He confused Judas, darkened him with excessive sadness, persecuted him, pursued him until he brought him to a noose, until he took him out of real life and deprived him of his intention to repent. And that Judas would have been saved if he had remained alive can be seen from the example of the crucifixers. If (the Lord) saved those who carried Him to the Cross, and on the Cross itself begged the Father and asked them for forgiveness of sin, then it is clear that He would have accepted the traitor with all good will, if this one had brought proper repentance; but he was unable to use this medicine, being consumed by excessive grief. It is precisely this fear that Paul forces the Corinthians to snatch that man from the jaws of the devil. And why talk about what happened with the Corinthians? Peter denied three times after participating in the Sacraments, but made amends for everything with tears. Paul was a persecutor, a blasphemer and an offender; he persecuted not only the Crucified One, but also all His followers; but he repented and became an apostle. God requires from us only a small reason, and grants us remission of many sins. I’ll tell you a parable that confirms this. 4. There were two brothers; They divided their father's estate among themselves, and one of them stayed at home, and the other lived through everything that was given to him and went to a foreign land, unable to bear the shame of poverty. I found it necessary to tell this parable so that you know that sins committed after baptism are also forgiven if we are careful. And I say this not to draw you into carelessness, but to distract you from despair, because despair causes us more harm than carelessness. So, this (prodigal) son represents the image of those who fell after baptism; and that he means those who fell after baptism can be seen from this: he is called a son, and no one can be called a son without baptism. He lived in his father’s house and received a share in all his father’s property, but before baptism he cannot take advantage of his father’s property or receive an inheritance. Thus, all this points us to a society of the faithful. Moreover, (the prodigal son) was the brother of one who lived honestly, and he could not be a brother without spiritual rebirth. So, this (prodigal son), having reached the extreme degree of vice, what does he say? I will return again “to my father” (Luke 15:18). This is why his father let him go and did not prevent him from going to a foreign side, so that he would learn by experience how many benefits he received while living at home. And God often, when he does not convince with words, gives a lesson with his very deeds - He spoke about this to the Jews. So, when He, having spent many words through the prophets, did not convince or persuade (them), then, having determined to give them a lesson with punishment, He says to them: “Your apostasy will punish you, and your malice will expose you” (Jer. 2:19). One should have believed Him even before the event itself, but since they were so insensitive that they did not believe His admonitions and advice, with which He prevents them from vice, He already allows the events themselves to enlighten them, in order at least in this way to attract them to Himself again. When the prodigal son, having gone to a foreign side and having learned from experience how disastrous it is to be removed from his father’s house, returned, his father did not bear any grudge, but accepted him with open arms. Why is this so? Because he was a father, not a judge. And now there were rejoicings and feasts, and holidays, and the whole house became bright and joyful! What are you saying? Is this the price for vice? Not for vice, man, but for returning (to the house); not for sin, but for repentance; not for bad deeds, but for correction. And what’s even more, when the eldest son was upset by this, the father tenderly reassured him, saying: “You are always with me... but this one... was lost and found again,... dead and alive” (Luke 15:31-32). When, he says, it is necessary to save the deceased, then this is not a time of judgment and strict examination, but only philanthropy and forgiveness. Not a single doctor, instead of giving medicine to a patient, subjects him to penalties and punishment for his disordered life. If the prodigal son had to certainly suffer punishment, then life on a foreign side was sufficient punishment for him. After all, he spent so much time away from our community, struggling with hunger, humiliation, and extreme misfortune. Therefore he says: “I was bent and found again, ... I was dead and came to life.” Do not look, he says, at the present, but think about the greatness of the past misfortune; Before you is a brother, not a stranger. He returned to his father, who cannot remember the past, but rather remembers only what can induce compassion, mercy, love and forbearance, characteristic of parents. That’s why (the father) said not about what (the prodigal son) did, but about what he suffered; reminded him not that he had spent his property, but that he had suffered many misfortunes. With the same, or even greater, jealousy, he looked for the sheep. Here the son himself returned, and there the shepherd himself went and, finding a sheep, brought it and rejoiced over it more than over all those who returned safely. Look also how he returned it: he did not drive it with a whip, but, putting it on his shoulders, brought it and united it with the herd again. So, knowing that (God) not only does not turn away from those who convert, but also accepts them no worse than the virtuous; which not only does not inflict punishment, but also Himself goes to look for the lost and, having found them, rejoices (over them) more than over those who were safe - let us neither despair about sins nor overly hope for good deeds, but living virtuously, we will be afraid, lest we fall from excessive hope, and when we sin, we will begin to repent. What I said at the beginning, I say now, namely, that the excessive hope of the one standing, and the despair of the one lying down, both are disastrous for our salvation. Therefore, Paul, warning those standing, said: “Be careful to stand and be careful, lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12), and again: “I am afraid, lest by preaching to others, I myself will not be turned away” (1 Cor. 9:27); and raising up those lying down and encouraging them to greater zeal, he wrote to the Corinthians like this: “Let me not cry for many who have sinned before and did not repent” (2 Cor. 12:21), showing by this that it is not so much those who sin as those who do not repent of their sins who are worthy of tears. Yes, and the prophet says to them (sinners): “The food that falls does not rise, or does it turn away when it turns away?” (Jer.8:4). And David convinces them, saying: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts because you are angry” (Ps. 94:7-8). So, as long as this “today” is said, let us not despair, but having good hopes in the Lord, and thinking about the abyss of His love for mankind, having driven out all evil from our conscience, with great zeal and hope let us take up virtue and show the deepest repentance, so that, having laid down all our sins here, we can boldly stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and receive the Kingdom of Heaven, which we We will all be counted worthy by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. About repentance and sadness of King Achaav, as well as about the prophet Jonah 1. Did you see the battle and victory last Sunday - the battle of the devil, but the victory of Christ? Have you seen how repentance was praised, and the devil did not suffer defeat, but was afraid and trembled? Why are you afraid, devil, when repentance is boasted of? Why are you grieving? Why are you trembling? Yes, he says, it is not in vain that I grieve and lament: my dear vessels were stolen by this repentance. What kind of vessels? Harlot, publican, robber, blasphemer. And indeed, repentance stole many vessels from him, destroyed his very stronghold, and dealt him a mortal blow. You can learn this, beloved, from what experience has recently shown. But why don’t we like to gather here, and don’t come to church every day to repent? Are you a sinner? Come to church to confess your sins. Are you righteous? Come, so as not to lose righteousness: the church is a haven for both. Are you a sinner? Don't despair, but come and repent. Have you sinned? Tell God: “I have sinned.” What kind of work is there? What encumbrance? What sorrow? What a burden is it to say the word: “I have sinned”? If you yourself do not call yourself a sinner, will you not be accused by the devil? Warn him and deprive him of this honor; and his honor is to accuse. Why don’t you warn him, and don’t confess the sin, and don’t blot out the crime, when you know that there is an accuser against you who cannot remain silent? Have you sinned? Come to church, tell God: I have sinned. I don’t demand anything else from you except this one thing. Divine Scripture says: “Speak your iniquity first, that you may be justified” (Is. 43:26): say sin in order to resolve sin. This requires no labor, no verbosity, no monetary outlay, or anything else like that: say the word, open yourself to sin and say: “I have sinned.” But how does anyone know, someone will say, that if I am the first to say a sin, then I will allow the sin? In Scripture there is an example of both a person who confessed a sin and made amends for it, and one who did not confess and was condemned. Cain killed his brother Abel out of envy - the murder was a consequence of envy; he killed him, taking him with him into the field. And what does God tell him? “Where is... Abel your brother” (Gen. 4:9)? He who knows everything asks not out of ignorance, but in order to bring the murderer to repentance. And that He did not ask out of ignorance, He Himself proved this by asking: “Where is... Abel your brother?” . Cain answered: “We don’t know; food am I my brother’s guardian?” (Gen.4:9). Let it be so, you are not a guard: what is the killer for? You did not protect: why did you kill? But do you admit that 1? You should also take care of him. What does God have to do with him? “The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the earth” (Gen. 4:10). He immediately convicted him and imposed punishment on him, not so much for murder as for shamelessness, because God hates not so much the sinner as the shameless. And when Cain repented, (God) did not accept him, no doubt because he was not the first to confess his sin. What does (Cain) say? “My greatest guilt is that it remains with me” (Gen. 4:13); as if he said: I have sinned gravely, I am not worthy to enjoy life. What does God have to do with him? “There will be groaning and shaking on the earth” (Gen. 4:12); thus he determined a terrible and grave punishment. I do not take your life, he says, so that the truth is not consigned to oblivion, but I make a law out of you that everyone can read, so that your misfortune becomes the mother of wisdom. And Cain walked everywhere like a living law, like a moving pillar - silent, and yet uttering a voice louder than any trumpet. No one, he said, should do the same thing that I did, so as not to suffer the same thing that I suffer. He was punished for his shamelessness; condemned for sin because he did not himself confess it, but was convicted of it. And if he himself had said his sin first, he would have made amends for it. 2. But to convince you that this is really so, look at how someone else, having first confessed the sin, made amends for it. Let us turn to David, prophet and king. However, I prefer to call him by prophecy, since his kingdom extended to Palestine, and his prophecy to the limits of the universe; the kingdom was destroyed in a short time, but the prophecy brings eternal verbs. It is better that the sun be darkened than that the words of David be forgotten. He fell into adultery and murder. He saw, says Scripture (2 Samuel 11:2), “a beautiful woman washing, and he was kindled with love for her; then he brought his thoughts to fruition. And now the prophet is in adultery, the precious pearl is in the dirt. But he did not yet realize that he had sinned, he was so lulled by passion! When the driver of the chariot is not sober, then the chariot rushes along erratically; and the chariot and its driver are the same as our body and soul. If the soul is darkened, then the body is mired in impurity. As long as the driver of the chariot stands firm, so long will the chariot run well; but when he loses strength and cannot control the reins, then the chariot itself is in its worst position. This happens to a person too. As long as the soul is sober and vigorous, the body itself remains pure; and when the soul is darkened, then the body itself becomes mired in impurity and voluptuousness. What about David? He committed adultery, but did not realize it, and was not rebuked by anyone. Moreover, (he did this) in deep old age, so that you would know that if you are careless, then old age will not bring you any benefit, and vice versa, if you are diligent, then youth cannot harm you. Good morals do not come from age, but good deeds come from disposition. Now Daniel was only twelve years old - and he judged; and the elders were of advanced years - and they planned adultery (Dan.13:45-62); and just as old age did not benefit the latter, so youth did not harm the former. And so that you know that matters of chastity depend not on age, but on the disposition of the soul, David, already in old age, fell into adultery, committed murder and was in such a state that he himself did not know that he had sinned, since the ruler, the mind, was intoxicated with intemperance. What about God? Nathan sends the prophet to him. The prophet comes to the prophet. This happens with doctors: when a doctor becomes ill, then he needs another doctor. It's the same here. The prophet sinned, but the prophet also brought healing. So, Nathan comes to him, and not immediately, as he crossed the threshold, he denounces him, does not say: “Lawless, indecent, adulterer and murderer! You received so much honor from God - and you trampled His commandments!” Nathan did not say anything like that, so as not to make him shameless, because the publication of sins causes the sinner to be shameless. So Nathan comes to David and weaves a story about a legal case. What does he say? King, I have a complaint to make to you. There was a rich man, and there was another poor one. The rich man had flocks and many oxen; but the poor man had only one lamb, which drank from his cup, ate from his table, and slept on his chest. Here (the prophet) indicates the love of a husband for his wife. But a certain guest came to the rich man, and he had compassion on his own, and took the poor man’s sheep and killed it (2 Samuel 12:1-4). Do you see how Nathan weaves a story here, hiding a knife under a sponge? What about the king? Thinking that he was condemning another, he immediately pronounced a sentence. That's how people are! They readily and quickly draw up and pronounce sentences against others. And what does David say? “As the Lord lives!” , worthy of death is “and he will bring back the lamb in fours” (2 Samuel 12:5–6). What about Nathan? He did not take long to soften the wound, but immediately opened it and cut it very quickly so as not to reduce the feeling of pain. "It's you, king." What does the king say? “Those who have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). He didn’t say, “Who are you to rebuke me? Who sent you to speak so boldly? How dare you do this? He didn’t say anything like that, but he recognized the sin and said: “Those who have sinned against the Lord.” What does Nathan have to do with him? “And the Lord has taken away your sin” (2 Samuel 12:13). You have condemned yourself, I free you from condemnation; you brought sincere confession - and made amends for the sin; You condemned yourself, I destroyed the sentence. Do you see how the word of Scripture has been fulfilled: “You spoke your iniquities first, that you might be justified”? What kind of work is it to tell someone your sin first? 3. But there is another way of repentance. Which one is it? Mourning for sin. Have you sinned? Cry and you will blot out your sin. What kind of work is this? I demand nothing more from you except crying about sin. I don’t order you to cut through the seas, or to enter harbours, or to travel, or to go on a long journey, or to spend money, or to entrust yourself to stormy waves - but what? Cry over sin. But how, you say, do you know that if I cry, I will destroy sin? There is proof for you of this in the Divine Scripture. There was a certain Achaav king. He himself, they say, was fair; but because of Jezebel his wife, he reigned badly. He wanted to have the vineyard of one Israeli, Naboth, and sent to him to say: give me your vineyard, which I wanted to have, and take from me either money or another place. He answered: “God forbid that I should sell you the inheritance of my fathers.” Ahab, although he wanted to have Naboth’s vineyard, did not want to take it by force, so he fell into illness as a result. But then Jezebel, a shameless and unscrupulous woman, dissolute and indecent, comes to him and says: “Why are you sad and do not eat? Get up and eat; I will cause you to receive the vineyard of Naboth the Israelite.” And so he writes on behalf of the king to the elders a letter with the following content: declare a fast, and put false witnesses against Naboth, (who would show) that he (did not) bless God and the king, that is, blasphemed them. Oh, a fast filled with extreme wickedness! They announced a post to commit murder! What followed? Naboth was stoned and died. And Jezebel, having learned about this, said to Achaab: Arise, let us take possession of the vineyard, because Naboth is dead. Ahab, although he was saddened for a while, nevertheless went and took possession of the vineyard. God sends Elijah the prophet to him: go, he says, tell Achaab: because you killed (Naboth) and took possession of (his vineyard), your blood will be shed, and dogs will lick your blood, and harlots will wash in your blood. Divine wrath, decisive sentence, final condemnation! And look where (God) sends him (Elijah)? To the vineyard. Where there is iniquity, there is punishment (1 Kings 21:2, 18). What's next? Seeing him (Elijah), Ahab says: “thou hast found me, my enemy” (1 Kings 21:20); this means: you found me guilty because I sinned; now you have a chance to attack me. “You have found... me, my enemy.” Since Elijah always rebuked Ahaav, Ahaav, knowing that he had sinned, says: you have always reproached me, but now you are attacking me at the right time; he realized that he had sinned. In response to this (Elijah) announces his sentence. “To the Lord saith the Lord,” he says, “since you have killed and taken as an inheritance, and have shed the blood of a righteous man, your blood will be shed, and the dogs will lick it, and harlots will be washed in your blood” (1 Kings 21:19). Hearing this, Ahab became sad and wept over his sin; he recognized the iniquity, and God canceled the sentence pronounced on him. However, God justified Himself before Elijah so that he would not turn out to be a liar and so that the same thing would not happen to him that happened to Jonah. And this is what happened to Jonah. God says to him: go, build in the city of Nineveh, where one hundred and twenty thousand people live, excluding wives and children: “Three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed” (Jon. 3:4). Knowing God's love for mankind, Jonah did not want to go; but what does it do? Gives up to escape. Here, he says, I will go to preach, and You, in Your love for mankind, will cancel Your sentence, and they will kill me as a false prophet. However, the sea, having received him, did not hide him, but returned him to the earth and saved him for Nineveh, just as a good servant saves her fellow servant. “Jonah came down,” says the Scripture, “and ran away... and found a ship going to Tarshish, and gave his hire, and went into it” (Jon. 1:3). Where are you running, Jonah? Are you leaving for another land? But “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulfillment thereof” (Ps. 23:1). Or at sea? But don’t you know that “That is the sea, and that is the foundation” (Ps. 94:5)? Or to heaven? But have you not heard what David says: “I will see the heavens, the works of your finger” (Ps. 8:4)? But despite this, he allegedly ran away, overcome with fear, because in fact it is impossible to run away from God. When the sea threw him out, he came to Nineveh and preached like this: “Three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed” (John 3:4). And that he really gave himself up to flight, having in his mind that God, out of love for mankind, would repent of the evil that he had determined on the Ninevites, and that he would appear as a false prophet, this he himself proves. After preaching in Nineveh, he left the city and watched what would happen. When he saw that three days had passed and nothing had happened anywhere that he had threatened, he returned to his previous thought and said: “Isn’t this my saying that the Lord is merciful and slow to anger... and repent of the evils of men” (John 4:2)? So, so that the same thing does not happen to Elijah as to Jonah, God announces to him the reason why He forgave Ahab. What does God say to Elijah? “Did you see how Ahab walked in sorrow and sorrow before My face? I will not do it (therefore) because of his wickedness (1 Kings 21:29). Wonderful thing! The Lord becomes the protector of the slave, and God intercedes for man on behalf of man. Don’t think, he says, that I forgave him for no reason; he changed his temper, and I canceled and tamed My anger. But you will not be considered a false prophet; and you told the truth. If he had not changed his character, he would have suffered what was prescribed by the sentence; but he changed his temper, and I tamed My anger. And God said to Elijah: “Did you see how Ahab walked in grief and sorrow?” I will not do according to My wrath. Do you see that crying blots out sins? 4. You also have a third way of repentance. I present to you many paths of repentance in order to make salvation more convenient for you through a variety of paths. What is this third way? Humility. Be humble and you will loose the bonds of sin. And there is evidence of this in Divine Scripture - in the story of the publican and the Pharisee. The Pharisee and the tax collector came, says the Scripture, (Luke 18:10) to the church to pray, and the Pharisee began to calculate his virtues. I, he says, am not a sinner like other people, or like this publican. Poor and unfortunate soul! You have condemned the entire universe: why else have you insulted your neighbor? Would the universe not be enough for you if you had not condemned the publican? That's why you blamed everyone, and didn't spare even one person. “I am not like other people, or like this publican: I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of my property to the poor.” The (Pharisee) spoke arrogant words! Unhappy man! Even if you condemned the whole universe, why did you wound the publican standing next to you? Would you not be content with condemning the universe if you did not also condemn the one standing with you (the publican)? What about the publican? When he heard this, he did not say: Who are you to say this about me? How do you know my life? You had no relations, did not live with me, did not spend much time. Why are you so proud? Who is the witness of your good deeds? Why do you praise yourself? Why do you flatter yourself? The tax collector did not say anything like that, but bowed down, prayed and said: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13)! Through such humility the publican became righteous. The Pharisee left the church having lost righteousness, and the publican came out having acquired righteousness - and words conquered deeds. One has destroyed righteousness by works, and the other has gained righteousness by the word of humility. However, this was not humility. Humility consists in when someone, being great, humbles himself; but the publican’s confession was not humility, but the real truth: his words were fair, because he was a sinner. 