Homily 1. The Proof of Providence, Borrowed from the Consideration of the Heavens, the Moon, and the Host of Stars

It is by nature that the law is instilled in men, that children should intercede for their offended fathers, and that servants should intercede for their masters, and that citizens should expose themselves to danger for cities overwhelmed by enemies, in a word, that those who have benefited should repay their debt to their benefactors to the best of their ability.

And we see that the king, who governs his subjects straightforwardly and justly, and dissolves power with meekness, and the shield-bearers and spear-bearers defend him zealously in war.

And let no one make an unfounded objection to me, let no one accuse my word of a lie, exposing parricides, worthless people, traitors, tormentors.

We are talking about those who keep the law; we are accustomed to call those ungrateful and criminals; and they will suffer a fitting punishment for their transgressions.

But if nature herself legitimizes to expose herself to danger to children for fathers, servants for masters, citizens for cities, squires for kings; how much more holy and just is it for us, who are created and saved by God, not only to fight for God in a word, but even to accept the most painful death; for God is nearer to us than the fathers (by His mercy they are also called fathers); and the dominion belongs to Him in a sense that is more proper than to the masters (His dominion over slaves is by nature, and not by any unfortunate accident); and He is more reliable than any wall (a wall, even if it be made of adamantium, is the work of human hands, and if He withstands the wall-breaking tools, He will not escape the hands of time, but God is endless and eternal, all-sufficient for all protection and protection); and He is so much more royal than kings, as the eternally existing, compared to the created and perishable, exerts in itself an immeasurable superiority (God always exists, and His power is inseparable from being itself, and the king borrows from Him both being, and might, and His might, both for a short time and over a few, and not over all who partake of the same nature). And so, since God is nearer to us than the fathers, and the lords are more dominant, and all benefactors are more providential, and every wall is more secure, and all kings are immeasurably more royal, then justice demands that we, who have received from Him existence and partaken of prosperity, should turn our mouths against the walls that dare to blaspheme Him, and with the word of piety strike down the word of wickedness; not with the thought that we will thereby render our help to those who are in need of it (the Creator of all does not need anything, does not require help from poor lips, but praises His lips that sing songs, rewards the lips that strive for Him, crowns the lips that denounce falsehood); but with the thought that by this we will express our devotion to Him, and if we are able, we will overthrow the insolence of slaves like us, and if we are not able, then at least we will expose it and make it manifest to those who do not know. The hordes of those who indulge in wickedness are many and varied, and the arrows of blasphemy are diverse; for falsehood is multi-part and varied, but the babbling of truth is simple. Thus the crowd of Piites, dividing the Divinity in concept into multitudes, dissolving falsehood with pleasant fables, and, as it were, preparing a kind of solution, made people drunk with the charm of polytheism.

Those who promised to be wise, who by their outward appearance acquired for themselves the general respect of all, who demanded dominion over the passions, compelled and persuaded people to worship the passions, so that the bridler of the passions, the autocratic mind, began to senselessly offer sacrifices to lust, irritability, theft, drunkenness, and other passions. And still others, being unable to conceive in thought of anything other than the visible, but enclosing the mind in the sensible alone, called gods that which is subject to the sight of the eyes; and the venerable name, which makes those who hear it tremble, some have given to the elements, and others to their parts. Some asserted that the world arose by chance, while others imagined many worlds instead of one world. Some said that there was no Divinity at all, others that although there was, he had no care for anything that existed, and others that although he had care, it was very small, and that Providence was limited to the moon, while the rest of the world was attracted by who knows what, forced to submit to a necessary fate. Even of those who bear the name of Christians, some directly rebel against the dogmas of truth. For some divide the unborn into three parts, and call one good, another evil, and a third righteousness; others depict in words two unborn principles, directly opposite to each other; others give their word to oppose these wicked teachings and invent a new path of wickedness. For the Only-begotten Word of God, confessing to be the Son, is numbered among the creatures, and the Creator is placed alongside the creature, and the Holy Spirit is excluded from the nature of God by their wicked word. And others, having lost the straight path and not wishing to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, have departed from the truth in other ways. Some completely denied the dispensation that had been accomplished for our sake; others confess that God the Word, although He became man, took upon Himself one body. Others call the received flesh animate, but deny that there is a verbal and rational soul in it, perhaps taking their own foolishness as proof of this; whereas we know of no other soul in man than the rational and immortal one.

