One of the Pharisees asked Him to partake of food with him; and he entered into the house of the Pharisee, and sat down. And behold, the woman of that city, who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, brought an alabaster vessel of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, began to pour tears on his feet, and to wipe her head with the hair, and kissed his feet, and anointed him with ointment. Seeing this, the Pharisee who invited Him said to himself: "If He were a prophet, He would know who and what kind of woman touches Him, for she is a sinner." Turning to him, Jesus said, "Simon! I have something to say to you. He said, "Tell me, Master." Jesus said, "A certain lender had two debtors, one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty, but because they had nothing with which to pay, he forgave both of them. Tell me, which of them will love him more? Simon answered, I think he to whom he has forgiven more. He said to him, "You have judged rightly."

This Pharisee, who called on the Lord, seems to have been of wrong thoughts, but cunning and full of hypocrisy. He says, "If He were a prophet"; evidently he did not believe when he said that. The Lord, although He knows his indirectness, nevertheless goes to him and dines with him, of course, teaching us to behave simply and directly even with those who are insidious towards us. Many are interested in the question: how many women were there who anointed the Lord with myrrh? Some say that there were two of them: one – the sister of Lazarus mentioned in the Gospel of John (John 12:3), and the other – the one mentioned by the Evangelists Matthew (26:2, 6-7) and Mark (14:1, 3), and in the present place Luke. But I believe those who say that there were three of them (the women who anointed the Lord with myrrh): one was the sister of Lazarus, mentioned in John, who anointed the Lord six days before the Passover, the other mentioned in Matthew and Mark, who anointed the Lord two days before the Passover, and the third is this one, now mentioned by Luke, who anointed the Lord in the middle of the Gospel preaching. And there is nothing strange that she did this even before the time of suffering came, and they did the same near the time of suffering, from imitation of her or from another motive. If the Pharisee mentioned in Matthew, who called the Lord, is called Simon, as in Luke, then what is surprising in the coincidence of names? For the one of whom Matthew speaks was a leper, but this one (Luke) was not; he, after being healed of leprosy, invited the Lord as a sign of gratitude, but this one was not a leper and did not express gratitude; this one says nothing, but this one murmurs and condemns Jesus and this woman at the same time as a sinner, and Him as a lover of mankind. Oh, madness! Man is truly a Pharisee. But the Lord, asking him in parables and bringing him into the midst of the two debtors, imperceptibly expresses that he, too, is a debtor, although he considers himself less due, but still a debtor. Therefore neither thou, who owe the lesser, can repay the debt (for, possessed by pride, thou hast no confession), nor can the wife. Therefore, both will be released. And who will love more? Without a doubt, the one who is given a lot. Having said this, He stops the mouth of the proud man.

And turning to the woman, he said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I came to thy house, and thou didst not give me water on my feet, but she poured tears on my feet, and wiped the hair of her head; thou hast not kissed me, but she, since I came, has not ceased to kiss my feet; thou didst not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with myrrh. Wherefore I say unto thee, Many of her sins are forgiven, because she has loved much, but to him who is not forgiven much, he loves little. And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." And those who sat at table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this that forgives sins? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace.

The Lord reveals in Simon a proud man and a madman: a proud man, because he, being a man himself, condemned man for sins; madman, because he did not understand that a wife who showed such signs of faith and love should have been accepted, and not rejected. That is why the Lord rebukes him for having wrongly condemned his wife, who had done so much that he himself had not done, had not done even much lower in comparison with her. You, for example, did not give water to their feet, which is the most common thing, and she washed them with tears; thou didst not kiss Me in the face, but she kissed My feet; Thou hast not poured out any oil, but she has poured out myrrh. Since you have said that I am not a prophet, because I have not discerned that she is a sinner, behold, I rebuke the thoughts of your heart, that you may know that I know what is hidden in you, and I know still more what pertains to her, as many others know. Therefore her sins are forgiven, because she has loved much, that is, she has manifested great faith. Those who sat at table with Him, and moreover those who murmured, did not understand that what He said to Simon was very appropriate for them as well. The Lord, calming their murmuring and wishing to show them that everyone is saved by his faith, did not say, "Woman, I save you," so that they would not boil with greater envy, but: "Your faith." He said this, as I have already remarked, partly to appease their envy, and partly to lead them into faith, by letting them know that faith, which is what saves. "Go in peace," that is, in righteousness. For righteousness is peace with God, just as sin is enmity against God. Look: having forgiven her sins, the Lord did not leave her only with the remission of sins, but also gave her the productive power of good. For the words: "Go in peace" you must understand in this way: go, do that which will restore you peace with God.