5. Really, tell me, what is worse than a publican? He takes advantage of other people's misfortunes, participates in the fruits of other people's labors; does not think about work, but takes a share of the profits. Thus, the publican’s sin is the most serious. The publican is nothing more than safe violence, legalized sin, specious predation. What is worse than a publican who sits along the road and collects the fruits of other people's labors - who, when it is necessary to work, does not care at all about it, and when there is a profit, he takes part of what he did not work for? If the publican, being a sinner, received such a great gift for humility, then wouldn’t a virtuous and humble person receive much more? So, if you confess your sins and show humility, you will be justified. But do you want to know who is truly humble? Look at Paul, truly humble in wisdom - at Paul, the teacher of the universe, the spiritual spirit, the chosen vessel, the storm-proof pier, the unshakable pillar - (at Paul), who in a small body went around the universe and flowed around it, as if on wings. Look how humbly he philosophizes, he is a commoner and a sage, a poor man and a rich man. I call him the truly humble-wise, the one who endured countless labors, won countless victories over the devil, preaches and says: “His grace... did not come to me in vain, but rather than all... I labored” (1 Cor. 15:10). He, who suffered imprisonment, blows and scourging, who caught the universe with messages, called by a heavenly voice, he is humble when he says: “For I am considered an apostle, who is not worthy to be called an apostle” (1 Cor. 15:9). Do you see the greatness of humility? Do you see how Paul is humble, calling himself the least of the apostles? “For I am,” he says, “an apostle, who is not worthy to be called an apostle.” This is what true humility consists of: to humble yourself in everything and call yourself lesser. Think about who said these words? Paul, a heavenly citizen, although still clothed with an infirm body, a pillar of the Church, an earthly angel, a heavenly man. I love to dwell on this man and contemplate the beauty of his virtue. The sun rising and emitting bright rays does not delight my eyes so much as Paul illuminates my soul. The sun illuminates our eyes, and Paul, as if on wings, lifts us to the very vaults of heaven, and elevates the soul above the sun and moon. Such is the power of virtue: it makes a person an angel, and lifts the soul, as it were, on wings to Heaven. Paul teaches us this virtue: let us try to become zealots of his virtue. But we must not shy away from our subject. Our goal was to show that humility is the third way of repentance, that the publican was not humble, but spoke the truth when he revealed his sins; that he became righteous, although he did not spend money, did not cross seas, did not undertake long journeys, did not sail around endless seas, did not beg friends and did not spend much time. No, by humiliation alone he acquired righteousness and was worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, which may we all receive through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. About alms and about ten virgins 1. Do you know where our word recently began and where it ended, or from what subject and to what point the previous conversation was brought? You, I think, have forgotten where our word stopped; but I know, and I don’t blame you for this, I don’t condemn you. Each of you has a wife, takes care of children and takes care of household affairs; some are busy serving in the army, others are artisans; in a word: each of you is concerned with different needs. And this is what we deal with, this is what we do, and this is what we spend our time doing. Therefore, you cannot be blamed for this 3, but you should be praised for your zeal - for the fact that you do not leave us on a single Sunday, but, leaving everything, come to church. This is what constitutes the greatest decoration of our city - not its noise, not its suburbs, not its gilded houses and dining rooms, but its zealous and cheerful inhabitants. And we recognize a good type of tree not by its leaves, but by its fruits. This is why we differ from dumb animals, that we have (the gift of) words, we express ourselves in words and love words. A person who does not love words is much more stupid than beasts: he does not know why he is honored (with the gift of speech), and where he received such an honor. The prophet said well: “A man who is ignorant of honor is likened to foolish cattle and becomes like them” (Ps. 49:13). Are you a person gifted with words, but you don’t like words? Tell me, what excuse will you have? Therefore, of all, you are the most indispensable to me because, as if on wings, you flock to (listen to) the word about virtue and place everything below Divine sayings. So we will take up the subject and continue the conversation about what we talked about recently: I owe you, and I willingly pay the debt, because this does not bring me poverty, but brings me wealth. In worldly affairs, debtors run from creditors so as not to repay (the debt); but I pursue (you) in order to give - and very justly, because in worldly affairs giving produces poverty, and in words giving gives birth to wealth. For example: I owe someone money; if I return them, neither he nor I can have them; no, they left me and came to him. But if I pay the word, it is with me, and you all have it. If I keep my word and do not communicate (it), then I am poor; and when I pay, then I become richer. If I don’t pay the words, then I alone am rich; and if I pay, then I receive the fruit along with all of you. So, let's repay the debt. What kind of debt is this? We recently talked about repentance and said that there are many and different ways of repentance, so that salvation would be easy for us. If God gave us one path of repentance, we would make excuses like this: we cannot follow this path, we cannot be saved. But in order to take this pretext away from you, He gave you not just one path, and not two, and not three, but many and different ones, in order to make it easy for you to ascend to Heaven through this multitude. We also said that repentance is not difficult and that there is no heaviness in it. Are you a sinner? Enter the church, say: “I have sinned” - and you will atone for your sin. We also presented David as an example, who sinned and made amends for his sin. Then they suggested another way, that is, crying about sin, and they said: what kind of work is this? You don’t need to spend money, or go a long way, or do anything else like that, but you just need to cry about sin. Here we brought from Scripture that God changed his definition about Ahab, because he cried and was saddened; and it was God Himself who said to Elijah: “Have you seen how Ahab walked in sorrow and sorrow before Me? I will not do according to My wrath” (1 Kings 21:29). Then we pointed out the third path of repentance, and presented from the Scriptures the Pharisee and the publican - that is, that the Pharisee, having arrogantly boasted, lost his righteousness, and the publican, showing a sense of humility, came out with the fruit of righteousness and, without using any labor, became righteous - he gave words and received deeds. Now let's go further and introduce the fourth path of repentance. What is this path? This is alms, the queen of virtues, which very quickly elevates people to the vaults of heaven, the best protector. A great thing is almsgiving; Therefore, Solomon exclaimed: “Great is man, and when a man is in trouble, show mercy” (Prov. 20:6). The flight of alms is great: it cuts through the air, passes the moon, rises above the rays of the sun, reaches to the very heavens. But she doesn’t stop there either; on the contrary, the sky also passes, flows around the hosts of Angels, and the faces of the Archangels, and all the higher powers, and appears to the Royal Throne itself. Learn this from the Scripture itself, which says: “Cornelius, ... your prayers and your alms have risen up ... before God” (Acts 10:3-4). And the words “before God” mean this: although you have many sins, since alms are your protector, do not be afraid; none of the higher powers stops her; she demands her due, having her own manuscript in her hands. This is the voice of the Lord Himself, that whoever created “the least of these ... alone”, he created for Me (Matthew 25:40). Thus, no matter how many other sins you have, your charity outweighs everything. 2. Don’t you know in the Gospel the parable of the ten virgins, how those who did not give alms, although they labored in virginity, remained outside the bridal chamber? There were, says (Scripture), ten virgins, five foolish and five wise; The wise had oil, but the fools had no oil, so their lamps began to go out. When the fools came to the wise, they said: Give us oil from your vessels (Matthew 25:1-8). I am ashamed and blush and cry when I hear about the foolish maiden; I blush when I hear that they are named so after such great virtue, after the exploits of virginity, after they flew body to Heaven and competed with the highest powers - endured the heat and overcame the flame of voluptuousness. After this they are called stupid - and rightly so, because, having done great things, they were defeated by small things. And the fools, it is said, came and said to the wise, Give us oil from your vessels. And these answered: we cannot give you, “there is not enough food for us and for you” (Matthew 25:8-9). And they did this not out of cruelty or malice, but because of the pressing circumstances of the time - because they were waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom. The fools had lamps, but the lamps of the wise had oil, but they did not. After all, virginity is fire, and alms is oil. Therefore, just as a fire goes out when there is no oil added to it, so does virginity go out when there is no alms. Give us oil (said the fools) from your vessels. And the wise answered them: we cannot give it to you. This is said not out of malice, but out of fear: “there will not be enough food for us and you” - as if we, when we are all trying to enter, lest we all remain (outside the bridal chamber). Better go and buy from those who sell. Who are the sellers of this oil? Poor people sitting in front of the church for alms. How much does it (sell) for? For as much as you want: I don’t set prices so that you don’t plead poverty. Buy as much as you have, for as much. Do you have Ovol 4? Buy Heaven, not because Heaven is cheap, but because the Lord is philanthropic. Don't you have an ovol? Bring me a cup of cold water. “Whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water to drink” for My sake, “will not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). The subject of buying and selling is the Sky, and we don’t care! Give bread and take Paradise; give little and take great; give mortal, and take immortal; give the perishable and take the incorruptible. If there were a fair, and food supplies were sold cheaply and in large quantities, and a lot could be purchased for a small price: would you not sell off your property, and, leaving everything aside, would you not take part in that trade? And so, where the perishable is, there you show so much jealousy; and where the matter of the immortal is concerned, are you so careless and careless? Give to the poor, and - let you yourself remain silent - thousands of lips will speak in your defense, because alms will rise up and protect (you): alms is the ransom of the soul. Therefore, just as there are vessels filled with water in front of the church doors so that you can wash your hands, so the poor sit outside the church so that you can wash the hands of your soul. Have you washed your sensual hands with water? Wash the hands of the soul with alms. Don't plead poverty. The widow, even in extreme poverty, brought Elijah into her house, and poverty was not (for her) an obstacle, but with great joy she accepted him; That’s why she received worthy fruits and reaped a harvest of alms. But perhaps the listener will say: give me Elijah. Why are you looking for Elijah? I give the Lord Elijah to you, and you do not feed Him: how would you accept Elijah if you found him? Christ, the Lord of all, said: whoever created “the least of these ... alone,” he created for Me (Matthew 25:40). If the king invited someone to supper and, when the servants appeared, said to them: thank him much for me; he fed me and accepted me into his house when I was in poverty, he showed me many benefits in times of need - wouldn’t everyone have used and spent all his money for the one to whom the king expressed gratitude? Wouldn't everyone try to get close and make friends with him? 3. Have you seen the power of the (royal) word? If a human king has such an honor, then imagine that Christ on that day cries out before the Angels and all the powers, and says: this man on earth brought Me into his house; he showed Me many benefits; he accepted Me, a stranger. Then imagine the boldness (of this man) among the Angels, the joy among the ranks of heaven. To whom does Christ testify, how can one not have boldness before the Angels? So, brothers, almsgiving is a great thing. Let us love her; she has no equal; she can both atone for sins and deliver from judgment. You are silent, but she stands and protects; or better yet, while you are silent, thousands of lips thank you for you. There are so many benefits from alms, but we are careless and do not care? Give me some bread if possible. Don't you have any bread? Give me an ovol. No ovol? Give me a cup of cold water. Not even this? Cry with the unfortunate, and you will receive a reward - a reward not for a forced, but for a free deed. But while talking about this, we forgot about the virgins; Let's return to the subject. Give us, they say, oil from your vessels. We cannot give you, “there will not be enough food for us and for you”; Better go and buy from those who sell. “As they went to buy something, the bridegroom came,” and those who had bright lamps “went in with him... and the doors were shut” of the bridal chamber. Five fools also came and began to knock on the doors of the palace, exclaiming: “Open to us”; and in response to them the voice of the groom from within: get away from me, “I know you not” (Matthew 25:8-12). So, after so much labor, what did they hear? “We don’t know you.” This means, as I said, that they acquired for themselves the great property of virginity in vain and without benefit. Think about it, they were rejected after such great labors, after they curbed intemperance, after they had a competition with heavenly powers, after they laughed at everyday affairs, endured great heat, stepped over obstacles, after they flew from earth to Heaven, did not break the seal of the body, acquired the great beauty of virginity, entered into competition with the Angels, trampled on the demands of the flesh, forgot nature, in their body they did what is characteristic of the incorporeal, after they had acquired the great and invincible property of virginity, after all this they heard: get away from me, “I don’t know you.” Do not think that I consider the dignity of virginity to be of little importance: virginity is such that none of the ancients could preserve it. That is why grace is great, that what was terrible for the prophets and the ancients has now become very accessible. What, in fact, was most difficult and unbearable? Virginity and contempt of death. But even weak virgins are not afraid of them now. In fact, maintaining virginity was so difficult that none of the ancients could keep it. Noah was righteous and had a testimony from God, but he lived with his wife. Likewise, Abraham and Isaac, joint heirs with him in the promise, lived with their wives. The chaste Joseph refused to commit the great sin of adultery, but he also lived with his wife, because the state of virginity was difficult. Virginity has been established since the color of virginity grew. So, none of the ancients could maintain virginity, because the great thing is to bridle the body. Describe in words the appearance of virginity, and know the greatness of this virtue. Every day she has a scolding that can never stop; this battle is worse than a war with barbarians. In a war with barbarians there is a time of rest - when negotiations are carried out; sometimes they fight there, sometimes they don’t; there is order and time. And in the war that is waged against virginity, there is no rest, because the devil is fighting, who does not know the specific time to attack, does not wait for a conventional sign for battle, but always stands and tries to find the maiden unarmed in order to inflict a mortal wound on her; and the maiden can never rest from this battle, but always carries within herself anxiety and a warrior. And the condemned are not so poor, although they see the boss only from time to time; and the virgin, wherever she goes, always has a judge with her and carries an enemy with her. This enemy does not give her rest either in the evening, or at night, or in the morning, or at noon, but fights incessantly, presenting her with pleasure, pointing to marriage, in order to tear virtue out of her and give birth to vice in her, in order to drive out chastity from her and instill in her fornication: every hour the furnace of voluptuousness flares up, pleasantly set on fire. Think how difficult this feat is: and after all this they (the foolish virgins) heard: get away from me, “I don’t know you.” Look what a great thing virginity is: when it has a sister - alms, then no disasters overcome it, but it becomes higher than everything. They did not enter (the bridal chamber) because they had no alms when they were virgins. It’s a shame to say: having overcome voluptuousness, you did not despise money, but being a virgin, renounced from life, and having crucified yourself, you love money! If you had desired a husband, then the guilt would not have been so great, because you would have desired an object identical (with you) in essence; but now there is much more guilt, because you have desired an object that is alien (to you). Here, married women viciously show inhumanity, referring to children; If you tell them: give me alms, I have children, they say, I can’t. God gave you children, you received the fruit of the womb, so that you could be humane, and not inhumane; Do not turn the reason for philanthropy into an excuse for inhumanity. Do you want to leave a good legacy for your children? Leave alms, so that everyone will praise you, and your memory will remain glorious. But you, who have no children and have been crucified to life, why are you collecting money? 4. But the word is alive (in our minds) both about the path of repentance and about almsgiving. We said that almsgiving is a great acquisition; then they moved to the sea of ​​virginity. So, you have a great (path) of repentance in alms, which can free (you) from the bonds of sin; but there is another way of repentance for you, also very convenient, through which you can be freed from sins. Pray every hour, do not become exhausted in prayer, and earnestly implore God’s love for mankind, and God will not turn away from someone who constantly prays, but will forgive you your sins and fulfill your requests. If you are heard when you pray, continue to pray to bring (to God) thanks; if you are not heard, remain in prayer so that you may be heard. And do not say: “I prayed a lot and was not heard,” because this often happens for your own good. God knows that you are lazy and careless, and that if you get what you need, you will move away and not pray anymore; and so, the very need forces you to talk with God more often and practice prayer. If you, in such need and having the need, are lazy and do not continue your prayers, what would happen if you did not need anything? Therefore, He does this for your benefit, wanting you not to give up prayer. So, remain in prayer, beloved, and do not be lazy, because prayer can accomplish many things; and do not approach prayer as if it were an unimportant matter. And that prayer brings forgiveness of sins, you can learn from the Divine Gospel. What does it say? The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who locked his doors and went to bed with his children. Meanwhile, in the evening someone came to take some loaves from him and knocked, saying: Open for me, I need some loaves. And he told him: I can’t give it to you now, because both we and our children have gone to bed. He continued to knock on the door, and this one again said to him: I can’t give it to you, because both we and the children went to bed. But he continued to knock even after that, and did not leave until the householder said: get up, give it to him, and let him go away (Luke 11:5-8) So, (Scripture) teaches you to pray and never lose heart, but even when you do not receive (what you ask for), continue (in prayer) until you receive it. You will find many other ways of repentance in Scripture. Repentance, even before the coming of Christ, was preached by Jeremiah, who says: “The food that falls does not rise, or the one who turns away will not return?” (Jer.8:4). And again: after this, after she had committed adultery, he said to her: “Turn to Me” (Jer. 3:7). God has given us many other 5 different ways of repentance in order to take away from us every excuse for negligence. If we had only one path, we could not take it. The devil always runs away from this weapon. Have you sinned? Enter the church and atone for your sin. No matter how many times you fall in the square, you get up every time: just as no matter how many times you sin, repent of your sin, do not despair; If you sin another time, repent another time, so that through negligence you do not completely lose hope for the promised benefits. Are you old and have you sinned? Enter (the church), repent: here is a doctor’s office, not a court of justice; here they do not torture, but give forgiveness of sins. Tell your sin to God alone: ​​“I have sinned against you alone, and I have done evil before you” (Ps. 50:6), and your sin will be forgiven. You also have another path of repentance, not difficult, but the easiest. What is this path? Cry over your sin. You will learn about this from the Divine Gospel. Peter, the highest of the apostles, the first in the Church, the friend of Christ, who received revelation not from men, but from the Father, as the Lord testifies of him, saying: “Blessed are you, Simon, var Jonah, for flesh and blood have not been revealed to you, but my heavenly Father” (Matthew 16:17), - this Peter (when I call Peter, I mean the indestructible stone, the immovable rock, the great apostle, the first of the disciples, the first-called, and the first to follow the call), he did not commit some unimportant crime, but a very great one - he denied the Lord Himself. I say this not to accuse the righteous, but to give you an incentive to repentance. Thus he rejected the Lord of the universe Himself, the Trustee and Savior of all. But let's tell this case first. The Savior knew that during His betrayal some would depart (from Him), and He said to Peter: Do you also want to depart? But Peter answered: “Even though I am and die with You, I will not deny You” (Matthew 26:35). What are you saying, Peter? God has determined, and you resist? But, although (Peter’s) will showed its (desire), the weakness of (his) nature was exposed. When is this? On the night on which Christ was betrayed. Then, it is said, Peter stood by the burning wood and warmed himself; and then one maid came up to him and said: yesterday you were with this man; and he answered: I don’t know this man. Then he (denied) a second time, and a third time - and the decree (of God) was fulfilled. Then Christ looked at Peter, and with this look he gave a voice; He did not speak to him with his lips, so as not to reveal him to the Jews and not to shame His disciple, but with his eyes he said to him: behold, Peter, what I spoke about has come true. Then Peter came to his senses and began to cry, but he did not just cry, but bitterly, and from the tears of his eyes he made a second baptism. But having cried so bitterly, he made amends for his sin, and after that he was entrusted with the keys of heaven. If Peter’s crying atoned for such a great sin, then how can you not atone for your sin if you cry? To deny one's Lord was not a small crime, but a great and very important one, and yet tears atoned for the sin. You too cry about your sin, only cry not simply and not for show, but bitterly, as Peter cried; Bring streams of tears from the very depths of your soul so that the Lord, having mercy, forgives you for your sin. The Lord loves mankind; He Himself said: “I do not want the sinner to die, but to turn” and repent, “and I will live to be like him” (Ezek. 33:11). He wants a little work from you, but He Himself gives great things; He expects a reason from you to give you the treasure of salvation. Offer your tears, and He will give you forgiveness; bring repentance, and He will grant you remission of sins. Imagine at least a small pretext to have a plausible justification, because (in the matter of salvation) one thing depends on Him, and the other on us. If we imagine what depends on us, then He will also grant what depends on Him. But now He has already given what depended on Him - He established the sun, the moon and the varied course of the stars, poured out the air, spread out the earth, fenced off the sea, gave mountains, valleys, hills, springs, lakes, rivers, countless genera of plants, gardens and everything else. Bring a little, too, so that in this way He will grant you the highest blessings. So, let us not be careless about ourselves, and we will not give up our salvation, having such an abyss of love for mankind of the Lord of all, Who even repents of our sins. The Kingdom of Heaven and Paradise and blessings are offered, “which no eye has seen, nor ear heard, and the heart of man has not breathed, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9) - and we will not try in every possible way to bring something on our part, so as not to be deprived of these benefits? Don’t you know what Paul says, who worked hard and won countless victories over the devil, who traversed the world in his body, flowed around the earth and the sea and the air, and flew around the world as if on wings, who was stoned, beaten, suffered beatings, endured everything for the sake of the name of God, was called from above by a heavenly voice? Look what he says, what word he uttered: we have received, he says, grace from God, but I also worked and did my part; “And His grace which was in me was not in vain, but I labored more than all of them” and did its part (1 Cor. 15:10). We know, he says, we know the greatness of the grace that we have received; but she found me not idle either: my deeds are known. So we too will accustom our hands to almsgiving in order to bring something small on our part; Let us begin to weep over sin, groan over iniquity, so that it can be seen that we, too, contribute at least something small, while what is to be given to us is great and exceeds our strength. This is Paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven, which may we all be worthy of through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. 