But this time we leave all the others; for the word, as it happens in battle, cannot suddenly cast arrows of rebuke at everyone. Therefore, let all the other hordes of the wicked remain in peace; And having brought out on Wednesday one regiment of attackers of God's Providence, we will smite it with rebukes, we will try to bring it into disarray, to break through its dense ranks, to lead away from it captives and captivating every mind to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Let the rest of the assembly of the wicked remain in the ranks of the spectators and look at this struggle. For it is probable that each of these rows will not require a special competition with it; but when they see the defeat of some and understand the power of the truth, others will also go over to the side of the truth. And perhaps this word, walking at a slow pace, will also affect those who are now listening and who will later read. Therefore, having put on the full armor of the Spirit, in the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod his nose in preparation for the gospel of peace, having received the shield of faith over all... and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17), let us enter into the struggle, and let the divine trumpet sound in support of our weakness. We, standing at the very fence, will ask our opponents why they contradict the teaching of Providence, and moreover, when they themselves say that they have a Creator, because now our word will be addressed to them.

See how God's Providence from every part of creation itself clings to you, allows itself to be seen, proclaims and almost cries out to you by reality itself, and stops your bold lips, and bridles your unbridled tongue. Look, it is visible in the sky and in the heavenly bodies, i.e. in the sun, moon and stars; visible in the air, in the clouds, and on land, and on the sea, in everything that is on earth; visible in plants, cereals and seeds; it is seen in animals verbal and dumb, walking, flying and swimming, reptiles, water-earthly, meek and ferocious, tame and indomitable.

Judge for yourselves: who supports the vaults of heaven? How for so many thousands of years the heavens have remained ageless, and time has not produced any change in it, although by nature the heavens are easily changeable, as Blessed David teaches. "They shall perish," he says of the heavens, "but Thou remainest: and all shall be as a garment they promise, and as a garment I shall wear, and they shall be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail (Psalm 101:27-28). Yet, having a changeable and perishable essence, it remained in the same state, supported by the word of the Creator; for the Word which created it preserves and sustains it, and, as long as it pleases the Word, gives it constancy and stability. For this reason fire sweeps through the heavens, (I mean the sun, the moon, and the other luminaries)

But the sky does not undergo anything of the kind, because all this abundance of fire does not melt its crystalline composition, does not spoil its smoothness, does not make depressions on the spherical surface; on the contrary, the state into which it is brought at the beginning, it preserves it to the end. Having set the heavens as a kamara, He Who also stretched it out as a tabernacle to dwell (Isaiah 40:22), brought into fellowship the opposite natures.

For the Creator rules over creation; being both a shipbuilder and a producer of matter, He does not leave the boat built by Him without control, at the same time He created the substance and built the boat, and does not cease to rule the feeder. This is evidenced by the circle of so many years and the longest time, which did not damage the boats, but presented it whole and inviolable not only to the first, but also to the later families.

And now, when you, my friend, have seen God's Providence manifested in heaven, let us lead you to a survey of the other parts of creation, and, like children who are just beginning to walk, we will take you by the hand and make you gradually go around all creation. Therefore, descend from heaven, as it were, to the first step - to the sun; do not be afraid of being burned, but go up and examine; it will not burn you, full of gratitude to the Creator, but will show you the Creator, Who commands him to use the power of nature for the opposite action. Fire by nature usually tends upward, as water flows downwards along a slope. It is impossible, as it is impossible to carry water from under the mountain to the top of the mountain, so to make the fire turn its flame downwards; but if someone, while holding a candle or a torch, uses the effort to turn his hand down a thousand times, the flame will rise up again and rush to the hand holding the candle, and will not change the aspiration that he received at the beginning, but will remain faithful to the statutes of nature. Everything is not difficult for the Creator. That which is disobedient to thy hand is obedient to the beckons of the Creator. And we can see that the sun, the moon, and the host of stars turn their backs to heaven, and send out their rays downwards, because they serve the Creator, and the statute of the Creator is for them nature. The nature of fire does not submit to Thee, nor forsake the activity proper to it, because it serves Thee; but in obedience to the beckons of the Creator, it changes, and the nature that strives upward becomes downward. In the same way, the water nature, which is fluid and has no density, is raised up by the Creator and lifted upwards, and, attracting from below, He places it in the midst of heaven and earth, not propped up, but lifted up and held by a single word.