Chapter Eight

After this, He went through the cities and villages, preaching and preaching the Kingdom of God, and with Him the twelve, and certain women, whom He healed from evil spirits and diseases: Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom came seven demons, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who served Him with their possessions.

Having descended from heaven in order to present to us in all things His model and predestination, the Lord teaches us not to be lazy in teaching, but to go to all places and preach; for whatever he did, he did for our instruction. He went through all the cities and villages, and led with Him twelve disciples, who did not teach or preach, but learned from Him and were edified by His works and His words. The Lord preached not about earthly goods, but about the Kingdom of Heaven. For who else was more fitting to preach about heavenly things than Him who comes from heaven? That is why none of the prophets preached about the Kingdom of Heaven. For how could they preach about what they did not see? That is why the Forerunner said: "He that is of the earth, and speaketh as he that is of the earth, but he that cometh from heaven, that which he hath seen, beareth witness to" (John 3:31-32). Women also followed the Lord, so that we would know that even the female sex is not hindered by weakness from following Christ. See also how they, being rich, despised, and yet all chose poverty for Christ's sake and with Christ. And that they were rich, know from the fact that they served the Lord with their own possessions, and not with someone else's or unjustly acquired property, as many do. In the words, "from which seven demons proceeded," a certain number "seven" is taken indefinitely, instead of "many," for in Scripture the number seven is often taken instead of "many." Another, perhaps, will say: just as there are seven spirits of virtue, so, on the contrary, there are seven spirits of malice, for example: there is a spirit of the fear of God, there is, on the other hand, a spirit of God's fearlessness; there is the spirit of understanding, there is, on the other hand, the spirit of foolishness, and so on. If these seven spirits of wickedness are not driven away from the heart, no one can follow Christ. For first Satan must be cast out, and then Christ must be instilled.

And when a great multitude of people were gathered, and the inhabitants of all the cities came to Him, He began to speak in a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed, and while he sowed, another fell by the wayside and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air pecked at him; and some fell on a stone, and when it came up, it withered, because it had no moisture; and some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it; and some fell on good ground, and having sprung up, bore a hundredfold fruit. And when he had said this, he cried out, Whosoever hath ears to hear, let him hear. And His disciples asked Him, What would this parable mean? He said, "It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, so that when they see they do not see, and when they hear they do not understand."

Now what David said long ago in the presence of Christ has come to pass. "I will open," he said, "my mouth in a parable" (Psalm 77:2). The Lord spoke in parables for many purposes, namely: to make the hearers more attentive and to stir up their minds to investigate what is being said (for we, people, are usually more occupied with hidden speeches, and pay little attention to clear ones), and so that the unworthy would not understand what is said mysteriously; and for many other motives He speaks in parables. The "sower" came out, that is, the Son of God. He "came out" from the bosom of the Father and from His hiddenness, and became visible. Who came out? The One Who always sows. For the Son of God does not cease to sow always in our souls: He sows good seeds in our souls, not only when He teaches, but also through this world, and through those phenomena that happen to us and around us. He did not come out to destroy the farmers or to burn the country, but only to sow. For the farmer often goes out not only to sow, but also after others. He went out to sow "his own seed." For the word of His teaching was His own, and not someone else's. The prophets, for example, did not speak from themselves, but from the Spirit; wherefore they said, "This saith the Lord." But Christ had His seed; wherefore, when He taught, He did not say, "This is what the Lord says," but, "I say to you." When He sowed, that is, taught, another seed fell by the wayside. He did not say, "The sower threw it away," but, "It fell; for the sower sows and teaches, but the word falls into the hearts of the hearers. They turn out to be either a road, or a stone, or thorns, or good land. When the disciples asked about the parable, the Lord said to them: "It is given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, that is, to you who desire to learn; for everyone who asks receives. And to the rest, who are unworthy of the sacraments, they are communicated covertly, and such seem to see, but do not see, and hear, but do not understand, and this is for their own good. For Christ hid these things from them for this reason, so that they, having known the sacraments and despised them, would not fall under greater condemnation, since he who knows and despises is worthy of the most grievous punishment.