1. The shepherds constantly lead the sheep to where they see the thickest grass, and do not drive them out until the flock has grazed all the grass. Imitating them, we have been pasturing our flock in the pasture of repentance for the fourth day now, and even today we are not yet ready to get up, because we still see a lot of food, a lot of pleasure and, at the same time, benefit. It is not so much the tree branches, which serve as shelter for the sheep at noon, that calm the sheep, providing a pleasant and useful shade and disposing them to a very sweet sleep, as the reading of the Divine Scripture encourages and revives the mourning and grief-stricken souls, destroying the strength and heat of grief, and delivering consolation that is more pleasant and sweeter than any shade. And indeed, it gives us great consolation, not only in the loss of property, not only in the loss of children, or in other similar misfortunes, but also in sinful circumstances. When a person falls, caught and cast down by sin, when his conscience then pricks him, and he, constantly remembering sin, is overwhelmed by excessive sadness, burns in fire every day, and, despite the many comforters, does not receive consolation, then entering the church and hearing that many of the saints have risen after the fall and have again entered into their former glory, he quietly receives consolation. Moreover, having sinned, we often do not dare to reveal our sin to people, because we are ashamed and ashamed; and even if we open it, we will not receive such benefit. But when God comforts and touches our heart, then immediately all satanic sorrow will flee. This is why the falls of the righteous are described to us, so that both the virtuous and the sinners may receive the greatest benefit from them. The sinner does not fall into despair and hopelessness, seeing that another has fallen and yet could rise again; and the virtuous will be more zealous and more trustworthy: when he sees that many of those who are much better than him have fallen, then, admonished by the fear of their fall, he will always be vigilant and show great attentiveness to himself. And thus, one, improving in virtue, and the other, a sinner, getting rid of despair, the first will stand firm, and the latter will soon return to the state from which he fell. When a person consoles us in sadness, we, apparently, are consoled for a while, but then we fall back into the same sadness. And when God teaches by example others who have sinned and repented and are saved, then He makes His goodness clear to us, so that we do not doubt our salvation, receiving true and reliable consolation. So, the ancient narratives of the Scriptures provide everyone with sufficient healing for the grieving, both in sinful situations and in emerging dangers. Whether deprivation of property, or insults from slanderers, or chains, or beatings, or any other disaster befalls us, looking at the righteous who have suffered and experienced the same thing, we can soon come to our senses. In physical illnesses, if a sick person looks at (other) sick people, through this he increases his illness, and often gets a new illness: for example, some, seeing the sick with their eyes, themselves received illness from one look. But this is not the case with mental illnesses, but on the contrary: frequent reflection on those who have suffered the same disasters as us makes it easier for us to grieve over our disasters. That is why Paul consoles the faithful in exactly the same way, presenting to them the sight of saints, not only the living, but also the dead. Talking with Jews who were ready to stumble and fall, he exposes the holy men - Daniel, the three youths, Elijah, Elisha, saying this: “Having stopped the mouths of the lions, quenching the power of fire, and escaping the sharp sword, ... being beaten with stones, ... having endured the temptation of cursing and wounds, and also of chains and prison; ...went in clothing, in goatskins, in deprivation, in sorrow, in embitterment: but the world is not worthy of them” (Heb. 11:33-38). And communication in suffering brings consolation to those who are grieving: just as to suffer one calamity alone is a joyless misfortune, so to find another dejected by the same calamities means to alleviate one’s wound. 2. So, so that we do not lose heart under any difficult circumstances, let us diligently listen to the narratives of the Scriptures. From here we will receive great encouragement for patience, because we will not only be consoled by communication with those who have suffered the same calamities as us, but we will also learn how to get rid of the evils that befall us, and how to remain even-tempered after we have calmed down (from troubles) - and not fall into carelessness, and not be puffed up with pride. There is nothing surprising if in misfortune we humble and humiliate ourselves and show great piety, because the very temptations force those with a heart of stone to do this, i.e. sadden. But (only) it is characteristic of a pious soul that constantly has God before its eyes, even after being delivered from temptations, never to fall into oblivion; and this often happened to the Jews. That’s why the prophet, laughing at them, said: “Whenever I have killed, then I will seek Him and turn and pray to God” (Ps. 77:34). And Moses, realizing the same thing for them, often exhorted them, saying: “And eat poison”, and drink, “and when you are satisfied, take heed of yourself, ... so that you do not forget the Lord your God” (Deut. 6:11-12). Meanwhile, this happened, because it is said: “And Jacob grew fat and expanded, ... and his beloved was rejected” (Deut. 32:15). So, one should be amazed at the saints, not because they were so pious and wise during times of great sorrow, but because even after the storm passed and with the onset of silence, they continued to be equally modest and diligent. And the horse should especially be surprised then how he can walk straight without a bridle; if he walks straight because he is held by the reins and bridle, then this is not surprising: then this harmony should be attributed not to the nobility of the animal, but to the strength of the bridle. The same should be said about the soul: it is not surprising if it behaves modestly when fear oppresses it; no, then show me spiritual wisdom and all good morals, when temptations pass and the reins of fear are removed. But I am afraid that, while condemning the Jews, I will not condemn our way of life. When we too suffered from hunger and infection, from hail and drought, from fires and enemy invasions, was it not every day that the church was crowded with so many people gathered? We had great wisdom and disdain for worldly affairs at that time; Neither the love of money, nor the search for fame, nor the passion and desire for debauchery, nor any other evil thought disturbed us, but you all indulged in piety, with prayer and tears. The fornicator then began to abstain, the vindictive one hastened to make peace, the lover of money was inclined to give alms, the angry and impudent one turned to humility and meekness. But when God dispelled that anger, turned away the storm, and after such excitement brought silence, we again turned to our previous affairs. Even then, during the very temptations, I spoke about this in advance and constantly warned, but I had no success, but you threw all those (suggestions) out of your mind, like a dream and a passing shadow. That’s why I’m more afraid now than then; and, as I said then, I am especially afraid now, lest we incur misfortunes more serious than the previous ones, and then receive an incurable wound from God. When a sinner often receives forgiveness from God, and yet is not so long-suffering to abandon wickedness, then such a person finally brings God to the point where He, against his will, sends the greatest disaster upon him, completely eradicates him, and no longer gives him any time for repentance - as happened with Pharaoh. When he, having experienced God's great forbearance in the first, and in the second, and in the third, and in the fourth, and in subsequent executions, did not take advantage of it at all, he was finally exterminated and completely destroyed along with the entire city. The Jews suffered the same thing. That is why Christ, decreeing the destruction of them and subjecting them to final ruin, said this: “How often did your fellow children desire, ... and did you not desire? Behold, it is abandoned...your house is desolate” (Luke 13:34–35). So, I am afraid that we will not suffer the same thing, because we are not taught either by the misfortunes of others or by our own. However, I say this not only to you who are now present here, but also to those who interrupted their daily diligence and forgot about their previous sorrows, to whom I constantly, with extreme effort, said that although the temptations have passed, the memory of them must remain in our souls, so that we, constantly remembering the blessing, unceasingly thank God who gave it. 3. I said this then, and now I say to you, and through you to them: let us imitate the saints, who were neither overcome by sorrows nor weakened by peace, which now happens to many of us, like light boats that are filled with water from every pressure of the waves and sink. Often poverty, having come upon us, floods and drowns us; and wealth, having arrived to us, again puffs us up and plunges us into extreme carelessness. Therefore, I ask that each of us, leaving everything, prepare his soul for salvation. When it is well tuned, then, no matter what disaster befalls us, whether hunger, illness, slander, theft of property, or anything else, everything will be bearable and easy, according to the commandment of the Lord and based on hope in Him; just as, on the contrary, whose soul is not well-ordered in relation to God, such a person will experience many sorrows and worries, even if wealth flows to him, even if he has children and countless amounts of money. So, let us neither seek wealth nor run away from poverty, but first of all, let us each take care of our own soul and make it capable of both managing this life and moving from here to there. A little more - and there will be a test for each of us, when we all appear at the Last Judgment Seat of Christ, surrounded by our own deeds, and see with our own eyes - the tears of orphans, the shameful debauchery with which we have defiled our souls, the groans of widows, the beatings (inflicted) on the poor, and the plunder of the poor; (we will see) not only this and the like, but also everything that we have done that is bad, even in our thoughts, since He (God) is the Judge of thoughts and the appreciator of thoughts (Heb. 4:12), and again: “test the hearts and bellies” (Ps. 7:10), and “repayer of each” according to “his” deeds (Rom. 2:6). But this word of mine applies not only to those living in the world, but also to those who, out of love for a solitary life, have built themselves cells in the mountains, because they must guard not only their bodies from defilement by fornication, but also their souls from all satanic covetousness. The Apostle Paul talks not only about wives, but also about husbands and the entire Church when he says that a virgin soul must be “holy both in body and spirit” (1 Cor. 7:34), and again: present your bodies as “a pure virgin” (2 Cor. 11:2). How clean? “I have no filthiness or vice” (Eph.5:27). And those virgins whose lamps went out were virgins in body, but not pure in heart; and although their husband did not corrupt them, their love for money did. Their body was pure, but their soul was filled with fornication, because they were overcome by evil thoughts - love of money and hard-heartedness, anger, envy, laziness, forgetfulness, and pride, and all this destroyed the dignity of their virginity. That is why Paul says: “Let (the virgin) be holy both in body and spirit” (1 Cor. 7:34), and again: “present a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). Just as the body is corrupted by fornication, so the soul is defiled by satanic thoughts, perverse rules, and unclean thoughts. Anyone who says: I am a virgin in body, but in my soul is jealous of my brother, is not a virgin: his virginity was corrupted by a connection with envy. The vain man is also not a virgin: his virginity was corrupted by the love of slander; This passion entered (him) and violated his virginity. And he who hates his brother is more a murderer than a virgin; and in general, when someone is possessed by an evil passion, he corrupts his virginity with it. Therefore, Paul removes (us) from all these evil connections and commands us to be virgins, so that we do not voluntarily accept into our souls any contrary thoughts. 4. What should we say to this? How to earn a pardon? How to escape? I’ll say this: let us always carry prayer and its fruits in our hearts, that is, humility and meekness. “Learn from Me,” says the Lord, “for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29); and again David: “The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: a contrite and humble heart God will not despise” (Ps. 50:19). God accepts and loves nothing more than a meek, humble and grateful soul. See also, brother, when something unexpectedly befalls you and saddens you, do not resort to people and do not rely on human help, but, leaving everyone (people), direct your thoughts to the Doctor of souls. The only one who can heal the heart is He who alone created our hearts and knows all our deeds; He can enter our conscience, touch our heart and comfort our soul. If He does not comfort our hearts, then human consolations will be useless and in vain; just as vice versa, when God calms and consoles, then, even if people bother us a thousand times, they will not be able to harm us in the least, because when He strengthens the heart, then no one can shake it. So, knowing this, beloved, let us always resort to God, who both wants and can deliver us from misfortune. When we need to beg people, we need to talk to the gatekeepers in advance, and beg the hangers-on and flatterers, and go a long way. But God has nothing like that; It can be simplified without an intermediary; He bows down to prayer without money, without expenses; It is enough just to cry out with your heart and bring tears, and as soon as you enter, you will immediately attract Him to you. Moreover, when begging a person, we are often afraid that some enemy, or friend (of our enemies), or adversary (ours) will not hear about our case, or someone else will not tell what we are talking about and distort the truth; but with God there is nothing to fear. When you want, He says, to beg Me, come to Me alone, without any witness, that is, call with your heart, without moving your lips. “Go down,” he says, “into your cage, ...shut your doors, and pray to your Father who is in secret: and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you in reality” (Matthew 6:6). Look, what a high honor: when you beg Me, He says, let no one see it; and when I honor you, I bring the universe to witness this blessing. Let us be convinced, and let us pray not for show and not for revenge on our enemies; Let us not teach Him how to help us. If we tell only our deeds to the people who defend us and speak for us before worldly judges, and provide them with the form of defense so that they can dispose of our affairs at their own discretion, much more should we do the same in relation to God. He told Him your case, said that you had suffered, but at the same time did not tell Him how to help you; He Himself knows well what is good for you. And there are many who, in prayer, express a thousand special petitions, and say: Lord, give me bodily health, double my property, take revenge on my enemy. This is very unreasonable. Therefore, it is necessary, leaving all this behind, to pray and ask only according to the example of the publican, who said: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13); and He Himself already knows how to help you: “Seek... “,” He says, “before the Kingdom of God, ... and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). So, beloved, let us philosophize, (pray) with zeal and humility, striking ourselves on the chest, following the example of that (publican) - and we will receive what we ask. If we pray in anger and irritability, then we are vile and hateful before God. Let us break our hearts and humiliate our souls, and let us pray both for ourselves and for those who have offended us. If you want to persuade the Judge to help your soul and attract Him to your side, never complain to Him about the one who saddened you. This is the character of the Judge: He listens and gives what is asked especially to those who pray for their enemies, do not remember evil and do not rebel against their enemies. And to the extent that they do this, to the extent that God will take revenge on their enemies, if they do not turn to repentance. 5. See, brothers, when someone inflicts some dishonor on us, let us not immediately be annoyed and sad, but let us give thanks, patiently enduring (the insult) and waiting for help from the Lord. Couldn’t God, even before asking, give us blessings, give us a carefree life and free from all sorrow? But He does both out of love for us. Indeed, why does He allow us to experience sorrows and does not quickly deliver us from them? For what? In order for us to turn to Him with a prayer for protection, to resort to Him and constantly call upon Him for help. For this reason there are illnesses of the body, for this reason there is scarcity of fruits, for this reason there is hunger, so that because of these calamities we may always cleave to Him, and thus through temporary sorrows become heirs of eternal life. Therefore, for them we must thank God, Who heals and saves our souls in many ways. People, if they show us an insignificant benefit, and we subsequently, even if involuntarily, offend them in some small way, immediately reproach us with their benefit, so that many curse themselves for accepting any kind of benefit from them. But that's not how God works; on the contrary, when, after receiving benefits from Him, people neglect and insult Him, He Himself defends itself and justifies itself before those who insulted Him, saying this: “My people, what have I done to you?” (Micah 6:3). They did not want to call Him God, but He did not stop calling them people, they renounced His sovereignty, but He did not reject them, but brought them closer and attracted them to Himself, saying: “My people, what have I done to you?” (Micah 6:3). Was I, he says, hard for you, or harsh, or burdensome? You can't say that. But even if this were the case, in that case you should not have run away (from Me): “Who is the son, who is not punished by his father?” (Heb.12:7). However, you cannot say this either. And again in another place: “What sin did your fathers find in Me” (Jer. 2:5)? These words are important and amazing; they mean this: where did I sin? God told the people: where have I sinned? meanwhile, just as the slaves do not allow their master to say this! Moreover (God) does not say: in what way have I sinned against you, but against your fathers. You, he says, cannot even say that you harbor paternal enmity towards me, because I never gave your ancestors any reason to complain about My Providence, as if I had neglected them in small or great things. And he did not just say: what (sin) did your fathers “have,” but “what did they find?” . They searched a lot, they tracked a lot, being under My rule for so many years, but they did not find a single sin in Me. For all this, let us constantly resort to Him, and in every sorrow seek His consolation, in every misfortune - His deliverance, His mercy, in every temptation - His help. Whatever the calamity, no matter how great the misfortune, He can stop and remove everything. However, His goodness will give us not only this, but also all security, and strength, and good glory, and bodily health, and spiritual wisdom, and good hopes, and the fact that we will not rush into sin. So, let us not grumble like ungrateful slaves, let us not blame the Lord, but thank Him for everything and consider only one misfortune, namely, sin against Him. And if we are thus disposed toward God, then neither illness, nor poverty, nor dishonor, nor poverty of fruits, nor any other seeming calamity will befall us, but, always enjoying pure and innocent joy, we will receive future blessings, according to the goodness and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. About fasting, also about the prophet Jonah, Daniel and the three youths - said before the onset of holy fasting 1. Today is a bright holiday for us, and the meeting is more solemn than usual. What is the reason for this? This, I know, is a matter of fasting, which has not yet arrived, but is expected. He gathered us into his father's house, today he brought into his mother's arms those who were hitherto lazy. If the fast, which is still expected, has inspired us with so much jealousy, then how much piety will it produce in us when it appears and comes? So the city, awaiting the arrival of the terrible leader, completely puts aside carelessness and shows great diligence. But, having heard about fasting, do not be afraid (of it as a) terrible boss: it is not terrible for us, but for the demons. If someone is possessed by an evil spirit, show him the face of fasting, and he, shackled by fear and held, as it were, by some kind of chains, will become more motionless than the very stones, especially when he sees in union with fasting the sister and friend of fasting - prayer. That is why Christ says: “This... generation does not come forth except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). If he so drives away the enemies of our salvation and is so terrible to the enemies of our life, then we must love and accept him with joy, and not be afraid. If you should be afraid of anything, then you should be afraid of drunkenness and overeating, and not of fasting. Those, having tied our hands behind us, hand us over as slaves and captives to the cruel rule of passions, as to some ferocious master; and fasting, having found us in slavery and in bonds, releases us from bonds, delivers us from cruel dominion and returns us to our former freedom. So, when fasting fights against our enemies, and frees (us) from slavery, and returns us to freedom, then what more proof do you need of its friendship for our family? After all, the greatest proof of friendship is when (others) both love and hate the same ones we love. Do you want to know what kind of decoration fasting is for people, what kind of defense and protection it is? Think about the blessed and wonderful race of monastics. They, having escaped from the noise of the world and ascended to the tops of the mountains, and having built cells in the silence of the desert, as if in some kind of calm haven, took the post of comrades and accomplices for life. But he made them angels from people; and not only them, but whoever observes it in the cities, he raises everyone to the very height of wisdom. Both Moses and Elijah - the pillars of the Old Testament prophets, although they were famous and great in other (virtues), and had great boldness, however, when they wanted to approach God and talk with Him - as much as possible for a person - they resorted to fasting and in his arms they ascended to God. Therefore, God, as soon as he created man, immediately gave him into the hands of the post, entrusting his salvation to him, as a tender mother and the best mentor. “Take food from every tree that is in paradise; but from a tree that includes good and evil, you will not eat it” (Gen. 2:16-17) - this is a kind of fasting. If fasting is necessary in Paradise, then it is much more necessary outside of Paradise; if the medicine is useful before the wound, then much more after the wound; if we needed weapons even before the war against lusts began, then the support of fasting after the opening of such a war on the part of lusts and demons is much more necessary. If Adam had listened to this voice 6, he would not have heard another: “you are earth, and you are gone to earth” (Gen. 3:19). But just as he did not listen to that (voice), so for this (he suffered) death, and worries, and sorrows, and sadness, and a life more painful than any death; for this are thorns and thistles; for this labor and illness, and a life full of sorrows. Have you seen how angry God is when fasting is despised? Find out how He rejoices when fasting is honored. For neglecting fasting, He punished the criminal with death; on the contrary, for respecting fasting, He delivered (those who fast) from death. And to show you the power of fasting, (God) gave him the power, after the verdict (over criminals), after sending them to execution, to take those led to death from the very middle of the road and return them to life. And fasting did this not with two or three or twenty people, but even with a whole people. Then, as the great and wondrous city of Nineveh was already lying on its knees, bowed its head to the very abyss and was ready to receive a blow directed from above, fasting, like some kind of force flown down from above, snatched it (the city) from the very gates of death and returned it to life. But if you like, let’s listen to the story itself. “And the word of the Lord came to Jonah,” it says, “saying: Arise and go to Nineveh, that great city” (Jon. 1:1–2). God, foreseeing the flight of the prophet, from the very beginning wants to arouse pity (in Jonah) with the greatness of the city. But let's listen to sermons. 2. “Three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed” (John 3:4). Why do you talk in advance about the evil that you want to do? Because I won’t do what I tell you in advance. For this reason, He threatened with Gehenna, so as not to take you to Gehenna: let, he says, words frighten you, and deeds not sadden you. Why does he limit the period to such a short time? So that you would recognize the virtue of foreigners - foreigners, that is, the Ninevites, who in three days could appease such wrath (of God) for their sins - and marvel at the philanthropy of God, Who was content with three days of repentance for such great iniquities, and you yourself would not fall into despair, even if you sinned innumerably. Just as someone who is sluggish in soul and careless, although he will have a lot of time for repentance, due to laziness will not do anything important and will not be reconciled with God, so someone who is kind and flaming with zeal, and who repents with great zeal, can in a short moment atone for the sins of many years. Didn't Peter deny three times? Is it not with an oath for the third time? Was it because he was afraid of the words of some insignificant servant? What then? How many years did he need to repent? Not at all; but on the same night he both fell and rose; received both the wound and the medicine; and he fell ill and recovered. How and in what way? Because he cried and sobbed, or better - because he cried not just, but with great fervor, and from the heart; That’s why the evangelist didn’t say that he only cried, but “crying bitterly” (Matthew 26:75). And what is the power of his tears, no word can describe this, he says; only the consequences clearly show. That fall (of Peter) was criminal, because no sin can be compared with the renunciation (of Christ), - however, even after such a great sin, (Christ) again elevated him to his former dignity and entrusted him with the management of the Universal Church, and - most importantly - presented him as having more love for the Lord than all the apostles, because he said: Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?” (John 21:15) And nothing can compare with such love as a virtue. So, lest you say that God justly forgave the Ninevites as foreigners and fools, it is said: “Slave... ignorant ... the will of his master, and having not ... done, ... the slaughter will be few” (Luke 12:47-48), - so that you, I say, would not say this, for this purpose He introduced you to Peter, a servant who fully knew the will of the Lord. And although he committed the most serious sin, yet look at the height of boldness he has ascended to. So, do not despair because of sins: in sin the most criminal thing is when you remain in sin, and in the fall the worst thing is when you lie down after the fall. Paul weeps and weeps about this; he calls this worthy of tears: (I’m afraid) no, he says, when I come to you, “God will “humble” me “...and I will mourn for many,” not just “those who have sinned,” but “those who have not repented of uncleanness and fornication and the wickedness that they have committed” (2 Cor. 12:21). And for repentance, what time could be more convenient than the time of fasting? 3. But let's return to history. Hearing these words 7, the prophet “went down to Joppa, ... to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (John 1:3). Where are you running, man? Have you not heard what the prophet says: “Where will I go from Your Spirit? And I will flee from Your presence" (Ps. 139:7)? To the ground? But “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulfillment thereof” (Ps. 23:1). To hell? “If I go down,” it is said, “to hell, there you are” (Ps. 139:8). To heaven? But “even if I ascend to heaven, you are there” (Ps. 139:8). Or at sea? But “and there,” it is said, “Your right hand will hold me” (Ps. 139:10), which also happened to him (Jonah). But such is sin: it brings our soul to great foolishness. Just as people with their heads heavy from intoxication wander aimlessly and indiscriminately, and whether there is a hole in front of them, or a rapid, or something else, they fall there out of imprudence, so those who strive for sin, as if drunk, from the desire to commit a sin, do not know what they are doing, do not see anything - neither the present nor the future. Are you running from the Lord, tell me? So wait a little, and in fact you will find out that you cannot escape from the hands of the sea under His control. Indeed, as soon as (Jonah) boarded the ship, it raised waves and rose high. Just as a faithful servant, having found a runaway fellow-slave who has stolen something from the master's property, never ceases to disturb those who received him in every possible way until she takes him with her, so the sea, having found and recognized its fellow-servant, in every possible way worries the shipmen, is restless, howls, and although it does not drag them to court, it threatens to sink the ship along with the people if they do not give it the fellow-servant. What about the shipbuilders? “He created,” it is said, “the casting of vessels into ships” (John 1:5). But the ship did not lighten, since all the weight remained on it, i.e. the body of a prophet is a heavy burden not because of the essence of the body, but because of the severity of sin, because there is nothing so heavy and unbearable as sin and disobedience. Therefore, Zechariah depicted him under the guise of a word, and David, describing his being, said: “My iniquities have surpassed my head, like a heavy burden has weighed down on me” (Ps. 37:5). And Christ cried out to those who lived in many sins: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). So sin even then weighed down the ship and was ready to plunge it into the water; and Jonah slept and snored. It was a difficult dream - not a dream of pleasure, but of sorrow - not of carelessness, but of sadness, because good servants soon realize their sins, which happened to Jonah. Having committed a sin, he then learned the severity of sin. Such is the property of sin that, after it is born, it awakens illnesses in the soul that gave birth to it; not the way it happens at our birth. As soon as we are born, we stop the pains of birth, and he, as soon as he is born, torments the thoughts that gave birth to him with illnesses. What about the helmsman? “I came,” it says, “to him” (Jonah), “and said: ... arise, and pray to the Lord your God” (Jon. 1:6). He had already learned from experience that it was not an ordinary storm, but a punishment sent down from God - such a disturbance before which human art is powerless, and that the hands of the helmsman are useless here; to tame him, another, better Helmsman, ruling the whole world, was needed; help was needed from above. Therefore, the shipmen, leaving oars and sails, and tackle, and everyone, taking their hands from the oars, raised them to the sky and prayed to God. When this did not help, then, says Scripture, “the casting of lots” (John 1:7), and the lot finally revealed the culprit. However, they did not just take him and throw him into the water, but in the midst of such great confusion and anxiety, as if in the midst of great silence, they held a trial on the ship, allowed him (Jonah) to speak, allowed him to defend himself, and examined everything carefully, as if they had to give an account of their verdict to someone. Listen to how they examine everything, as if in a court of law. “What is your work, and where are you coming from and where are you going, and from what country and what people are you” (John 1:8)? The sea has already accused him, crying out against him, the lot has convicted him and testified against him - however, they, despite neither the cry of the sea, nor the testimony of the lot, have not yet pronounced a sentence; but, just as in a court of law, although there are accusers present, there are witnesses and evidence, the judges do not pronounce a sentence until the defendant himself admits to his sin, so here the shipbuilders, foreign and foolish people, observed the order that happens in courts. And this (they did) amid such great fear, such great excitement, such great anxiety, when the sea did not allow them to breathe - it was so noisy and furious, raising incessant waves with fury and howling. Where, beloved, did such care for the prophet come from? From the dispensation of God. God arranged it this way, admonishing the prophet through this to be philanthropic and meek, and as if calling to him and saying: imitate the foolish shipmen. They do not neglect even one soul, they are not merciless towards your body alone; and you betrayed, as much as depended on you, an entire city with so many thousands of inhabitants. They, having discovered the culprit of the disasters that befell them, are in no hurry to pronounce a verdict of guilt, but you, having no reason to blame the Ninevites, drowned them and destroyed them. Moreover, you did not listen when I commanded you to go preaching to call them (the Ninevites) to salvation; and these (shipmen), and without any order, use all means to spare you, who turned out to be guilty, from punishment. In fact, even after the accusation from the sea, after the evidence through the lot, when Jonah himself accused himself and admitted to fleeing, even then they did not rush to the death of the prophet, but hesitated, held back and used all means so that, even after such an accusation, they would not betray him to the fury of the sea. But the sea did not allow this, or better yet, God did not allow this, wanting to enlighten Jonah, both through the shipmen and through the whale. And just like that, when they heard: “Take me and throw me into the sea, and the sea will be satisfied with you” (John 1:12), they tried to approach the land, but the waves did not allow it. 4. So you saw the prophet running: listen to how he confesses from the depths - from the belly of the whale. He did this (fleeing) as a man, but he performed this (confession) as a prophet. So, the sea, having received him, threw him, as if into some kind of prison, into the belly of a whale, in order to keep the fugitive unharmed for the Lord. Neither the fierce waves that took him strangled him, nor the fiercer whale than the waves that swallowed him, did not destroy him in the belly, but preserved him and brought him to the city. Both the sea and the whale showed supernatural obedience so that the prophet would come to their senses. And so he, having come to the city, read the sentence as a royal letter of punishment, and cried out, saying: “Three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed” (Jon. 3:4). The Ninevites heard this and did not show disbelief or disdain, but immediately everyone hurried to the post - men, wives, slaves, masters, bosses, subordinates, children, elders; even the dumb were not excluded from this social feat; Everywhere there is sackcloth, everywhere there is ashes, everywhere there is crying and crying. And he himself, clothed with a diadem, descended from the royal throne, spread sackcloth under him, sprinkled ashes, and thus snatched the city from danger. An extraordinary phenomenon was revealed: porphyry gave way to sackcloth! Indeed, what purple was powerless to do, sackcloth could do; What the diadem did not do, the ashes did. You see, it was not in vain that I said that one should be afraid not of fasting, but of drunkenness and overeating? Drunkenness and gluttony shook and threatened to overthrow the city when it stood, and fasting supported it even when it wavered and was ready to fall. With fasting, Daniel entered the lions' den and came out as if he were there with meek sheep. The lions, although seething with rage and casting murderous glances, did not touch the meal that lay before them, 8 but refused this food, while nature itself excited them (because there is nothing fiercer than these animals), and hunger (because they had not eaten for seven days), like some kind of internal executioner, forced them to tear apart the prophetic womb. With fasting, the three youths, entering the Babylonian oven and spending a long time in the fire, came out of the oven with bodies lighter than the fire itself. But if that fire was really fire, how could it not do what is characteristic of fire? If the bodies of the youths were exactly bodies, how could they not suffer what is characteristic of bodies? How? Ask the post, and he will answer you, and he himself will solve the riddle for you: it really was a riddle. The nature of bodies fought with the nature of fire, and victory remained with the bodies! Have you seen the wonderful fight? Have you seen another wonderful victory? Marvel at the fast and accept it with open arms. If he helps in the furnace, and preserves in the lion’s den, and drives out demons, and changes the definition of God, and tames the fury of passions, and leads us to freedom, and produces great silence in our thoughts, then wouldn’t it be extremely crazy to run away and fear him, when he has so many good things in his hands? He, they say, wears our body down to the point of weakness. But the more “our outer man decays,” the more “our inner man is renewed all the days” (2 Cor. 4:16). Or better yet, if you want to carefully examine the matter, you will find that fasting is the mother of bodily health. And if you don’t believe my words, ask the doctors about it, and they will show it more clearly. They call abstinence the mother of health, and about diseases in the legs, and about diseases of the head, about apoplexy and about vomiting, and about water sickness, and about inflammations and tumors, and about countless other diseases they say that they come from delicacy and satiety, like unclean streams from the most unclean source, harmful both to the health of the body and to the chastity of the soul. 5. So, let us not be afraid of fasting, which delivers us from such great evils. I am telling you this not without reason, but because I see many people who shy away and run away, as if they wanted to give them into the hands of some harsh wife, and today they are ruining themselves through drunkenness and satiety. Therefore, I advise: do not ruin in advance the benefits expected from fasting by overeating and drunkenness. And people with an upset stomach, when, before they need to take bitter medicine, fill themselves with excess food and then take the medicine, they will endure this bitterness, but will not receive any benefit, because they have hindered the effect of the medicine on spoiled phlegm. That is why doctors advise them to go to bed without having dinner, so that the full power of the medicine will immediately be applied to the excess phlegm that causes the disease. The same thing happens with fasting. If today you indulge in great drunkenness, and tomorrow you take the medicine of fasting, you will make it useless and fruitless for you; and although you will endure labor, you will not reap the fruits of fasting, because it will use all its strength against the harm just caused by drunkenness. If you prepare a light body for him and take the medicine with a sober thought, you can cleanse many past sins. So, let us not get drunk when entering into fasting, and again indulge in drunkenness after fasting, so that the same thing does not happen that happens when someone kicks a sick body that has just recovered from an illness, and this again plunges it into a more serious illness. This also happens to our soul, when in both cases - both at the beginning and at the end of fasting - we darken the sobriety we received from abstinence with a cloud of drunkenness. Just as those who are preparing to fight with wild animals first protect their main limbs with many weapons and shields, and then they begin to fight with the animals, so now there are many people who, preparing to fight with fasting, as if with a wild beast, protect themselves with food, and, having burdened and darkened themselves to the extreme, they very unreasonably meet the quiet and meek face of fasting. And if I ask you: why are you going to the bathhouse today? - you will say: in order to fast with a clean body. And if I ask: why are you drunk? - you will say again: because I am preparing to enter into fasting. But isn’t it strange to celebrate this most beautiful holiday with a clean body, but with an unclean and intoxicated soul? One could say more than this, but for sensible people this is enough to correct it. So, I need to stop speaking, because I want to listen to my father’s voice. We, like little shepherd’s children, play a light pipe, sitting under the shade of this sanctuary, as if under an oak or poplar tree: and he, just as an excellent musician, having tuned a golden harp, delights all listeners with the harmony of sounds, so he gives us great benefit not by the harmony of sounds, but by the harmony of words and deeds. Christ is looking for such teachers: “He who created,” He said, “and taught, this one will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19). So is this one 9; that is why he is great in the Kingdom of Heaven. May we, through the prayers of him and all his co-servants, be worthy to receive the Kingdom of Heaven, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. About fasting, said in the sixth week of the Holy Pentecost 1. How pleasant are the waves of this spiritual sea for us - more pleasant than the waves of the sea! These are erected by the disturbance of the winds, and those by the desire to hear (teaching); these, rising, bring the helmsman into great fear, and those, appearing, put great boldness into the speaker. These serve as a sign of the raging sea, and those are a sign of a joyful soul; these, hitting the stones, produce a dull noise, and those, echoing the word of the teaching, make a pleasant sound. In the same way, a breath of light wind, when it falls on the fields and either bends them to the ground or raises the heads of the ears of grain, represents a semblance of sea waves on land. But this field is even more pleasant than those fields, 10 because it was not a breath of wind, but the grace of the Holy Spirit that aroused and warmed your souls; and the fire about which Christ once said: “Fire has come to burn on the earth, and whatever I will, if it is already on fire” (Luke 12:49), - this fire, I see, has been cast down and is burning in your souls. Since the fear of Christ has kindled so many lamps for us, let us pour the oil of teaching into them, so that our light may last longer. Now, the time of fasting is already drawing to an end for us; having reached the middle of the race, we have already come to the end (of it), because just as the one who began moved towards the middle, so the one who reached the middle touches the end. So, the time (of fasting) is drawing to an end, and the boat is already looking at the pier; but the point is not to enter the pier, but to bring the boat into it not without profit. I ask and pray to all of you, let everyone in his conscience consider (his) trade in fasting, and if he finds that the profit is great, let him further increase (it) by trade; if he (finds that) nothing has been collected, let him spend the rest of the time on this trade. While the fair is on, let us begin to trade in order to gain a large profit, so that we do not leave empty-handed, so that, having taken up the labor of fasting, we do not lose the reward for fasting. You can, after all, endure the labor of fasting and not receive the reward for fasting. How? When we abstain from food, but do not abstain from sins; when we don’t eat meat, but eat at the houses of the poor; when we do not get drunk with wine, but get drunk with evil lust; when we spend the whole day without food, and all day we attend shameless spectacles. This is the work of fasting, and there is no reward for fasting when we go to see spectacles of lawlessness. (My) word is not for you; I know that you are free from guilt; but the saddened have the custom of pouring out anger on those present when the culprits (their sadness) are not with them. What is the benefit of those who fast to go to the spectacles of iniquity, to attend a general school of shamelessness, a public school of intemperance, to sit on the seat of destruction? Let him not make a mistake who calls the stage, this most destructive place, full of all kinds of diseases, this Babylonian oven, a seat of destruction, and a school of debauchery, and a school of intemperance, and everything else that is most shameful. Indeed, the devil, having plunged the city into the theater, as if into some kind of furnace, then sets it on fire from below, adding not brushwood, as that foreigner once did, not oil, not tow, not resin, but what is much worse than this, lustful glances, shameful words, depraved poems and the most worthless songs. That furnace was kindled by the hands of foreigners, and this furnace is kindled by thoughts more foolish than those of foreigners. This oven is worse than that one, because the fire (here) is more destructive: it does not burn the body, but destroys the well-being of the soul; and what’s even worse is that those burning (in this fire) don’t even feel, because if they felt, they wouldn’t laugh loudly at the sight of what’s happening. And this is the worst thing, when the patient does not even know that he is sick, and, burning in a pitiful and disastrous manner, does not feel inflammation. What is the benefit of fasting when you deprive your body of food permitted by law, but give your soul food that is unlawful; when you sit there (in the theater) all day long, looking at the shame and humiliation of common (human) nature, at harlot wives, at actors who, collecting everything that is bad in every house, present spectacles of fornication? Yes, there you can see fornication and adultery, you can hear blasphemous speeches, so that the disease penetrates the soul both through the eyes and through the ears; (the actors there) represent the misfortunes of others, which is why they were given a shameful name. So, what is the profit from fasting when the soul feeds on all this? With what eyes will you look at your wife after those spectacles? How will you look at your son, as a servant, as a friend? You must either be shameless, talking about what happens there, or remain silent, blushing with shame. But you don’t leave here like that, no, you can safely retell at home everything that is said here - prophetic broadcasts, apostolic teachings, the laws of the Lord - you can offer the whole meal of virtue; and with such a story you will make your wife more chaste, your son more reasonable, your servant more devoted, your friend more sincere, and you will force the enemy himself to stop enmity. 