This is what this parable means: the seed is the word of God; and that which fell by the way is the hearers, to whom the devil then comes and takes the word out of their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved; and those who fall on a stone are those who, when they hear the word, receive with joy, but who have no root, and believe for a time, and fall away in time of temptation; and those who have fallen into thorns are those who hear the word, but when they depart, they are overwhelmed by cares, riches, and the pleasures of this world, and do not bear fruit; but those who have fallen on good ground are those who, having heard the word, keep it in a good and pure heart, and bear fruit in patience. Having said this, He cried out: "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!"

There are three categories of people who are not saved according to this parable. To the first belong those who are like the seed that fell on the way, that is, they did not accept the teaching at all, for just as the trodden and beaten road does not receive the seed, because it is hard, so the hard-hearted do not accept the teaching at all, because although they listen, they do not pay attention. To the other belong those who are like a seed that fell on a stone, that is, those who, although they accepted the teaching, but later, through human weakness, turned out to be powerless before temptations. The third category is those who know the doctrine and yet are overwhelmed by the cares of life. Thus, three parts are perishing, and one is being saved. Thus, there are few who are saved, and there are a lot of those who are dying. See how He says about those who are oppressed by the cares of life: He did not say that they are oppressed by riches, but by cares for riches. For it is not wealth that harms, but the care of it, because many have benefited from riches, distributing them to satisfy the hunger of the poor. Perhaps note the accuracy of the Evangelist, as he said about those who are being saved: "When they hear the word, they keep it." He said this for the sake of those who are on the way; for these do not contain doctrine, but the devil takes it away from them. "And they bear fruit" – this He said for the sake of those who are overwhelmed by the cares of life and do not endure to the end, for such, that is, those who do not bear fruit to the end, do not bear fruit. "In patience," he said for the sake of those who are on the stones; they accept the teaching, but, unable to resist the temptation that has found them, they turn out to be worthless. Do you see how He said about those who are saved: "They keep... and bear fruit in patience" and through these three qualities he distinguished them from those who do not contain, such as those who are on the way, from those who do not bear fruit, such as those who are in thorns, and from those who cannot endure the temptation that falls upon them, such as those who are on stones.

No one, having lit a candle, covers it with a vessel, or puts it under the bed, but puts it on a candlestick, so that those who enter can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that is not made manifest, nor hidden that is not made known and revealed. Observe therefore how you listen: for he who has will be given, but he who does not have will be taken away from him even that which he thinks to have.

Here is the beginning of another teaching. For He addresses His disciples and says this in order to instruct them to be thorough in life and unceasing ascetics, since everyone will turn their eyes to them. For everyone looks at the teacher and the preacher, everyone watches him, whether he is good, or vice versa, and he will not hide anything of his own. Therefore, if you, disciples, are attentive and thorough, then God will grant you great grace; but whoever does not have care and attentiveness, by his negligence will extinguish and destroy the gift from God that he apparently has.

And his mother and his brethren came to him, and they could not come near him because of the multitude. And they let him know, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. He answered and said to them, My mother and My brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it.