2. You see how these instructions are saving in everything, and those ideas are completely indecent. What is the use of fasting, tell me, when you fast with your body and commit fornication with your eyes? After all, fornication consists not only in sexual intercourse or physical copulation, but also in a shameless glance. What is the use when you are both here and there? I teach, but he corrupts; I apply a medicine to a disease, and it strengthens the cause of the disease; I extinguish the flame of nature, and he kindles the flame of lust. What's the use, tell me? “One creates, and another destroys; what can accomplish more than labor” (Sir.34:23)? So, let us spend time - not here and there, but only here, so that here we can spend it usefully, not in vain, not in vain and not in condemnation. “One creates, and another destroys; what can accomplish more than labor?” Even if there were many creators, and one destroyer, then the ease of destruction would triumph over the multitude of creators. Truly, it is a great shame that both young men and old men rush to such pursuits. And let evil be limited only to shame, although this is not easy for a noble person, on the contrary, for a prudent person it is a very important loss, both disgrace and shame; but shame does not mean only punishment, no, for this there is also the threat of great execution and torment. Those sitting there (at the spectacles) are all, of necessity, caught in the sin of fornication, not because they copulate with the wives who are there, but because they look at them with shameless eyes. And that they too inevitably become guilty of fornication (to prove this), I will not tell you my word, so that you do not neglect (it), but I will read to you the law of God, which can no longer be neglected. What does God's law say? “Hear what was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery. “I say to you, that everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). Have you seen a perfect adulterer? Did you see the sin that was completely committed? And what’s even worse - an adulterer caught in fornication, not at a human, but at the Divine Judgment Seat, where the punishments are endless? “Everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (The Savior) plucks out not only the disease, but also the root of the disease. The root of fornication is shameless lust, therefore He punishes not only fornication, but also for lust, the mother of fornication. Doctors do the same: they arm themselves not only against diseases, but also against their very causes; and if they see that the eyes are sick, they stop the flow of thin mucus from above, from the churches. This is what Christ does. Fornication is a serious eye disease, a disease of the eyes, not only of the body, but even more of the soul; therefore (He) stopped the current of shamelessness there with the fear of the law; Therefore, he determined the punishment not only for fornication, but also for lust. “I have already committed adultery with her in my heart”: and when the heart is corrupt, what good is the rest of the body? When in plants and trees we see the core eaten away, we no longer value the rest of the body: so in a person, when the heart is lost, the health of the rest of the body is in vain. The driver has fallen, died, been cast down: the horses are running in vain. The law is difficult and has a lot of hard things in it, but the great one also gives a crown; These are precisely the things that are difficult, that they bring great rewards. But pay attention not to the work, but think about reward; This also happens in everyday affairs. If you keep in mind the difficulty of the feats, the task will seem difficult and unbearable, but if you look at the reward, it will be easy and bearable. Likewise, the helmsman, if he only looked at the waves, would never take the boat out of the pier: but, looking at the profit, and not at the waves, he dares to venture into the immeasurable sea. Likewise, a warrior, if he looks at his wounds and defeats, will never put on armor; if he looks not at wounds, but at trophies and victories, he will rush to the battle as to a meadow. Thus, what is difficult by nature becomes easy when we not only think about the work, but also look at the rewards for them. Do you want to know how what is difficult by nature becomes easy? Listen to Paul, who says: “For even now the lightness of sorrow... will increase for us the weight of everlasting glory” (2 Cor. 4:17). These words are mysterious. If “sadness”, then what about “light”? If “light”, then what about “sadness”? One is incompatible with the other. But (Paul) solved the riddle by showing the lightness (of sadness) with the words that followed. Which ones? “Those who are not seen by us” (2 Cor. 4:18). He offered a crown - and made the feat easy; showed the reward - and made the work easier. So do you, when you see a wife, beautiful in face and in light clothes; when you see that lust incites (you) and that your soul (yours) is looking for this spectacle: look at the crown prepared for you in Heaven - and you will pass by such a spectacle. Have you seen a slave like you? Think about the Lord - and, undoubtedly, you will stop the illness. If the children, following the teacher, do not frolic, do not look around, do not get scared, especially you will not experience anything like that, seeing Christ with you in your mind. “Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” With pleasure and very often I repeat the words of this law; Oh, if only I could talk about this to you all day long, or better, not to you, but to those guilty of sins - and indeed to you, because you will be safer, and those who are sick will recover sooner. “Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” 3. Just reading these words is enough to cleanse all the rottenness of sin. But be lenient: we cleanse wounds, and the one who cleanses wounds must also use sharp medicines. The longer you listen to (these) words, the more the pus will be purified. Like fire, the more it embraces gold, the more it destroys rust; so the fear inspired by these words, the deeper it penetrates your soul, the more it will cleanse all the sin of intemperance. Let us burn him here with the word of teaching, so that we will not have to burn him there with the fire of Gehenna: this fire will not touch the soul that has left here in purity, but it will embrace the soul that has left here in sin. “Everyone’s work,” says Scripture, “will be tempted by fire” (1 Cor. 3:13). Let us test ourselves now without illness, so as not to be tested then with illness. Whatever you say, you will say, but the law is difficult. What then? Does God command us the impossible? No, I say; close your mouth, do not blame the Lord; This is not an excuse, but a new sin worse than the previous one. And that many sinners have the custom of blaming the Lord - so listen. The one who had received five talents came and brought the other five; the one who had received two talents approached and brought the other two; The one who had received (one) talent began and, since he could not bring another talent, he brought an accusation instead of a talent. How? “I see you,” he says, “how cruel you are.” O shameless slave! He is not content with sin, but will also bring the charge against the master: “Reap where you did not sow, and gather where you did not waste” (Matthew 25:20–24). So in this life, all those who do nothing good aggravate their sins by blaming the Lord. So, do not blame the Lord: He did not command the impossible? Do you want to know that He did not command the impossible? Many do even more than what is commanded, but they would not have done it with all their zeal if what was commanded was impossible. The Lord did not command virginity, but many keep (it); did not command poverty, and many abandon their (property), testifying with their deeds that the commandments of the law are very easy: they would have done more than what was commanded if what was commanded were not easy. The Lord did not command virginity, because whoever commands virginity subjects a person to the necessity of the law and against his will, and whoever only advises leaves the listener master of (his) will. That is why Paul says: “But concerning virgins I have not commanded the Lord, but I give counsel” (1 Cor. 7:25). You see, not a command, but advice? You see, not a commandment, but a suggestion? But here there is a big difference: one is a matter of necessity, the other is a matter of arbitrariness. I don’t command, he says, so as not to burden; I convince and advise in order to persuade. So Christ did not say: all remain in virginity, because if He had commanded everyone to be virgins, and made this commandment a law, then the one who fulfilled (it) would not have received the great honor that he receives now, and the one who transgressed would have suffered the most severe punishment. Do you see how the Lawgiver spares us, how he cares about our salvation? Couldn’t He have given this commandment and said: let those who keep virginity be glorified, and those who don’t be punished? But (through this) He would burden our nature, but He spares it. He placed virginity outside the field, above the place of struggle, so that both those who observe would discover the greatness of their soul, and those who do not observe would take advantage of the Lord’s condescension. He also did not give a commandment about poverty, he did not just say: “sell your possessions,” but: “If you want to be perfect, go and sell your possessions” (Matthew 19:21). Let (it) be in your will; be the master of (your) intention; I do not force, I do not burden; No, I crown the one who performs, and I do not punish the one who does not perform. What is done according to command and duty does not deserve great reward; and what is done by will and one’s own jealousy brings brilliant crowns. And I imagine Paul as a witness to this: “Even if I preach the gospel,” he says, “I have no praise.” Why? “For I am in need; woe is it to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16). You see, he who fulfills what is prescribed by the law does not deserve a great reward, because it is a necessary duty; and he who does not comply is subject to punishment and torment. “Woe,” he says, “is it for me if I do not preach the gospel.” But in the reasoning of other things that (depend on) will, it is not so; but what? “What kind of bribe do we have? May I preach the Gospel of Christ without compensation, so that I do not do it in my region” (1 Cor. 9:18). There was a law there, so (Paul) did not deserve great reward; and this was a matter of will, therefore he received a great reward. 4. I said all this not without a reason, but for the sake of the law of God, to show that it is not heavy, not burdensome, not difficult and not impossible to fulfill. Now let us prove this with the very words of Christ. “Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Christ also knew this, that many would blame the law for difficulty: therefore, He did not offer it simply and separately, but immediately recalled the ancient law, in order to show through comparison both the ease (of the law) and His love for mankind. How, listen. He didn’t just say: “Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (listen to this with attention); but first he recalled the ancient law, saying: “Have you heard what was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery. “I say to you, that everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Have you seen two laws - the ancient and the new, (one) which Moses gave, and (the other) which He Himself introduces? However, He also gave it (to Moses), because He also spoke through Moses. And how can it be seen that He gave that law? I will give evidence not from John and not from the apostles, since I now have a dispute with the Jews, but from the prophets whom they seem to believe - from them I will prove that both the ancient and the New (Testament) have one Lawgiver. So what does Jeremiah say? “I am making a new covenant with you” (Jer.31:31). Do you see the name of the New (Testament) in the Old? Do you see that this name has become known after so many years? “I bequeath to you...a new covenant.” But how can we see that He (Christ) also gave the Old Testament? Having said: “I command you ... a new covenant,” (the Lord) added: “not according to the covenant which your fathers commanded” (Jer. 31:32). That's true; but we still have not proven our subject. It is necessary to expose and explain everything that presents a case for dispute, so that our word is pure on all sides and so that there is no excuse left for the shameless. “I bequeath to you...a new covenant, not according to the covenant that your father commanded.” God made a covenant with Noah when there was a flood, wanting to save us from fear, so that we, even at the sight of a flood, and always, as we see rain, would not be afraid that that universal destruction would happen again; therefore, he says, “I make a covenant with you and with all flesh” 12 (Gen. 9:9). He also established a covenant of circumcision with Abraham; He also established a covenant through Moses, known to everyone. Jeremiah said: “I command you...a new covenant, not according to the covenant that your fathers commanded.” Tell me, which fathers? And Noah was a father, and Abraham was a father: which fathers is He talking about? The uncertainty of faces produces darkness. Be careful here. “Not according to the covenant which your father commanded.” So that you do not say that (God) speaks about the covenant with Noah, so that you do not say that he speaks about the covenant with Abraham, this is how He recalled the very time of the covenants. Having said: “I bequeath to you ... a covenant, not according to the covenant that your fathers commanded,” he immediately pointed to the time: “on the day that I eat them by the hand, I will bring them out of the land of Egypt” (Jer. 31:31-32). Do you see how clear the definition of time is? Now even the Jew does not contradict: remember the times, and accept legislation. “On the day on which I eat their hands.” But why does God speak about the image of the exodus (of the Jews from Egypt)? “I eat them by the hand, that I may lead them out of the land of Egypt.” To show His fatherly love, He brought them out, not like slaves, but took them, like a father, a child, and so freed them; He did not order him to walk behind him like a slave, but took him by the right hand, like a noble and free son, and led him out like that. Have you seen that both covenants have one Lawgiver? Now that we have already finished the competition, I will prove this to you from the New Testament, so that you can see the agreement of (both) testaments. Have you seen prophecy through words? Know also prophecy through images. But just as it is again unclear what prophecy through an image is, and what prophecy through a word is, I will explain this briefly. Prophecy by image is prophecy of events, and another prophecy is prophecy by words; (The Lord) convinced the most intelligent with words, and the foolish with a vision of events. Since a great event was about to happen, and God had to take on flesh; since the earth had to become Heaven, and our nature was to rise to the nobility of the Angels; since the preaching of future blessings exceeded hope and expectation, so that the new and extraordinary, appearing suddenly, would not confuse those who would then see and hear it, (God) foreshadowed (all this) in advance through deeds and words, and thus accustomed our hearing and sight and prepared the future. And this was exactly what we were talking about, i.e., what does prophecy mean through an image and what does prophecy mean through a word: one through events, the other through words. I will tell you a prophecy both in an event and in a word about the same thing: “Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearers” (Is. 53:7). This is a prophecy in words. And when Abraham offered Isaac, seeing a ram entangled in its horns, he actually sacrificed him, and in him, as in an image, he foreshadowed to us the saving passion. 5. Do you want me to prove to you by deeds that, as I said, both of these covenants have one Lawgiver? The sheep saw in (prophecy through) the word (Is. 53:7): know (him) also in the event. “Speak to me, if you wish to be under the law” (Gal.4:21). Well (the apostle) said: “you want to be,” because (they) were not; and if they were under the law, they would not be under the law. These words may be mysterious: (we will explain them). The law of those who are attentive (to him) leads to Christ; and whoever rejects the Teacher (Christ) does not know the teacher (the law) (Gal.3:25). Therefore he says: “Speak to us, who want to be under the law: do you not listen to the law? It is written that Abraham had two sons: one by a slave, and the other by a free woman. Even the essence is allegorical” (Gal. 4:21–22, 24). Do you see prophecy through an event? Having wives is not a word, but an event. I showed you, slave and free, in words, that there is one Lawgiver of both covenants: learn (now) the same thing in images. Abraham had two wives: these are two covenants and one Lawgiver. Just as there is an ram and a ram - one in word, the other in deed, and at the same time there is great agreement in deeds and words, so here there are two covenants; and Jeremiah predicted them in a word, and Abraham depicted them as an event - by having two wives, because just as there is one husband and two wives, there is one Lawgiver and two covenants. But all this has been said and proposed (by me) - after all, it should not deviate from the subject - regarding the words: “Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” So, but the point for which we have proposed all this is “why” (Christ) reads to them (His listeners) the ancient law? He says to them: “Have you heard, as it was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery.” He knew that the commandment was difficult, not in itself, but because of the negligence of those who listened. Much and easy things in themselves become inconvenient when we are careless, just as difficult things become easy and manageable when we are zealous, because difficulty is not in the nature of things, but in the will of those who do it. And that this is so can be seen from the following: honey by its nature is sweet and very pleasant, but for the sick it is both bitter and unpleasant, however, not by its own nature, but by their illness. Likewise, if the law seems difficult, it is not because of its nature, but because of our negligence. It costs me little trouble to prove that it is easy to perform; to make it difficult, it would have to be said differently. Now He says: avoid looking at your wife, put off intemperance; and for it to be difficult, for this it would be necessary to say the opposite: get to know women better, look at the beauty of others, and then conquer lust. That would be difficult. But what He says: run away from the stove, get away from the fire, do not approach the flame, so that you may be unharmed - this is very easy, because such a commandment is in accordance with nature. “Hear what was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not commit adultery.” So, why does (Christ) remind us of the ancient law, intending to introduce another? So that you may know from a comparison (of both laws) that there is no contradiction between one and the other, because when there is a comparison (of two objects), then the judgment (about them) becomes more obvious. Since some were ready to object that (Christ), by saying this, introduces a law contrary to the previous one, then, He says, I lay both laws side by side: test and know their agreement. However, He does this not only for this purpose, but also in order to show that (the new law) is both easy and well-timed. For this purpose he says: “Hear, as it was said to the ancients: you shall not commit adultery” - for so long you have been practicing the ancient law! Just as a teacher, turning to a lazy youth who still wants to study the old lessons, and intending to lead him to higher (knowledge), says: think how much time you have spent on this teaching, so Christ: in order to remind them that (the listeners) had practiced a lot of time in the ancient law and devoted (a lot) to it, and that it was time to move on to the higher law, he pointed out to them the legislation that once existed among their fathers, saying: “Have you heard what was said to the ancients: You shall not commit adultery.” It was said to the ancients, “I say to you.” If He had spoken to the ancients, you would have had reason to complain, because then our nature was less perfect; and when nature (ours) came into greater strength and became more perfect, then the time had come for a more perfect teaching. Therefore, Christ, as soon as he begins legislation, (to prevent) anyone, seeing the great severity of philosophy, does not give in to carelessness and negligence, says: “Unless your righteousness comes out, any more than the scribe and the Pharisee, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Do you require more work from me? Why? Am I not of the same nature with those (ancients)? Am I not (the same) person as they are? So that they don’t say this, why, i.e. increased the work for us, why he appointed great feats, the Lord removed this objection in advance, saying about the Kingdom of Heaven: great, he says, I also offer rewards. Having spoken about labors, speaking about exploits, speaking about the greater severity of legislation, He recalled rewards. “I don’t give you Palestine,” he says, “not a land flowing with milk and honey—no, I offer you Heaven itself.” However, if we have an advantage (over the ancients) in rewards for virtues, then, in case of breaking the law, we are subject to greater punishment for sins. Just as those who lived before the law were subjected to the lightest punishment than those who lived during the time of the law: “For those who sin without the law,” he says, “will perish without the law” (Rom. 2:12), that is, they will not have the law as their accuser, but, he says, I will pronounce judgment on them through their very nature, “with the thought of condemning or reproving among themselves” (Rom. 2:15), so those who sin under grace they will suffer a greater punishment than those who sinned under the law. Paul showed the difference between those and others as follows: “Whoever rejected the law of Moses, without mercy, in the presence of two or three witnesses, dies: how much do you think that the worst will be counted worthy of torment, having trampled upon the Son of God, and having considered the blood of the covenant defilement, by it you have been sanctified, and have rebuked the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:28-29)? Do you see that under grace the punishment is greater and the reward is greater? But as I reminded you of the terrible and spiritual Mysteries, I convince you, and I pray, and I ask, and I wish with all my zeal that you begin this terrible meal, putting aside all sin. “Have peace,” says the apostle, “have holiness with everyone, and through it no one else will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). And whoever is unworthy to see the Lord is unworthy to partake of the Body of the Lord. Therefore, Paul says: “Let everyone tempt...himself, and let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28). He did not discover the wound, did not expose the guilt to public shame, did not present witnesses to the crime: no, inside - in conscience, in the absence of everyone except the All-Seeing God, carry out judgment and examination of your sins, and, examining your whole life, bring your sins to the judgment seat of the mind; correct your wrongdoings, and then with a clear conscience proceed to the sacred meal and partake of the holy sacrifice. Having this in mind, also remembering what we have said about intemperance and what punishment threatens those who shamelessly look at the faces of women, and first having the fear and love of God before our eyes, let us purify ourselves in everything and thus approach the sacred Mysteries, so that we may receive them not for judgment and condemnation, but for the salvation and health of the soul, and for the unceasing hope of this salvation, in Christ Jesus our Lord, To whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. About repentance and contrition of heart, and also about the fact that God is quick to save and slow to punish; here is a wonderful story about Raavi * 1. The Divine Apostle always speaks in divine and heavenly language, and with great skill teaches the word of the Gospel, pronouncing the rules of faith not from his own reason, but according to his royal authority. Mostly, he reveals such art when he addresses sinners with a speech about repentance. I will talk with you about the same subject. So, you heard - I’ll touch on what was said only in part - how this valiant and wondrous man, talking with the Corinthians, said: (I’m afraid) “When I come, I will not mourn for many who have sinned before and did not repent” (2 Cor. 12:20-21). By nature this great teacher was a man, but by will he was a servant of God, which is why he speaks as if in a heavenly language, and as if proclaiming from the very heavens, frightens sinners with threats, and promises forgiveness to those who repent. When I say this, I attribute power not to the (personal) word of Paul, but I elevate everything to the grace of God, which he himself spoke about today: or are you “seeking temptation for Christ who speaks in me?” (2 Cor. 13:3). So, he offers sinners healing medicine and saving repentance. But today, the authoritative saying of the Savior, abundantly granting remission of sins, coincided with the apostolic reading. Healing the paralytic, the Savior, as you just heard, said: “Son, your many sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5), and the remission of sins is the source of salvation and the reward of repentance. Repentance is a medicine that destroys sin; it is a gift from heaven, a wonderful power, by grace conquering the power of laws, why it does not reject the fornicator, does not drive away the adulterer, does not turn away the drunkard, does not disdain the idolater, does not sweep away the slanderer, does not persecute the blasphemer, nor the proud person, but changes everyone, because repentance is the crucible of sin. But it is necessary to know in advance God’s intention (when He tolerates those who sin), approaching such a consideration not according to our conjectures, but by showing how the truth is testified by the Divine Scriptures themselves. When God is patient with sinners, He has a dual salvific goal: on the one hand, He seeks salvation for them through repentance, and on the other hand, He prepares a good deed for their descendants, who will succeed in virtue. God, I repeat again, is long-suffering, so that the sinner himself repents and does not close the path to salvation for his descendants, because, although the sinner himself remains unrepentant, God often spares the root in order to preserve the fruits, and often, as I said before, he corrects the root itself; and when the latter is subject to final damage, God delays the punishment, waiting for others to be saved through repentance. How? Listen (to the following): Terah, the father of Abraham, was an idolater, but was not punished here for his wickedness; Yes, this was as it should be, because where would such a fruit of faith come from if God had cut off the root? What's worse than Esau? Look here at another example of Divine mercy. What is more shameless than his wickedness? Was he not a fornicator and a defiler, as the apostle said (Heb. 12:16)? Is he not a matricide, is he not a parricide? Isn't he a brother's murderer, at least in his thoughts? Wasn’t he hated by God, as Scripture testifies, saying: “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau” (Rom. 9:13)? If he is a fornicator, and a fratricide, and a defiler, and is hated by God, then why is he not removed (from the world), why is he not torn out, why does not a worthy punishment immediately befall him? Why? Indeed, the reason should be stated. If God had destroyed him, the world would have lost the greatest fruit of righteousness, and listen to which one: Esau gave birth to Raguel, Raguel to Zara, Zara to Job. Do you see how the flower of patience would perish if God had first put the root to death? 2. Think the same way about all events. Thus, God shows long-suffering towards the Egyptians who uttered intolerant blasphemies, for the sake of those churches that are now blooming in Egypt, for the sake of monasteries and those who chose the angelic life. In fact, both jurists say and Roman laws prescribe that a pregnant woman, if she commits a capital crime, should not be put to death before she gives birth to what she is carrying in her womb. And such a law is very fair; The drafters of the laws did not consider it fair to destroy an innocent baby together with the criminal mother. If human laws spare the innocent, then is it not much more likely, as one should think, that God will preserve the root, preparing for its fruits the benefit of repentance. Finally, pay attention to the benefits of repentance for the sinners themselves; The reason for Divine mercy in relation to them is the same. If punishment prevented correction, then the world would finally perish and be destroyed. If God had hastened with punishment, the Church would not have acquired Paul, would not have acquired such a holy and great man. But God tolerated his blasphemy to show his conversion. The longsuffering of God made the persecutor a preacher, the longsuffering of God turned the wolf into a shepherd, the longsuffering of God made the publican an evangelist, through the longsuffering of God we were all pardoned, we were all changed, we were all converted. When you see how someone who was once a drunkard has become a faster; when you see that a detractor has become a theologian; when you see how someone who once defiled his lips with shameful songs now cleanses his soul with divine songs, glorify the long-suffering of God, praise repentance and, looking at such a change, say: “This is the betrayal of the right hand of the Most High” (Ps. 76:11). God is good to all people, but He primarily shows His long-suffering to those who sin. And if you want to listen to something strange - strange, however, in the ordinary sense, but true in the reasoning of piety - then listen. God is strict everywhere towards the righteous, and kind towards sinners, and, being quick to show mercy, He raises up the fallen sinner and says to him: “The one who falls does not rise, or the one who turns away will not turn back?” (Jer.8:4). And one more thing: why did the foolish daughter of Judah turn away with “coldless disgust” (Jer. 8:5)? And again: “turn to Me... and I will turn to you” (Zech. 1:3). And in another place, He, out of His great love for mankind, confirms with an oath that salvation is given by repentance: “As I live, says... the Lord, I do not want the sinner to die, but to be converted... and I live to be him” (Ezek. 33:11). But God says to the righteous: if a man does all righteousness and all truth, and turns aside and sins, I will not remember his righteousness, but will die in his sin (Ezek. 18:24). What severity towards the righteous! What generosity towards a sinner! Thus God uses various and varied means, not Himself changing, but dividing the bounties of His goodness according to our benefit. How? Listen. If He frightens a sinner who persists in sins, he will lead him to despair and deprive him of hope; and if he praises the righteous, he will weaken the power of his virtue and make the latter, as a person who has already received praise, be negligent in his achievements (of virtue). That is why He has mercy on the sinner and fears the righteous. “He is terrible,” says Scripture, “over all those around Him” (Ps. 89:8), and: “The Lord is good to everyone” (Ps. 144:9). “He is terrible,” he says, “over all those around Him.” Who are these surrounding people if not saints? “God,” says David, “we glorify in the council of saints, is great and terrible above all those around Him” (Ps. 88:8). If He sees the fallen, He extends the hand of mercy; if he sees someone standing, he puts fear into (him), and He does so with justice and justice, because He strengthens the righteous with fear, and restores the sinner with mercy. Do you want to know how timely His goodness is, and how useful and suitable His severity is for us? (In this case) pay careful attention (to my words) so that this lofty reasoning does not escape you. The sinner wife, mired in all kinds of sins and iniquities, guilty of so many sins, obsessed with countless sinful deeds, thirsting for salvation from repentance, entered the feast of saints - I call the feast of saints (this feast) because the Holy of Holies was present here. When the Savior was reclining in the house of Simon the Pharisee, this sinful wife came, touched the Savior’s feet, washed His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. And the Lover of Mankind raises up the one buried in countless sins, saying: “Her sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:47). I do not intend now to explore this whole story, but (I want) to give only one piece of evidence. So, look at the generosity! “For his (peace’s) sake, I say to you: her many sins are forgiven, for you have loved much.” So, this sinful wife received the forgiveness of so many sins, and Mary, the sister of Moses, for a small murmur, was condemned to leprosy (Num. 12:10). God says to sinners: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow” (Is. 1:18); by repentance He changes darkness into light and with a word of goodness resolves countless sins; to the one who walks in righteousness he says: “Whoever... even says to his brother:...you are a freak, guilty of hell fire” (Matthew 5:22). For one word he determined such a punishment, but with many sins he reveals great leniency. 3. Notice also something worthy of surprise. Our sins are considered as debts, and while God forgives the entire debt to repentant sinners, on the contrary, He also demands interest from the righteous. A man approached Him who owed many talents, and since he, repenting and with a strong request, prayed for a deed, and said: “Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay everything” (Matthew 18:26), the Lover of Mankind did not wait for payment, but imputed recognition instead of paying the debt. He forgave the debtor of ten thousand talents absolutely, while from the righteous, He says, He will demand even more interest: “Because they did not give my money to the merchant, and if I came with interest, I would torture them” (Luke 19:23). I say this not because God is supposedly hostile to the righteous - for God there is nothing more desirable than a righteous person - but because, as I said earlier, He consoles the sinner in order to restore, and He frightens the righteous in order to confirm (in righteousness); and the first forgives numerous sins, as enemies and arrogant ones, while in the latter he strictly notes the unimportant, wanting there to be no lack of their perfection. Whatever is rich in this world is a righteous man with God, and whatever is poor in this world is a sinner with God. There is nothing poorer than the sinner, and nothing richer than the virtuous. That is why Paul says about those who live in godliness and righteousness: “I thank God... for I have been enriched in everything through Him, in all speech and in all understanding” (1 Cor. 1:4-5), and about the wicked, blessed Jeremiah says: “They are so poor that they were not able to hear the word of the Lord” (Jer. 5:4). Do you see how he calls those who have rejected piety wretched? So, God has mercy on sinners as the poor, but He exacts punishment from the righteous as from the rich; the former condescends for the sake of poverty, and from the latter, due to the richness of their piety, he strictly demands an account. As He deals with the righteous and sinners, so He deals with the rich and the poor. Just as He restores the sinner with mercy, and frightens the righteous with severity, so He also shows His care in the affairs of the world. If He sees powerful kings, princes, and everyone (in a word) abounding in wealth shining with their virtues, then He speaks to them, arousing fear, and usefully adds fear to power. “And now, O kings, understand: Punish yourself, all you who judge the earth. Work for the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling” (Ps. 2:10-11), because He is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). Where the leadership of power is, there He applies the fear of His Kingdom, where the humility of simplicity is, there He brings the medicine of His mercy, because He is the great God - the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and He, descending from His dignity, is, according to the image of the Holy Scriptures, both the Father of the orphans and the Judge of widows, being at the same time the King of kings, the Prince of princes and the Lord dominant. Do you see how great His generous mercy is? Do you see how useful (that) fear is with piety and power (which He inspires)? Where He saw that it would be enough to console the authorities, He put fear to good use; and where he saw orphanhood oppressed by humiliation and widowhood impoverished in exhaustion, there he gave mercy as a consolation. I am the Father of the orphans (Ps.67:6). God acts in two ways: He shows His mercy and punishes His power. He calls Himself the Father of the orphans, wanting to comfort the unfortunate and at the same time frighten strong people so that they do not offend orphans and widows. Since death stole from them: from one - the father, from the other - the husband, the law of Divine love restores those who were struck by the law of nature, and the same grace in the person of the King of saints gives the widow a Judge, and the orphan a Father. So, if you, wicked man, oppress widows, then you irritate the One who cares about them; if you offend orphans, you offend the sons of God. I, he says, am the Father of the orphans and the Judge of widows (Ps. 67:6). Who is so bold in his wickedness as to offend the sons of God and insult the widows whom God cares for? Do you see how wisely He prepares the medicine of piety; (Do you see how He), without changing Himself, but adapting to human needs, inspires fear in some and shows mercy to others? So, let us use the saving medicine of repentance, or better yet, we will receive from God the repentance that heals us, because we do not bring it to Him, but He gave it to us. Do you see His severity in the law? Do you see His mercy in grace? When I talk about severity in the law, I do not condemn the court, but glorify the mercy of the gospel grace, because the law inexorably punished those who sinned, and grace with great patience postpones execution in order to bring (the sinner) to correction. So, brothers, let us accept the saving medicine of repentance, let us accept the medicine that cleanses our sins. But true repentance is not that which is pronounced only in words, but that which is confirmed by deeds and, starting from the heart itself, destroys the filth of wickedness. “Wash yourselves,” it is said, “and be clean; take away the wickedness from your hearts before My eyes” (Is. 1:16). What does this excess of words in expression mean? Wasn’t it enough to say: “Put away wickedness from your hearts” to show everything? Why is it added: “before my eyes”? Because human eyes see differently, and the eye of God sees differently. “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Don’t just pretend to be repentant by appearance, but show the fruits of repentance “before My eyes,” which experience the secret places of the heart. 4. But even having been cleansed of sins, we must have these very sins before our eyes. And if God, in His mercy, forgives your sin, keep it before your eyes for the safety of your soul, because the memory of past sins protects against future ones, and whoever laments the past is guarded against their repetition. That is why David says: “I will take away my sin from before me” (Ps. 50:5), so that, having past sins before my eyes, I will not fall into future ones. And that God requires such remembrance from us, listen to how He Himself says: “I am the one who blots out... your sins, and I will not remember them. Remember, and let us be judged,” says the Lord, “say your iniquities first, so that you may be justified” (Is. 43:25-26). God does not require a long period of time for repentance: he said your sin - and you are justified, you repented - and you were pardoned; It is not time that justifies, but the zeal of the repentant that destroys sin. It may happen that someone who has worked for a long time will not achieve salvation, but in a short time someone who has sincerely repented will be freed from sin. Blessed Samuel spent a lot of time in prayer for Saul and spent many nights without sleep, (praying) for the salvation of the sinner, but God, regardless of the time, because the repentance of the sinner was not combined with the prayer of the prophet, says to His prophet: “As long as you weep for Saul, I have humbled him” (1 Samuel 16:1). The word: “until” means the duration (of prayer) and the persistence of the one praying. And God neglected the duration of the prophet’s prayer, because the king’s repentance was not combined with the intercession of the righteous man. On the contrary, blessed David, who, having received the conviction of sin from the holy prophet Nathan, immediately followed the threat with a sincere conversion and said: “those who have sinned to the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13), - this one word, spoken in an instant from a pure heart, immediately as soon as he repented, brought complete salvation, because this word was followed by immediate correction. Therefore, Nathan says to him: “And the Lord has taken away your sin” (2 Samuel 12:13). See how God is slow to punish and quick to save. And think, first of all, how long the Merciful (God) delayed reproof. David sinned; the wife bore in her womb, and no conviction of sin followed; the healer of sin is sent after the child already conceived from sin is born. Why didn’t God immediately bring about the correction of the sinner? Because He knew that when carried away by sin, the soul of sinners becomes blind, that the ears of those immersed in the depths of sin are deaf; That’s why He hesitates in helping the soul in which passion burns, and after so much time He gives reproof—and in an instant both repentance and forgiveness are accomplished. “And the Lord has taken away your sin.” Oh, the economy of God, which leads to salvation by threat! Do you see how quick God is to save you? He does the same with other people, delaying to destruction and hastening to salvation. We, people - I’ll use this comparison - take a long time to build buildings, and we take a lot of time to build a simple house; Thus, it takes a lot of time to build, but not much to destroy. But with God it’s the other way around. When He builds, He builds quickly, and when He destroys, He destroys slowly. God is quick to build, slow to destroy, because both are fitting for God; in the first His power is revealed, in the second His goodness; due to the abundance of power He is swift, due to great goodness He is slow. Our words are confirmed by deeds themselves. In six days God created heaven and earth, great mountains, plains, rocks, valleys, forests, grasses, springs, rivers, Paradise, all (in a word) diversity that amazes our eyes - this is the great and wide sea, islands, coastal and inland countries; God created this entire visible world, with all its beauty, in six days; and He creates the rational and irrational creatures that fill this world and the entire order we see in six days. And this God, so quick in creating (the universe), by His goodness turned out to be slow when he wanted to destroy one city. He wants to destroy Jericho and says to Israel: go around it seven days, and on the seventh day the wall will fall (Joshua 6:3-4). Do you build the whole world in six days, and do you destroy one city in seven days? What hinders Your power? Why don't you suddenly destroy it? Is it not about You that the prophet exclaims: “If You open the heavens, the mountains will tremble at You, and melt like wax before the fire” (Is. 64:1-2)? Without telling about the works of Your power, David says: “We will not be afraid; the earth is always troubled, and the mountains of the sea are cut into the hearts of the sea” (Ps. 45:3)? You can move mountains, throw them into the sea, but you don’t want to (at once) destroy one rebellious city and appoint seven days for its destruction. Why? Not because, he says, power is powerless, but (because) mercy is long-suffering. I grant seven days, like the three days of Nineveh; it may happen that the city will accept the preaching of repentance and be saved. But who will preach repentance to them? The enemies surrounded the city, the leader surrounded the walls; great is the fear (in the city), great is the confusion! What path of repentance did You open for them? Have you sent a prophet? Have you sent an evangelist? Did they have anyone who could instill in them something useful? Yes, he says, they had such a teacher of repentance - that wondrous Rahab, whom I saved through repentance. She was from the same family; but since she did not have the same thoughts as them, then, not having joined in their unbelief, she did not join in their sin. 5. And look, what an unusual sermon of mercy! He who says in the law: “You shall not commit adultery,” nor commit fornication (Ex. 20:14), changing the word (of the law) out of mercy, exclaims through the blessed Jesus: Let Rahab the harlot live (Josh. 6:16). This Jesus, the son of Joshua, who said, “Let the harlot live,” was a type of the Lord Jesus, who says, “Fornicators and tax collectors will go before you in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 21:31). But if she must live, then why is she a harlot? And if she is a harlot, then why “let her live”? I, he says, am pointing to her previous state so that you will marvel at the change that then occurred. What do you say Rahab did that brought her salvation? Is it what she accepted with the world of spies? This is what (every) innkeeper does. It is not through speech alone that she acquires salvation, but through the faith and love of God that precedes it. And in order for you to know the height of her faith, listen to how Scripture itself narrates and testifies to the good deeds she accomplished. She lived in an indecent house, like a precious stone lying in the mud, like gold drowned in mud, like the flower of piety drowned by thorns; a godly soul was imprisoned in a wicked place. Pay careful attention to my words. She received the spies; and whom Israel denied in the wilderness, whom Rahab preached in a profane house. Why do I mention Israel in the wilderness? When the mountain was filled with clouds, darkness, the sound of trumpets, lightning and other terrible phenomena, then from the midst of the fire Israel heard from God: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4), “let there be no gods for you” (Exodus 20:3). I am “high in heaven and low on earth, and there is no”, God “is” Me (Deut. 4:39). Israel, after hearing this, drained the calf and rejected God; he forgot the Master, rejected the Benefactor and said to Aaron: “Gods do for us” (Exodus 32:1). If “gods”, then why “create”? How can they be gods if they can be created? This is how blind passion fights with itself and destroys itself. One calf is poured out, and ungrateful Israel exclaims: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Ex. 32:4). "These bozi"; they see only one calf, one created idol, why (they say) “these bozi”? By this, the people wanted to show that they worship not only what was before their eyes, but also imagine polytheism, express their thoughts, and not just talk about what lies before their eyes. But let's return to our subject. What Israel, protected by so many miracles, guided by the instructions of the law, heard and rejected, is glorified by Rahab, imprisoned in an indecent house. She says to the spies: We have learned what your God did to the Egyptians. The Jew says: “These are your gods... who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” and the harlot attributes salvation not to the gods, but to God: we learned, she says, what your God did for the Egyptians in the desert; We heard, and our heart melted away, and we had no strength (Joshua 2:9, 11). You learned what your God has created. Do you see how she receives the word of the Lawgiver by faith? I know, she says, “for ... your God is ... in heaven and in heaven,” and besides Him there is no God (Joshua 2:11). Rahab prefigured the Church, once defiled by demonic fornication, and now accepting the spies of Christ - the apostles, sent not by Joshua, but by Jesus, the true Savior. “We are,” he says, “for...your God is...the mountain in heaven and the valley on earth” (Joshua 2:9, 11) and besides Him there is no God. The Jews accepted this (teaching) and did not keep it; The Church heard this (teaching) and faithfully observed it. So, Rahab, who prefigured the Church, is worthy of all praise. That is why the valiant Paul, realizing the dignity of her faith and looking at her not as rejected because of her previous state, but as pleasing to God because of her pious conversion, numbered her among all the saints, and said: “By faith Abel offered ... the sacrifice” (Heb. 11:4), by faith Abraham did this and that, “by faith... Noah... created the ark” ( Heb. 11:7), by faith Moses did and accomplished such and such deeds and, having mentioned many saints in order, finally added: “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who resisted, having received spies, ... and having come out in another way” (Heb. 11:31). And look with what great wisdom she combines her good feelings. When those sent by the king to find the spies say to her: “Have men come to you?” - she answers them: “Yes, they entered.” First it asserts the truth in order to then add a lie, because a lie in itself will never deserve trust if it does not protect itself in advance with the truth. That is why those who want to lie convincingly first tell the truth and what is known to everyone, and then add what is already false and doubtful. “Have spies come to you?” “Yes,” she says. If she had said “no” at first, she would have given the messengers a reason to look for her. But she says: they entered and left this way; “marry and... ye will marry them” (Josh. 2:5). Oh, beautiful lie! Oh, beautiful deception, which does not betray the Divine, but preserves piety! So, if Rahab was awarded such salvation by repentance, if she is glorified by the lips of the saints, by the lips of Joshua, who proclaimed in the wilderness: “Let Rahab the harlot live,” as well as Paul, who says: “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who resisted,” then will we not receive much more salvation if we bring repentance? Real life is a time of repentance; The sins that burden us threaten us with great danger if repentance does not prevent punishment. “Let us precede His face in confession” (Ps. 94:2), let us extinguish the fire of sin, not with abundant water, but with small tears. The fire of sin is great, but it is extinguished by a few tears, because a tear extinguishes the fire of sin and washes away the stench of sin. Blessed David testifies to this when, pointing out how strong a tear is, he says: “I will wash my bed every night, I will wet my bed with my tears” (Ps. 6:7). If he wanted to mean only an abundance of tears, then it would be enough to say: “I will wet my bed with my tears”; Why did he say in advance: “I will take it away”? In order to show that tears wash and cleanse from sins. 6. Sins are the cause of all misfortunes; For sins, sorrows are sent, for sins - worries, for sins - wars, for sins - illnesses and all the severe suffering that happens to us. Just as skilled doctors are not content with examining the visible (signs) of diseases, but search for the cause of the visible (their) diseases, so the Savior, wanting to show that sin is the cause of all human misfortunes, turning to a weakened body - since the Healer of souls knew that the latter had first weakened in soul, and then in body - says to him: “Behold, art thou in health: let him not sin, let him not suffer the worse” ( John 5:14); therefore, the cause of the previous illness was sin. He is the cause of punishment, he is the cause of sadness, he is the source of all misfortune. However, I am amazed at how God, who at first determined sorrow (as punishment) for sin for man, violates the (previous) definition with a (new) definition and destroys the (former) condemnation with a (new) condemnation. How, listen. For sin, sorrow was given, and through sorrow sin is destroyed. Listen carefully to my words. God, threatening his wife and imposing punishment for a crime, tells her: “bring forth children in sickness” (Gen. 3:16), and with these words he showed that sickness is the fruit of sin. But, oh, Greatly Generous! He turned the very thing that he gave as punishment (as a means) to salvation. Sin gave birth to sadness, sadness destroyed sin. Just as a worm, born from a tree, destroys the tree itself, so sorrow, born of sin, destroys sin when accompanied by repentance. That’s why Paul says: “Sorrow... like God, unrepentant repentance works toward salvation” (2 Cor. 7:10). Beautiful is the sadness in the souls of those who sincerely repent; It is fitting for sinners to cry about their sins: “Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4); weep over sin, lest you weep over punishment; justify yourself before the Judge before you appear before the judgment seat. Or don’t you know that everyone who wants to soften the judge does not beg him during the hearing of the case, but beg him even before coming to court, or through friends, or through patrons, or in some other way? The same should be said regarding God: during the trial it is no longer possible to persuade the Judge, but before the onset of the trial you can beg Him. That’s why David says: “Let us precede His face in confession” (Ps. 94:2). There the Great Judge will no longer be seduced by oratory, nor will his power be shaken; He does not look at dignity, He is not ashamed of face, He is not bribed with money, but His justice is terrible and inexorable. So, let us soften and plead with the Judge here; here we will bow to Him with all our might, but not with money; however, if the truth must be told, the Lover of Mankind also bows down with money, which He accepts not Himself, but through the poor. Give money to someone in need - and you begged the Judge. I say this, caring for you as close friends, because repentance without alms is dead and without wings; Repentance cannot take wing without the wing of alms. That is why for Cornelius, who sincerely repented, alms became the wing of piety: “Your alms,” says the Scripture, “and your prayers ... ascended” to Heaven (Acts 10:4), because if his repentance did not have the wing of alms, it would not have ascended to Heaven. Now (to us) the marketplace of alms has opened: we see captives and beggars, we see those wandering in the square, we see those crying, we see those crying, we see those groaning; a wondrous marketplace is laid before us; The goal of every market and the concern of every merchant is nothing other than to buy what is being sold for a small price and sell it for a high price. Isn't this the goal of every merchant? Is it not with the intention that they begin to engage in trade in order to sell what they bought cheaply at a high price, and thus make many times larger profits? God offered us such a marketplace; to purchase an excuse at a low price in order to sell it later for a high price, if only the reward can be called resale. Here, justification is bought at an inexpensive price: a worthless piece of bread, cheap clothes, a cup of cold water: “Whoever... gives... a cup of cold water to drink,...Amen I say to you,” says the Teacher of spiritual purchase, “he will not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). There is a reward for a cup of cold water, but there is no reward for clothes and money given for the purpose of good deeds? On the contrary, even a great reward. So, why did He mention the cup of cold water? He wanted to indicate by this alms, which does not require any costs. You don’t waste any firewood, don’t expect anything else, on cold water. If the mercy of beneficence is so highly valued where alms are alien to costs, then what kind of reward should be expected from the Righteous Judge in the case when they supply (the poor) with clothes, distribute money and abundantly distribute other benefits? So, as long as the virtues that can be acquired at an inexpensive price lie before us, let us take them, delight them, and buy them from the Greatly Generous. “You who are thirsty,” says Scripture, “go to the water, and if you do not have any money, go and buy it” (Is. 55:1). While there is bargaining, we will buy alms, or better yet, we will buy salvation with alms. You clothe Christ when you clothe the poor. This, you say, I know perfectly and firmly; I knew this before, you are not the first to teach, it is not from you that I hear it first; You are not preaching something unusual, but what many of those present have often taught us. I myself know, I know that you have often been taught these and similar truths: but, oh, if we, by often learning them, would do at least a little good! “The poor who have mercy give back to God” (Proverbs 19:17). Let us lend alms to God in order to receive merciful reward from Him. Oh, how wise is this saying: “The merciful beggar gives back to God!” Why is it not said: “the poor beggar has mercy” gives to God, but: “gives in return”? The Scripture knew our greed, noticed that our greed, fueled by covetousness, seeks excess; That’s why it didn’t just say: “He who has mercy on the poor” gives to God, so that you wouldn’t think that this is a matter of simple retribution, but it says: “He who has mercy on the poor gives back to God.” If God borrows from us, then He is already our debtor. So, how do you want to have Him - a judge or a debtor? The debtor honors the one who gives the loan, but the judge does not spare the one who receives the loan. 7. It is necessary to consider another reason why God said that he who gives to the poor lends to Me. Since He knew that our covetousness strives for profit, as I said earlier, and that the one who has money will in no case want to lend without guarantee, because the lender requires either a pledge, or a security, or a guarantor, and under these three guarantees entrusts his money, that is, when, as said above, he either takes a guarantee, or a pledge, or a security; since God knew that without such guarantees no one lends, that everyone is not guided by philanthropy, but looks only at profit, meanwhile the poor man is deprived of this kind of guarantees, because he has no collateral - for he does not own anything - no security - for he is naked - no guarantor - for due to his poverty they do not trust him; since God knew that the poor man was in danger because of his poverty, and the one who had money was in danger because of his hardness of heart, he made Himself a mediator (between one and the other), for the poor man he became a guarantor, and for the lender a collateral. You do not believe, He says, the poor man for the sake of his poverty, believe Me for the sake of My wealth. He saw the poor - and showed pity; he saw the poor - and did not despise, but gave Himself guarantee for the needy and, out of His great goodness, came to the aid of the needy, to which His mercy is testified by blessed David, saying: “For he sits at the right hand of the poor” (Ps. 109:31). “The poor who have mercy give back to God” (Proverbs 19:17). Be, he says, trustworthy: Give me a loan. What will I gain if I lend to You? Truly, the most criminal thing is to demand an account from God. However, being forgiving of your lawlessness and desiring to overcome your cruelty with mercy, let us examine this too. How do you benefit when you lend to others? What profit are you looking for from them? Are you not looking for one hundred percent if you are looking for legal interest; and if you get rich, carried away by your greed, you will reap double or triple unrighteous fruit. “But I reward your passion for covetousness with great reward; I go beyond your insatiable desires; With My wealth I cover your immeasurable aspirations. You are looking for a hundred times less, but I give you a hundred times more. - So, You are borrowing, Lord, You are borrowing from me here the alms given to the beggar, so that I have no time to repay it? Then I seek an agreement and wish to confirm mutual terms; announce to me the time of payment, set a certain period for when I will receive the debt back. Such conditions are completely unnecessary. “The Lord is faithful in all His words” (Ps. 145:13). But since an honest debtor usually determines the term and appoints the day (of payment), then listen to when and where the One who borrowed from you through a beggar will repay your debt. When he "sits down... The Son of Man... upon the throne of His glory, ... will set the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. And ... he speaks to those at His right hand" (here pay attention to how honestly the Debtor acts towards the lender, with what great gratitude the Borrower repays): "Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." For what? Because “you are hungry... and give Me food; You became thirsty and drank Me; naked" was, "and clothed Me; in prison... and came to Me; “I was sick,” “and I was visiting; He was strange, and he knew Me” (Matthew 25:31, 33–36). Then those who have served well in this life, looking at their own weakness and at the dignity of the One who borrowed, say: “Lord, when did you hunger for the sight and drink of You? Or thirsty, and get drunk? (Matthew 25:37), - You, in whom “the eyes of all... trust, and You give them food” in abundance (Ps. 144:15)? O great goodness! He hides His greatness for the sake of mercy. “Be hungry, and give Me food.” O great goodness! O immeasurable mercy! “Give food to all flesh” (Ps. 135:25), opening His hands and fulfilling “every animal’s good will” (Ps. 144:16), He was hungry, he says, and “Give me food,” not out of humiliation of His dignity, but out of His love for mankind, which became a guarantee for the poor. “You became thirsty and gave Me a drink.” Who says this? He who pours the watery nature into lakes, rivers and springs; The One who says in the Gospel: “Believe in Me, as the Scripture says, rivers will flow out of his belly and living waters” (John 7:38); The One who said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). But he also says: “I was naked, and I was clothed.” We have clothed the One who clothes the sky with clouds, who clothes the whole Church and the universe. “For as many as you have,” the Scripture says, “have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). "In the dungeon" was. Are you in prison, tormenting those who are “chained” (Ps. 67:7)? Explain what you say, because greatness denies what You say. When have we seen You in such need? When did they do this? “Because,” He answers, “to the only one of these ... the least ... you have created, you have created for Me” (Matthew 25:40). Isn’t the saying true: “the merciful poor gives back to God”? And this is what, mind you, is surprising: He does not mention any other virtue except acts of alms, although He could say: “come blessed,” because you lived chastely, because you preserved your virginity, chose the gospel life, but He is silent about this, not because it is unworthy of mention, but because these virtues are lower than mercy. But just as He assigned to those standing on the right hand the Kingdom given for mercy, so, on the contrary, to those standing on the left side He menacingly pronounced punishment for not bearing fruit (alms). “Go...cursed” into utter darkness, “prepared for the devil and his angel” (Matthew 25:41). Why? For what? Because you were hungry, “and you will not let Me eat” (Matthew 25:42). He did not say: “because they committed fornication, because they committed adultery, because they stole, because they bore false witness, because they broke an oath”; there is no doubt, and these are vices, but more forgivable than inhumanity and unmercifulness. Why, Lord, don’t you mention other sins? - I don’t judge, he says, it’s a sin, but cruelty; I do not judge those who have sinned, but those who have not repented. I condemn you for your hardness of heart, for the fact that, having such a great and powerful medicine for salvation - alms, which atones for all sins, you despised such a benefit. So, I reproach hardness of heart as the root of evil and all wickedness; I praise (on the contrary) mercy, as the root of all blessings, and I threaten some with eternal fire, and promise the Kingdom of Heaven to others. – Good, Master, are Your promises, wonderful is Your expected Kingdom, equally useful is the hell with which You threaten; one because it encourages us, the other because it frightens us. He perfectly encourages the Kingdom, but Gehenna frightens us for good, because God threatens Gehenna not because He wanted to plunge us into Gehenna, but in order to save us from Gehenna: if He wanted to punish, He would not threaten in advance, lest we be warned and avoid the threat. God threatens vengeance so that we may avoid actual vengeance; frightens with words so as not to punish with deeds. So let us lend God mercy. Let us lend, so that, as I said earlier, we will find Him a debtor, and not a judge, because the debtor is ashamed of the lender, is ashamed - and shows him respect. If the creditor comes to the debtor’s door, the latter runs away if he does not have the means (to pay), and if he has, he boldly accepts it. Pay attention also to something else that makes the Righteous Judge surprised if you compare it with the way people behave. If you give a loan to some poor person, and the debtor subsequently becomes rich and is finally able to pay the debt, then he gives it back, hiding from people, so as not to feel ashamed of his previous condition, and expresses gratitude (to the lender), and hides his good deed, ashamed of his previous need. God does not do this: He borrows secretly, but pays back the debt openly, because when He receives a loan, He receives it through secret alms, and when He gives, He gives it in front of the eyes of all creation. But maybe someone will say: why did God not give to me, the rich one, in the same way as He gave to the poor? Of course, He could give equally to you and to the poor; but He did not want your wealth to be fruitless, and your poverty to remain unrewarded. He commanded you, the rich one, to be rich in alms and to lavish in righteousness, for “spend,,” it is said, “to give to the poor: His righteousness endures forever” (Ps. 111:9). Do you see that the rich man gathers for himself eternal righteousness through alms? Consider again about the poor: he does not have wealth with which he could deserve the truth; but on the other hand, he has poverty, by which he acquires eternal patience, for “the patience of the wicked will never perish” (Ps. 9:19), in Christ our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 1. Although yesterday I left you, it was not of my own free will, but out of necessity; separated from you in body, but not in heart, separated in flesh, but not in thought, because, to the best of my strength, I embraced you all and carried you in my memory. And so again, brothers, as soon as this temporary illness left me, I hastened to see your face as quickly as possible, and with the remnants of the illness still running to your love. The sick, having recovered from their illness, rush to the baths and baths, and I considered it worthy to look at your longed-for faces and satisfy, in my duty, your desire to listen to me - I wanted to see this great sea in which there is no salt, a sea not tossed by waves; I came to see your cleared fields. Where, in fact, is such a pier as the Church? Where is such a paradise as our meeting? There is no serpent here - the accuser, but Christ, the revealer of secrets. There is no Eve, the author of the fall, but the Church is the restorer of the fallen. There are no leaves of wood here, but spiritual fruit. There is no hedge of thorns here, but the vine is fruitful. And if I find a thorn here, I will turn it into an olive tree, because what happens here depends not on a lack of nature, but on free will. If I see a wolf, I will make him a sheep, not through a change in nature itself, but through a change in his will. Therefore, it would not be a mistake for anyone to call the Church better than the ark, because the ark received animals and kept them the same animals, and the Church accepts animals and changes them. For example, a hawk entered there - and he came out (from there) as a hawk, a wolf entered - as a wolf and came out; and here whoever enters as a hawk comes out as a dove, whoever enters as a wolf comes out as a sheep; the snake enters and the lamb comes out, not because nature changes, but because evil is driven out. That is why I do not stop talking to you about repentance, because repentance, painful and terrible for a sinner, is a cure for sins, a means that destroys iniquity, the release of tears, boldness towards God, a weapon against the devil, a sword that cuts off his head, hope for salvation, the elimination of despair; it opens Heaven to man, it elevates him to Paradise, it defeats the devil. That is why I never stop talking about repentance, which instills in us bold hope of victory (over the enemy). Are you a sinner? Don't despair; I will not stop strengthening you with these medicines, because I know what a weapon against the devil is - not to give in to despair. If you have sins, do not despair - I will not stop repeating this constantly - and if you sin every day, repent every day. Just as in dilapidated houses, when they rot, we remove the rotten parts and replace them with new ones, and never abandon such concerns, so are you: are you dilapidated today from sin? Renew yourself with repentance. Is it possible, you say, for someone who has repented to be saved? Quite possible. Even though I spent my whole life in sins, but if I repent, will I be saved? Certainly. How can this be proven? By the mercy of your Lord. Do I really hope for your repentance? Can your repentance really cleanse such filth? If there were only repentance, you really should be afraid; but since God’s mercy is united with repentance, and for Divine mercy there is no measure and His goodness cannot be expressed in words, your malice has a measure, but healing has no measure; your malice, whatever it may be, is human malice, and God’s love for mankind is inexpressible, then hope that it will overcome your malice. Think about it: can a spark falling into the sea glow? Just as a spark is insignificant in relation to the sea, so sin is insignificant in relation to God’s mercy, and not so much, but to a much stronger extent, because the sea, no matter how great it is, still has limits, and God’s mercy is limitless. I say this not to make you careless, but to make you more jealous. I often tried to convince people not to go to the theater. You heard, but did not obey, went to the theater, did not listen to my word; do not be ashamed to come (here) again and listen. I heard, you say, but did not fulfill it: how can I come (here) again? But at least you already realize that you didn’t fulfill it; you are already ashamed; you are ashamed; You are already putting a bridle on yourself without any accuser; my word has already taken root in you, my teaching corrects you even without my presence. You did not keep (what was said), but you condemned yourself and thus half already kept it; although you did not comply, you admitted (at least) that you did not comply. He who condemns himself for non-fulfillment strives for fulfillment. Were you at the show? Committed a crime? Became a captive of a harlot? But after leaving the theater, did you come to your senses again and feel ashamed? Come. Are you sad? Pray to God: you are not far from correction. “Woe is me,” you say, I heard, but I did not obey: how can I enter the church? How will I listen again? But then, on the contrary, come here when you have not kept it, in order to listen again and fulfill it. If a doctor applies a plaster to you, but does not cure you, does he not apply it again the next day? When a woodcutter, wanting to cut down an oak tree, takes an ax and cuts the root, then if with one blow the barren tree does not fall, does he not strike a second blow, a fourth, a fifth, a tenth? Do the same. The harlot is the same oak, a barren tree that produces acorns - the food of dumb pigs; it has long been rooted in your heart, it has imprisoned your conscience in a wooden fence. My word is the same axe. You listened to him one day; How can something that has been rooted for a long time fall in one day? If you hear it twice, even three times, even a hundred or a thousand times, it will not be surprising; just tear out an old vice, a bad habit. The Jews ate the manna and demanded the Egyptian onion, saying: “It was good for us in Egypt.” Such a vile and harmful habit. And at least you lived virtuously for ten days; at least a hundred, three hundred days, I will not be satisfied yet, and I will begin to thank and hug you; I want only one thing - for you not to weaken, but to be ashamed and condemn yourself. 2. Again, I talked about love; you listened, left and robbed? Have you not lived up to the instructions by your actions? Don't be ashamed to come to church again. Be ashamed to sin, but do not be ashamed to repent. Look what the devil did to you. There are two things to consider: sin and repentance. Sin is a wound, repentance is a cure. What wounds and medicine are to the body, sins and repentance are to the soul. But sin is accompanied by shame, and repentance gives boldness. Pay careful attention, I beg you, to my words, so that you do not confuse subjects and lose benefit (from my instruction). Plague and healing, sin and repentance. Ulcer is a sin; healing is repentance. There is pus in the ulcer; in the medicine - purification of pus. In sin there is pus, in sin there is reproach, in sin there is ridicule; in repentance there is boldness, in repentance there is freedom, in repentance there is cleansing of sins. Pay careful attention. Shame follows sin; repentance is accompanied by boldness. Do you understand what I'm saying? Satan perverted the natural order: he gave insolence to sin, and shame to repentance. I won’t leave you until the evening (to explain this), until I resolve (what I started talking about). I have to fulfill my promise and I cannot back down. There is an ulcer and a cure. There is pus in the ulcer; the medicine has the power to clear away pus. Is there pus in the medicine? Is there healing power in an ulcer? Do not both have their own properties? Can the first be communicated to the last, or the last to the first? No way. Let us move on to the soul burdened with sins. Sin has as its destiny reproach and dishonor; repentance is accompanied by bold hope, repentance is combined with fasting, repentance provides justification. “Thou hast spoken thy iniquity before, that thou mayest be justified” (Is. 43:26). “The righteous man is a master of words” (Proverbs 18:17). So, Satan, knowing that sin is followed by shame, which can easily turn the sinner away from it, and repentance is accompanied by boldness, which has the power to attract the repentant, perverted the natural order, and gave shame to repentance, and boldness to sin. How is this possible? Here's how: someone is captivated by an insane passion for a popular harlot; he follows the harlot like a captive, enters her home, and without shame, without blushing, gives himself to the harlot, commits a sin, and he has neither shame nor embarrassment. At the end of the sin, he leaves there and is ashamed to repent. Unhappy! When you gave yourself to a harlot, then you were not ashamed, but when you came to repent, then are you ashamed? What, tell me, is he ashamed of now, if he was not ashamed when he indulged in fornication? Does he do a (shameful) deed and is not ashamed, but is he ashamed of his words? This is the evil of the devil. In sin, he does not allow him to be ashamed, but publicly allows him to dishonor himself, because he knows that if a sinner feels shame, he will run away from sin; in repentance (on the contrary) it makes him ashamed, knowing that the one who is ashamed will not repent. He commits two evils: he lures him into sin and keeps him from repentance. What is the shame, finally? When you indulge in fornication, you are not ashamed, but when you take medicine, are you ashamed? Are you ashamed when you are freed from sin? Then you should have been ashamed, then you should have felt shame when you sinned. When you were a sinner, you were not ashamed; when you became a righteous man, are you ashamed? “Thou hast spoken thy iniquity before, that thou mayest be justified” (Is. 43:26). Oh, the mercy of the Lord! He did not say, “so as not to be punished,” but: “may you be justified.” Is it not enough for him that You do not punish him, but also make him righteous? Truly so. But pay careful attention to the saying. He says, “I will make him a righteous man.” Where did God do this? When He saved the thief just because he said to another: “Neither do you fear God, ... we also believe in righteousness: for we have received what is worthy by deeds,” the Savior says to him: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:40–41, 43). He did not say: I free you from punishment and torment, but he enters him justified into Paradise. Do you see how he became righteous through confession? God is merciful! He did not spare the Son in order to spare the servant; betrayed the Only Begotten to redeem ungrateful slaves; He put the blood of His Son in place of the price. Oh, the Lord’s love for mankind! And don’t tell me again: I have sinned a lot, how can I be saved? You cannot, but your Lord can, and in such a way that he will blot out your sins. Listen carefully to the word. He blots out sins so much that not even a trace of them remains. This is impossible on bodies: no matter how hard the doctor tries, no matter how many potions he applies to the wound, only the wound will disappear; and it often happens that someone receives a blow to the face and the wound heals, but the scar remains and the ugliness of the face indicates the former wound. The doctor tries by all possible means to destroy the scar, but turns out to be unable to, because the weakness of nature, the impotence of art, and the insignificance of medicines oppose him. When God blots out sins, He does not leave a scar, does not allow even a trace to remain, but along with health He also grants beauty, along with liberation from punishment He also gives justification and makes the sinner equal to the one who has not sinned. He destroys sin and turns it into nothing, as if it never existed; so He destroys it, (that there remains) not a scar, not a trace, not a mark, not a sign. 3. But where can you see this? I must also provide evidence of what I am talking about, but not from my own conjectures, but from the Scriptures to give confirmation, so that the evidence is completely reliable. I will bring you (as proof) people covered with wounds, a whole people filled with ulcers, pus, worms (to the point that they are) all a wound, all an ulcer, and yet can be so healed that there will be no scar, no trace, no sign left; I will cite people who have not one wound, not two, not three, not four, but wounds from head to toe. Listen diligently to my words, because this saving word of ours concerns everyone. I prepare better medicines than doctors, such as even kings cannot prepare. What can a king do? He can release him from prison, but he cannot free him from Gehenna; can give money, but cannot save souls. I entrust you to the protection of repentance, so that you know its power, so that you know its strength, so that you know that sin cannot defeat it and that there is no sin that can overcome its power. I will cite not one, not two, not three, but thousands of people covered with scabs, ulcers, infected with countless sins, who could be saved by repentance in such a way that not a trace or sign of the former ulcers remained. But listen diligently to the words, and not only listen, but also remember what is said, so that you can instruct those who are absent, and thus kindle the jealousy of those who are deprived of the benefit of the present word. So, let Isaiah appear, who matured the Seraphim, who heard their mysterious song and prophesied many things about Christ. Let's ask what he says. “The vision that Isaiah saw... of Judah and Jerusalem” (Is. 1:1). Tell me the vision you saw, tell me. “Hear the heavens and tell the earth what the Lord has said” (Is. 1:2). You promised something else, and you say something else. What else did I promise? You begin with the words: “Vision ... on Judea and Jerusalem,” and then, leaving Judea and Jerusalem, you talk with heaven and turn your word to the earth, leaving the verbal people and talking with the wordless elements? This is because the verbal have become more unreasonable than the dumb. And not only for this reason, but just as Moses, intending to lead the Jews into the land of promise and foreseeing the future - that they will neglect the blessings given to them - says: hear the heavens, and let “the earth inspire the words of my mouth” (Deut. 32:1). “I will testify to you, Jews, by heaven and earth,” says Moses, “that if you enter the promised land and leave the Lord God, you will be scattered among all nations”; so Isaiah, when (with him) the threat was ready to be fulfilled in practice, could not call as witnesses the already deceased Moses and those who heard him and died long ago, which is why he calls as witnesses the very elements with which Moses testified. Behold, you have fallen away from the promise; Now you have forsaken God: how can I make you a witness, Moses? You died and passed away. How can I summon Aaron? And he gave himself up to death. Can't you put me as a witness? Call on the elements, because during my life I did not testify either by Aaron himself or by anyone else, precisely because they had to die, but I testified to you with the remaining elements - heaven and earth. So, Isaiah says: “Hear the heavens, and tell the earth,” Moses commanded to call you today as a witness. But not only because he calls on these elements, but also because he spoke to the Jews. “Hear the sky,” because you rained down manna; “Inspire the earth” - because you gave quails. “Hear the sky,” hear, because you rained down manna, you revealed the supernatural, - it was above and became like a threshing floor. “Inspire the earth,” because you were down and arranged a meal without preparation. Nature was inactive, but grace acted. The oxen did not labor, but the ear grew; there were no cooks' hands, no orders, but manna, a consecrated source, served them instead of everything. Nature has forgotten about its weakness. How did their clothes not wear out? How did their shoes not wear out? Everything was ready for their service. “Hear the sky and tell it to the earth.” Despite all the certificates (of Divine protection) and obvious benefits, the Lord suffers an insult. To whom shall I address the word, if not to you? I don’t have a person who would listen (to me). So I came, and there was no man; spoke, and there was no one listening. I talk with the foolish, because the sensible have fallen lower than the foolish. Therefore, another prophet, seeing how the king is mad, how the idol is revered, and God is being dishonored, and everyone is obsessed with fear, says: “Listen, altar, listen to me.” Are you talking to a stone? Yes, because the king is more insensitive than a stone. Listen to me, altar, listen: “Here saith the Lord” (1 Kings 13:2), and immediately the altar was seated (1 Kings 13:5). The stone listened, the stone disintegrated and spilled the sacrifice. How did the man not hear? He stretched out his hand to grab the prophet. What is God doing? He made his hand dry. Note what (God) has created, note the mercy of the Master and the sin of the slave. Why didn't He dry up his hands from the very beginning? Because I wanted to reason with him by destroying the stone. If the stone had not collapsed, I would have spared you; but since the stone fell apart and you did not correct yourself, I bring my wrath upon you. The king stretched out his hand to seize the prophet, and his hand withered. So the trophy was hoisted. So many squires and leaders, such a huge army were present here, but he (the king) could not bend his hand, his hand remained (outstretched), loudly announcing the defeat of wickedness and the victory of piety, the mercy of God and the madness of the king. And (the king) could not bend it. 4. But so that we, with constant deviations to the side, do not lose sight of our subject, we will show what we promised. What did I promise? I promised to prove that if someone has many wounds, but repents and does a good deed, then God will smooth them out so much that no sign, no trace, no sign of sin remains. I promised this, I will try to prove it. “Hear the heavens and teach the earth what the Lord has said.” Tell me, what did He “say”? “They gave birth to sons and raised them up, but they rejected Me. The knowledge of the ox who has acquired” (they are more dumb than the dumb); “and the donkey of his master’s manger” (they are more foolish than donkeys); “Israel does not know Me, and people do not understand Me.” “Alas, the sinful tongue” (Isaiah 1:2–4). Why does He say this? Is there no hope for salvation? Why, tell me, do you say: “alas”? - Because I don’t find healing. - Why do you say: “alas”? “Because I gave medicine, and the wound did not heal, that’s why I turned away.” What should I do? I won’t even try for a cure. With the word “alas,” He imitates a weeping woman, and He does well. Please pay careful attention. Why does he say: “alas”? Because the same thing happens with bodily illnesses. When the doctor sees that there is no hope for salvation for the patient, he cries, and the family and relatives weep and groan, but in vain and in vain, because when the patient must die, even if the whole world weeps, he will not raise him up. This crying therefore comes from sadness, and not from the fact that he could restore health. But this does not happen in relation to the soul; if you cry, it often happens that you will resurrect a dead soul. Why? Because a dead body does not rise by human force, but a dead soul rises through repentance. Look at the fornicator and weep for him, and you will raise him up more than once. That is why Paul not only wrote, not only exhorted, but also wept tears, teaching (the same) to all of you. Let you teach; Why are you still crying? So that if instruction is powerless, tears will help. This is exactly how the prophet cries. And our Lord, foreseeing the destruction of Jerusalem, says: “Jerusalem, having beaten the prophets and stoned those who were sent” to it (Matthew 23:37), he addresses the fallen city, imitating a crying man. So the prophet says: “Alas, the tongue is sinful, people are full of sins.” There is no healthy place on the body. Do you see how they are covered with sores? "The seed of the wicked, the sons of iniquity." Why are you crying, tell me? “You have forsaken the Lord and angered the Holy One of Israel” (Is. 1:4). “What else is hurting”? What else can I amaze you with? Are you hungry? Is it a destructive ulcer? All punishments have been sent, but your wickedness has not been destroyed. “Attached to lawlessness? Every head is in sorrow, and every heart is in sorrow” (Isa. 1:5). There is neither scab nor ulcer (Isa. 1:6). You say something new. Not long ago you said: “The seed of the wicked, the sons of iniquity; forsaken the Lord and angered the Holy One of Israel,” and: “alas, the sinful tongue.” Do you cry, grieve, sob, count the wounds, and then say: “neither a scab nor an ulcer”? Pay attention. A wound is called this way when all other parts of the body are healthy, but one part is affected by insensibility. And here (the prophet) says that the whole body is a scab. “Neither a scab, nor an ulcer, nor a scorching wound,” but “from the feet even to the head... there is no plaster to apply, below the oil, below the obligation. Your land is desolate, hail... burned with fire, your country... strangers will devour” (Is. 1:6-7). I did all this, and you did not correct yourself; I have used all my art, and the patient remains dead. Come, “hear the word of the Lord, you princes of Sodomy and...Gomorrah. What is the multitude of your sacrifices” (Isaiah 1:10–11)? So, is He speaking to the Sodomites? Not at all, but calls the Jews themselves Sodomites; since they imitated the lifestyle of the latter, he calls them by their name. Come, “hear the word of the Lord, O princes of Sodomy: and ... Gomorrah. What is the multitude of your sacrifices, says the Lord? I am filled with burnt offerings of rams and the fat of lambs...I do not want. ...If you bring Mi sevendal, in vain: the censer is an abomination. My soul hates your new moon and Saturdays... fasting... and I will not endure the great day... When you stretch out your hands to me, I will turn away my eyes from you” (Is. 1:10-11, 13-15). What can compare with such anger? The prophet calls heaven as a witness; cries, sheds tears, sobs and says to the people of Israel: there is “not a scab”, there is “not a sore”. God is angry, He accepts neither sacrifice, nor the new moon, nor the Sabbath, nor the seventh day, nor prayer, nor the giving of hands. Do you see the ulcer? Do you see an incurable disease not in one, not in two, not in ten, but in thousands? What then? “Wash ye, be clean” (Isa. 1:16). Is there a sin for which one could give in to despair? God Himself says: I don’t hear you (Is. 1:15), and then says: “Wash yourself.” Why are you saying this? Both are said for benefit: one is to frighten me, the other is to attract me. If You do not hear them, they have no hope of salvation; if they have no hope of being saved, then what do you say: “wash yourself”? But He is the Humane Father, the only Good One, more merciful than any father. And to assure you that He is the Father, He says to them: What will I do with Judas? Don't know what to do? I know, but I don't want to. The nature of sins requires (punishment), but the abundance of mercy restrains. What will I do for you? Will I spare you? But you will become even more careless. Will I hit you? But mercy does not tolerate this. What will I do for you? Will I destroy you with fire like Sodom, or destroy you like Gomorrah? “My heart be transformed” (Hosea 11:8). The impassive imitates a passionate person, or better yet, a tenderly loving mother. "Transform"; This is what a wife would say to a youth: my heart has turned into a mother’s nature. But He was not content with the first words. I was troubled by My repentance (Hosea 11:8). Is God embarrassed? No! It won't happen! The Divine is free from embarrassment; but, as I said, God imitates our speech. “Turn My heart; Wash yourself, get clean." What did I promise you? The fact that God, accepting repentant sinners, even those burdened with countless sins and covered with (sinful) scabs, heals them in such a way that not a trace of their sins remains, not a sign remains, no reminder remains. “Wash yourselves, be clean, take away your wickedness” from your souls, ... learn to do good” (Is. 1:16–17). What good do You command? “Judge the fatherless and justify the widow” (Is. 1:17). The commands are not heavy; nature itself leads to them, because it is natural to show compassion to a woman. “Come, and let us be exhausted” (Is. 1:18). Do a small thing, and I will provide the rest; Give Me a little and I will give everything. "Come". Where shall we go? To Me, Whom you have irritated, Whom you have angered, to Me, Who said, “I will not listen to you,” so that, fearing the threat, you may satisfy My anger. “Come” to the One who does not hear, so that I may hear. What will you do? I will not leave a trace (of sins), I will not leave a sign, I will not leave a scab. “Come, and let us be exhausted,” says the Lord, and says: “Though sins...are as scarlet, they are as white as snow” (Is. 1:18). Is there really no scab anywhere? Anywhere bad? And even with the color of purity? “And if ... they are as scarlet, I will be as white wool” (Is. 1:18). Is there really no blackness anywhere, no spot anywhere? How will this happen? But isn't that what the promises are? “For this is the mouth of the Lord” (Is. 1:20). Behold, you have seen not only the greatness of the promises, but also the dignity of Him who gave them. All things are possible to God, who can make the pure out of the bad. So, having listened to His words and learned the medicine of repentance, let us give glory to Him, for His is the glory and power forever. Amen. About repentance and about those who leave the meetings; here about the sacred meal and the Judgment Just as there is no benefit to sowers when they throw seeds along the road, so there is no benefit to us from being called Christians if we do not justify the name by corresponding deeds. If you wish, I will present to you a reliable witness (to this), the brother of God, James, who says: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). So, exercise in (good) deeds is necessary everywhere, and without it, even being called a Christian cannot bring us any benefit. And don't be surprised. Tell me, in fact, what is the benefit to a warrior from being in military service when he is not worthy of it, and, being fed at the expense of the king, does not fight for him? Perhaps - although my word is terrible - it would have been better for him not to enter military service at all, than, having entered, not to care about the royal honor. How can one who lives at the expense of the king and does not fight for the king not be punished? What am I saying, for the king? Let us at least take care of our souls. But how, you say, living in the world, amidst anxiety, can I be saved? What are you saying, man? Do you want me to briefly point out to you that it is not the place that saves, but the way of life and will? Adam in Paradise, as if in a harbour, was shipwrecked, and Lot, living among the Sodomites, as if in the sea, was saved. Job earned justification, being in the pit, and Saul, being in the palace, lost both the local kingdom and the future. You cannot justify yourself by saying: I cannot live in peace, amidst anxiety, and be saved. Where does this justification come from? Because you don’t come often, some to prayer, others to Divine meetings. Do you not see how hard those who wish to receive honor from the king of the earth strive, and how they persuade others to intercede (for them), so as not to lose what they seek? This is said about those who leave consecrated meetings and, at the hour of the terrible and mysterious Meal, engage in conversations and empty talk. What are you doing, man? Didn’t you make a promise to the priest, and in response to his words: “Woe is our mind and heart,” didn’t you say: “Imams to the Lord” 13? Don't you feel afraid, aren't you ashamed of being a liar at the worst hour? Marvelous! When the mystical Meal is prepared, when the Lamb of God is slain for you, when the priest labors for you, when spiritual fire flows from the most pure Meal, Cherubim stand, Seraphim fly, six-winged ones cover their faces, all incorporeal forces pray for you together with the priest, spiritual fire descends from Heaven, Blood is poured from the most pure rib into the chalice for your cleansing - you are not Are you afraid, aren’t you ashamed to turn out to be a liar in this terrible hour? Out of one hundred and sixty-eight hours in the week, God has set aside only one hour for Himself: will you really spend that too on the affairs of life, on laughter and conversation? With what audacity will you then approach the Sacraments? With what defiled conscience? Would you really, with dung in your hands, dare to touch the hem of the robe of an earthly king? No way. Do not think that it is bread, and do not think that it is wine, because they do not come out of a person like other types of food. No; don't talk like that! But just as wax, in contact with fire, loses nothing of itself and receives nothing, so think here too that the Mysteries dissolve with the essence of the body. Therefore, when you begin, do not think that you are receiving the Divine Body from a person, but imagine that you are receiving the Divine Body as if it were fire from the tongs of the Seraphim themselves, whom Isaiah saw (Isaiah 6:6-7), and we will begin to receive the saving Blood, as if touching with our lips the Divine and most pure rib. Therefore, brothers, let us not abandon meetings, nor indulge in idle talk in them: let us stand with fear and trembling, with our eyes cast down, and our souls sorrowful, and let us exclaim with sighs, not with our voices, but with our hearts. Don’t you see how those who stand before the visible, perishable, temporary and earthly king are motionless, silent, calm, do not wander their gaze in different directions, but stand with their eyes downcast, quietly and with fear? Take them as a model for yourself, man. So stand before God, I ask you, as if you appeared before the face of an earthly king. One must stand before the Heavenly King with much greater fear. I will not stop repeating what I have often said before until I see you corrected. When entering church, let us enter as it is appropriate before God, without harboring malice in our souls, so that when we pray we do not pray against ourselves, saying: “Forgive us... as we also forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). This word is terrible, and whoever pronounces it seems to be crying out to God: “I have left, Master, leave also You; I let go, let you go too; I have forgiven you, forgive me too; I myself have not forgiven, neither do you forgive; if I have not forgiven my neighbor, and You do not forgive my sins. With the same measure that I have used, let it be measured to me.” Knowing this and thinking about that terrible day and imagining that fire and terrible punishments, let us finally turn from the path along which we wandered. The hour will come when the spectacle of this world will cease and there will be no time for exploits. You can’t do business at the end of your life, you can’t win a wreath after the spectacle is over. The present time is the time of repentance, the future is the time of Judgment, now is the time of exploits, then is the time of crowns; now is the time of labor, then is the time of joy; now is the time of exhaustion; then it is time for retribution. Rise up, I pray, rise up, and let us listen with diligence to what is said to us. We lived according to the flesh, let us now live according to the Spirit; we lived in carnal pleasures, let us now live in virtues; We lived in negligence (about sins), but let us live in repentance. “Why are the earth and ashes proud” (Sir.10:9)? Why are you arrogant, man? Why are you boasting too much? What worldly fame and fortune do you hope for? Let us go, I ask you, to the tombs and see the sacraments performed there, we will see destroyed nature, corroded bones, rotten bodies. If you are wise, consider; and if he is reasonable, tell me: who is the king and who is the commoner, who is the noble and who is the slave, who is the wise and who is the foolish? Where is the beauty of youth, where is the attractive look, where are the pretty eyes, where is the beautiful nose, where are the pink lips, where is the color on the cheeks, where is the shiny forehead? Isn't everything dust? Isn't everything ashes? Isn't everything dirty? Isn't everything wormy and stinking? Isn't everything decaying? Having all this in mind and thinking about our last day, let us turn, brothers, while we have time, from our path along which we have wandered. We have been redeemed with honest Blood (1 Peter 1:19). This is why God appeared on earth; for you, man, God appeared on earth; not having “where to lay your head” (Luke 9:58). Oh, miracle! The judge comes to court for the sake of the condemned; Life tastes death; The Creator suffers the crushing of creation; The slave, invisible to the Seraphim, is spat upon by the slave, eats the juice and bile, is pierced by a spear and is laid in the grave. And you, man, tell me, are you negligent, sleeping and neglecting (such miracles)? Don’t you know that even if you shed your blood for Him, then even then you have not yet fulfilled your duty, because there is another Blood of Master and another blood of Slave? Prevent the outcome of the soul by repentance and correction, so that when death comes, any medicine of repentance will no longer be powerless, because only on earth does repentance have power, but in hell it is already powerless. Let us seek the Lord while we have time. Let us do good so that we can get rid of the future endless Gehenna, and be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. That is, that he was not his brother’s guardian. Those. failure to remember the subject of a previous conversation. Those. except alms and prayer. Those. God's commandment is not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “Arise and go to Nineveh” and so on. (John 1:2). Those. the prophet thrown into the ditch. Those. Bishop Flavian, in whose presence the conversation took place. Those. meeting of listeners. Those. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. “Behold, I have established My covenant with you and with your seed after you.” The work belongs to Bishop Severian of Gabala - approx. electronic edition. You might be interested in: