And it came to pass that while they were on the way, a man said to him, Lord! I will follow You wherever You go. Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head. And he said to another, Follow me. He said: Lord! let me go first and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their dead, and you go and preach the gospel of the kingdom of God." And another said, I will follow Thee, O Lord! but first let me bid farewell to my household. But Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." This one, who came to Jesus and asked permission to follow Him, came with a deceitful thought. Seeing that many people were following the Lord, he thought that the Lord was collecting money from them, and he himself came to the idea that he would make an estate for himself if he followed Jesus. Therefore the Lord rejected him, saying to him as it were: "Thou thinkest by following Me to make for thyself an estate, supposing that such is My life, but in reality it is not so; I teach and preach such poverty that I have no house of Mine, while other animals have holes. And thus rejected him. "And the other who did not ask for it, he allows him to follow." When this man asked permission to go and bury his father, the Lord did not allow it, but said, "Leave the dead to bury their dead." This hints that his father was an unbeliever and therefore unworthy to be nourished in old age by his son, who believed. Leave it to your 'dead' relatives, that is, unbelievers, to nourish your unbelieving father in old age and to the grave. For to bury here means to have care until the grave, since even in ordinary conversation we say: such and such a son buried his father, and by this we do not mean that he buried him and did him no other good, but that he had care for him until his death and burial. So let these dead, that is, the unbelievers, bury their dead, that is, your father. And because you have believed, then, as my disciple, preach the gospel of God. The Lord, having said this, does not forbid us to nourish our parents, but teaches us to prefer reverence to unbelieving parents and not to have any obstacle to virtue, but to despise nature itself. Thus, a man who asked permission to follow Him, but first to pay tribute to his household, He did not allow this, that is, to go to his house and give his due, or, to put it simply, to say goodbye. For such a person reveals in himself an attachment to the world and a lack of apostolic disposition; for the apostles, as soon as they heard the calling from the Lord, immediately followed Him, did nothing else, and even left farewell to their relatives. And it often happens that while a man is bidding farewell to his relatives, there are among them those who keep him from living a godlike life. For no one who takes up the spiritual plough and looks back at the world is capable of the Kingdom of Heaven. - By "foxes" you mean evil demons; they are also called birds of the air, that is, birds of the air; for it is said: "according to the will of the prince who dominates the air" (Eph. 2:2). Thus, the Lord says to the man mentioned: since the demons have holes in you, I, the Son of Man, have no place to lay my head, that is, in your heart full of demons, I see no place for faith in Me. For the head of Christ is faith in Him. Whoever believes that Christ is God receives the head of Christ. But the sinner is dead; He also buries his dead, that is, evil thoughts, by not confessing them. Thus, the Lord forbids those who intend to be His followers to bury evil thoughts and hide them, but commands them to be discovered through confession.

Chapter Ten

After this, the Lord chose the other seventy disciples, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place whither He Himself wanted to go, and said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest that He will send laborers into His harvest. You go! I send you as lambs among wolves. In the book of Exodus it is written: "And they came to Elim; there were twelve springs of water and seventy date trees" (Exodus 15:27). What happened then historically and figuratively has now come true in reality. Elim means ascent. This means nothing else than that we, ascending to the most perfect understanding and spiritual maturity, and not stopping at the Law, as the Jews do, but flowing into Christianity, shall find twelve sources, that is, the twelve chief apostles, who are the sources of all sweetest teaching. We will also find seventy date stalks, that is, (seventy) apostles. They are not called springs, but dates, as being brought up and guided by the apostles (supreme). For although Christ chose these seventy apostles, they were inferior to the twelve, and afterwards were their disciples and companions. And so, these dates were nourished from the springs, that is, from the apostles, and they brought us a fruit sweet and at the same time moderately sour. The teaching of the saints is indeed this: it does not entirely delight and caress, and does not entirely constrain and amaze, but combines both properties, and is truly seasoned with salt and united with grace, just as the Apostle Paul exclaims: "Let your word always be with grace, seasoned with salt" (Col. 4:6). The Lord chooses "seventy" disciples because of the multitude of those who need teaching. For as fields with a good harvest require many reapers, so for the believers, since they were innumerable, there was a need of many teachers. - The Lord sends them "two by two" so that they would be safer and help each other. They walked before Him, that is, like John, they taught: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" (Matt. 3:3). Notice how He said before, "Pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send out laborers," and then He Himself sends them by His own authority. For He, as the true God, is truly the Lord of the harvest, that is, of the believers. - He tells them beforehand about persecution and that they will be like lambs among wolves, so that these, attacking them unexpectedly, will not confuse them with suddenness.

Do not take any bag, bag, or shoes, and do not greet anyone on the road. Into whatever house you enter, first say, Peace to this house; And if the Son of Peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him, and if not, it shall return to you. In that house you shall remain, eat and drink what they have, for the laborer is worthy of the reward of his labors; Do not move from house to house. And if you come to any city and receive you, eat what is offered to you, and heal the sick who are in it, and say to them, The kingdom of God is at hand with you. Since the Lord intends to send His disciples to preach the Gospel, He says to them: "Do not take a sack, nor this nor that; for it is sufficient for you to be anxious for the word. And if you carry a bag, you will obviously be busy with it, and you will begin to neglect the word. In other words, since you will be nourished by those whom you will teach, what need do you have of a mark, or a bag, or boots? For those who are instructed by you will satisfy all your need of them. "And don't greet anyone on the road." Thus He commands them, so that they do not engage in people's greetings and caresses, and thereby do not put obstacles in the way of preaching. For it is probable that the one who received the greeting would have responded with the greeting himself, or perhaps he would have entered into a long conversation, as the companions usually do, and then, as if having already become friends, he would have talked about something still more, and thus the Apostle would have descended into ordinary human relations, and would have despised the word. For this reason, the Lord forbids the disciples to greet anyone on the road. - "Into whichever house," he says, "you will enter, first say, Peace to this house," that is, greet those who are in the house; Then, showing that this is not only a simple greeting, but at the same time a blessing, he says: if the householder is worthy, then he will be blessed, but if he is an offender and incapable of accepting peace, if he is an enemy and opponent of your word and teaching, then the blessing will not come to him, but will return to you. - He commands not to go from house to house, so that the apostles do not appear gluttonous, do not give many a breed to temptation, and do not offend those who received them at the beginning. "Eat," he says, "and drink what they have," that is, whatever is offered to you, and even if it be small and not rich, do not demand more. Take food instead of a reward, that is, do not seek to receive food and payment separately, but take the food itself as a reward. See how He makes His disciples strong against poverty. He commands to heal the sick in the cities, so that the apostles could attract people to preach by their miracles. For see what he says, "And say to them, The kingdom of God is at hand with you." For if you heal first, and then teach, your preaching will prosper, and people will believe that the Kingdom of God has reached before them. For they would not have been healed if some divine power had not done this. And the Kingdom of God then drew near to the sick, when they were healed in their souls. For it is far from the sick, over whom sin still reigns.

But if you come to any city and are not received, then go out into the street and say, "And the dust that has cleaved to us from your city, we shake it off to you; yet know that the Kingdom of God has drawn near to you. I say to you, Sodom on that day will be more pleasant than that city. If, he says, "they will not receive you, then go out into the street and tell them that we have nothing in common with you, that we have nothing to do with your city, that we even sweep away the dust that clings to us, that is, shake it off, cleanse it, and throw it at you; yet know that the Kingdom of God has drawn near to you. Here another will ask: how does the Lord say that the Kingdom of God has drawn near both to those who receive the Apostles and to those who do not receive them? It must be said that He does not contradict Himself in the least. For to those who receive the apostles, the Kingdom approaches with blessings, and to those who do not receive them, with condemnation. For, I beseech thee, imagine that at a spectacle there are many condemned and others uncondemned, such as senators, generals, and nobles, and then a herald all together, condemned and honorable, proclaims: The king has drawn near to you! Does he not say that the king approached some of them for punishment, and others in order to show them honor and favor? Understand it in the same way. "It will be more gratifying," he says, "to Sodom than to the city that did not receive you." Why? Because the apostles were not sent to Sodom, and therefore those who did not receive the apostles are worse than the Sodomites. Note also that the city that does not receive the apostles has wide streets; and the broad path leads to destruction. Thus, whoever walks the broad roads leading to perdition does not accept the apostolic and Divine teaching.

Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the powers manifested in you had been manifested in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes; but both Tyre and Sidon will be more pleased in judgment than you. And you, Capernaum, who have ascended to heaven, will descend to hell. He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. Tyre and Sidon were pagan cities, but Bethsaida and Chorazin were Jewish cities. Therefore He says that at the judgment it will be more pleasing to the Gentiles than to you, who have seen miracles and disbelieved; for if they had seen, they would have believed. And you, Capernaum, who have ascended to heaven, as glorified by the many miracles that have wrought in you, will descend to hell; you will be condemned for the very fact that even after so many miracles you do not believe. - Then, lest those who are sent to preach should say, "Why do you send us, if some cities will not receive us," he says, "Do not be sad; he who rejects you rejects Me and My Father; therefore the offense does not stop at you, but ascends to God. Therefore, let it be a comfort to you that the offense is inflicted (not on you, but) on God. In the same way, on the other hand, do not boast or be exalted by the fact that some listen to you; for this is not your work, but mine's grace.

The seventy disciples returned with joy and said: "Lord! and the demons obey us in Thy name. And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning; Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you; However, do not rejoice that the spirits obey you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. The Evangelist said before that the Lord sent seventy disciples, and now he says that they returned with joy, that they not only healed from other diseases, but delivered them from an even greater evil - from demons. See how far they are from arrogance; for they say to the Lord, "In Thy name" the demons obey us, according to Thy grace, and not according to our power. And the Lord said to them, "Do not be amazed that the demons obey you, for their ruler has long been cast down and has no power." Although it was not visible to people, it was visible to Me, who contemplates and is invisible. Satan fell like lightning from heaven because he was light, archangel and Lucifer, although now he has become darkness. But if he fell from heaven, then his servants, I mean demons, what will they not tolerate? Some words "from heaven" are understood thus: from glory. Since the seventy told the Lord that the demons obeyed them, He said, "I also knew this, for I saw Satan fall from heaven, that is, he lost the glory he had and the honor." Before the coming of Christ, he was revered as God, but now he fell from heaven, that is, they stopped revering him as God and thinking that he lived in heaven. "Behold, I give you power to trample down his powers." For serpents and scorpions are hosts of demons, creeping things in the valley, and those of them that bite in a more visible way are serpents, and those that strike in a more hidden way are scorpions. For example, the demon of fornication and murder is a serpent, for it incites to visible evil deeds; and the demon who, under the pretext of illness, for example, inclines a person to use baths, fragrant ointments, and other bliss, can be called a scorpion, since he has a hidden sting and secretly tries to sting the flesh in order to lead the listener into a greater crime. But thanks be to the Lord, Who gave the authority to tread on them! However, teaching His disciples not to be arrogant, the Lord says: nevertheless, do not rejoice that the demons obey you (for from this others receive benefit, namely those who receive healing), but rather rejoice that your names in heaven are written not with ink, but with God's memory and grace. The devil falls from heaven, and people who live on earth are inscribed in heaven. So, the true joy is that your names are written in heaven and are not forgotten by God.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes." Yes, Father! For such was Thy good pleasure. As a good father, seeing his children succeeding in something worthy of praise, rejoices, so the Savior rejoiced that the Apostles were vouchsafed such blessings. Therefore, He thanks the Father that such sacraments are hidden "from the wise," that is, the Pharisees and scribes who interpreted the Law, and from the "prudent," that is, the disciples of these same scribes. For he who teaches is wise, but he who learns and understands lessons is wise; for example, Gamaliel is wise, and Paul is wise, for the former is a teacher, and the latter understands what the former instructs. - The Lord calls His disciples "babes" because they were not skilled in the Law, but were chosen for the most part from the common class of the people and from the fishermen. However, they could also be called infants because of their kindness. And those (the Pharisees and scribes) were not real wise and intelligent, but only seemed. Thus these mysteries are hidden from the wise and prudent, who seemed to be so, but in reality were not. For if they had been so, the sacraments would have been revealed to them. "Yes, Father," I thank Thee, "for such was Thy good pleasure," that is, that such was Thy favor and will, and so it pleased Thee.

And turning to the disciples, he said, "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and who the Son is, no one knows but the Father, and who the Father is, no one knows except the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal. And turning to the disciples, he said to them especially, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!" For I say to you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear. The Father gives everything to the Son, because everything has to submit to the Son. God reigns over everyone in two ways: first, over those who do not desire His Kingdom, and, second, over those who will. For example, I will say: God is my Lord, even if I do not want to, because He is my Creator; and again, God is my Lord, when I, as a discreet servant, do His will by keeping the commandments. Human nature had been in slavery and in the hands of God before, although it did not want it, although it also served Satan. But when Christ endured the struggle for us, and, having freed us from the power of the devil, made us His servants and doers of the commandments, from that time we became discreet slaves, both by nature and by will; for the first slavery was only by nature, and the second, moreover, by our will. Thus, the Lord now says: "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father," that is, all things have to submit to Me and fall under My dominion. This is similar to another saying: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me" (Matt. 28:18). And thus He says because He has reconciled all things (Col. 1:20) that are in heaven and on earth, and in other words: the Father commends all things to the Son, all the works of the economy of our salvation. Therefore, for our sake neither the Father nor the Spirit was incarnate, or suffered, or rose again, but the Son did all this, and He became the leader of our salvation; therefore He says that all things are given to Him. He said, as it were: My Father has entrusted everything to Me: to be incarnate, to suffer, to be resurrected, to save the rejected nature. - "And who the Son is, no one knows except the Father, and who the Father is, no one knows except the Son." Since He said that everything is committed to Me, now He seems to resolve some perplexity. So that someone does not think: why did He give everything to You, and not to another, even to an Angel or an Archangel? - He says: He betrayed Me because I am of the same Nature and Essence with Him. And just as no one knows Him, so no one knows Me except the Father alone. Therefore He justly committed all things to Me, as One in Essence with Him and surpassing all knowledge, just as He also is above all knowledge. For the Father, he says, is known only by the Son, and by him to whom the Son wishes to reveal. See: the Son does not know the Father by revelation, but creatures by revelation, for they receive knowledge by grace; therefore the Son is not created. - Turning to the disciples, the Lord blesses them and in general all who look with faith to Him, Who walks in the flesh and works miracles. For the ancient prophets and kings, although they greatly desired to see the Lord in the flesh and to hear Him, were not worthy of this. And in other words: since He said above that He knows the Father, to whom the Son will reveal, He now blesses the disciples, as having already received this revelation. For He revealed the Father to them by Himself, inasmuch as he who sees Him has seen the Father (John 14:9). And this good was not attained by any of those saints who lived before the appearance and action of the Son of God in the flesh. Since they did not see the Lord in the flesh, through whom the Father was known, it follows that they did not see the Father as the apostles did.

And behold, a certain lawyer arose, and tempted him, and said, Teacher! What must I do to inherit eternal life? And he said to him, What is written in the law? How do you read? And he answered and said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus said to him, "Thou hast answered rightly; Do so, and you will live. This lawyer was a boastful man, very arrogant, as it turns out from the following, and moreover treacherous. So he approaches the Lord, tempting Him, probably thinking that he would catch the Lord in His answers. But the Lord points him to the very Law with which he was very arrogant. - See with what precision the Law commands us to love the Lord. Man is the most perfect of all creatures. Though it has something in common with all of them, it also has something advantageous. For example, a person has something in common with a stone, because he has hair, nails, which are as insensible as a stone. It has something in common with a plant, because it grows and feeds, and gives birth to something similar to itself, just like a plant. He has something in common with dumb animals, because he has feelings, he is angry and lustful. But what exalts man above all other animals, he also has in common with God, namely, the rational soul. That is why the Law, wishing to show that man must completely surrender himself to God in everything and captivate all the powers of the soul into the love of God, with the words "with all his heart" he pointed to a coarser power peculiar to plants, with the words "with all his soul" - to a power more subtle and befitting creatures endowed with feelings, with the words "with all understanding" he designated the distinguishing power of man - the rational soul. The words "with all the might" we must apply to all this. For we must submit to the love of Christ the vegetative power of the soul. But how? - strongly, not weakly: both sensual and strong; finally, both rational and its "whole strength," so that we must completely surrender ourselves to God and subordinate to God's love our nourishing, feeling, and rational power. - "And thy neighbor as thyself." The law, which because of the infancy of the hearers, was not yet able to teach the most perfect teaching, commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. But Christ taught us to love our neighbor more than ourselves. For He says: "No man can show greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). - So he says to the lawyer, 'You answered rightly.' Inasmuch as you, he says, are still subject to the Law, you answer rightly; for according to the Law you reason rightly.

But he, wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" And Jesus said, "A certain man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, and was caught by robbers, who stripped him of his clothes, wounded him, and departed, leaving him scarcely alive. By chance, a certain priest was walking along that road, and seeing him, he passed by. And the Levite, striking in that place, came up, looked, and passed by. And a certain Samaritan, passing by, came upon him, and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion, and came and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine; and having put him on his donkey, he brought him to the inn and took care of him; and the next day, as he was leaving, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, "Take care of him; and if you spend any more, when I return, I will give it to you. Which of these three, do you think, was the neighbor of the robbers who fell into his hands? He said, "He who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said to him, "Go, and you do likewise." The lawyer, having received praise from the Savior, showed arrogance. He said, "And who is my neighbor?" He thought that he was righteous and had no one like himself and close in virtue; for he believed that the neighbor of the righteous is only the righteous. And so, wishing to justify himself and exalt himself before all men, he proudly says: "And who is my neighbor? But the Saviour, since He is the Creator and sees one creature in all, defines His neighbor not by deeds, not by virtues, but by nature. Do not think, he says, that because you are righteous, there is no one like you. For all who have one and the same nature are thy neighbors. Therefore, you yourself be their neighbor, not according to their place, but according to your disposition towards them and your care for them. For this reason I give you the example of the Samaritan, in order to show you that although he differed in life, nevertheless he became a neighbor to him who was in need of mercy. In the same way, show yourself to your neighbor through compassion and hasten to help according to your own confession. Thus, in this parable we learn to be ready for mercy and to strive to be neighbors to those who need our help. We also come to know the goodness of God in relation to man. Human nature came from Jerusalem, that is, from a serene and peaceful life, for Jerusalem means "the vision of the world." Where was she going? To Jericho, empty, low, and suffocating from the heat, that is, to a life full of passions. See: He did not say, "He descended," but "went." For human nature has always inclined towards earthly things, not once, but constantly being carried away by a passionate life. "And he fell into the hands of robbers," that is, he fell into the hands of demons. Whoever does not descend from the height of the mind will not fall into the hands of demons. They, having exposed man and stripped him of the garments of virtue, inflicted sinful wounds on him. For they first expose us from every good thought and protection of God, and then they inflict wounds with sins. They left human nature "scarcely alive," either because the soul is immortal and the body is mortal, and thus half of man is subject to death, or because human nature was not entirely rejected, but hoped to receive salvation in Christ, and thus was not completely dead. But just as through the transgression of Adam death entered into the world, so through justification in Christ death was to be abolished (Romans 5:16-17). By priest and Levite, perhaps, you mean the Law and the prophets. For they wanted to justify man, but they could not. "It is impossible," says the Apostle Paul, "that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins" (Heb. 10:4). They took pity on the man and pondered how to heal him, but, overcome by the force of the wounds, they again withdrew back. For this means (to pass by). The law came and stood still over the one who was lying, but then, not having the power to heal, it retreated. This means "passed by". - Look: the word "on occasion" has some meaning. For the Law, indeed, was given not for any special reason, but because of human weakness (Gal. 3:19), which at first could not receive the sacraments of Christ. That is why it is said that the priest, that is, the Law, did not come to heal a person on purpose, but "on occasion," which we usually call chance. But our Lord and God, Who became a curse for us (Gal. 3:13) and was called the Samaritan (John 8:48), came to us, making a journey, that is, setting the same thing as a pretext for the path and as a goal, in order to heal us, and not only by passing, and visited us not by chance (by the way), but lived with us and did not converse with us in a ghostly way. - Immediately he bandaged the wounds, not allowing the disease to worsen, but binding it. - He poured out oil and wine: oil is the word of teaching, which prepares for virtue by the promise of blessings, and wine is the word of teaching, which leads to virtue by fear. Thus, when you hear the word of the Lord: "Come unto me, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28), it is oil, for it shows mercy and comfort. Such are the words: "Come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you" (Matt. 25:34). But when the Lord says: "Go ye into darkness" (Matt. 25:41), this is wine, a strict teaching. You can understand it differently. Oil means life according to humanity, and wine means life according to the Divine. For the Lord did some things as a man, and others as God. For example, to eat, to drink, to lead a life not without pleasures, and not to show severity in everything, as John did, is oil; and the wondrous fasting, walking on the sea, and other manifestations of God's power are wine. Guilt can be likened to the Divinity in the sense that no one could endure the Divinity in Himself (without union) if there were not this oil, that is, life according to humanity. Since the Lord saved us through both, that is, the Divinity and humanity, it is therefore said that He poured out oil and wine. And every day those who are baptized are healed of their spiritual wounds, being anointed with myrrh, immediately communing with the Church and partaking of the Divine Blood. The Lord has planted our wounded nature on His foal, that is, on His Body. For He made us His members and partakers of His Body: He raised us, who are in the valley, to such a dignity that we are one Body with Him! - The hotel is the Church, which receives everyone. The law did not accept everyone. For it is said: "An Ammonite and a Moabite cannot enter into the congregation of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 23:3). But in every nation he who fears Him is acceptable to Him (Acts 10:35), if he wishes to believe and become a member of the Church. For it accepts everyone: both sinners and tax collectors. Notice the exact manner in which it is said that I brought him to the inn and took care of him. Before he brought him to it, he only bandaged the wounds. What does that mean? That when the Church was formed and the inn was opened, that is, when faith grew among almost all nations, then the gifts of the Holy Spirit were revealed, and the grace of God spread. You will learn this from the Acts of the Apostles. The image of the innkeeper is carried by every apostle, teacher, and pastor, to whom the Lord gave two denarii, that is, two Testaments: the Old and the New. For both Testaments, as utterances of one and the same God, bear the image of one King. It was these denarii that the Lord, ascending to heaven, left to the Apostles and to the bishops and teachers of later times. - He said: if you spend anything of your own, I will give it to you. The Apostles, indeed, spent their own, laboring much and scattering the teaching everywhere. And the teachers of later times, in explaining the Old and New Testaments, spent much of their own. For this, they will receive a reward when the Lord returns, that is, at His second coming. Then each of them will say to Him, "Lord! You have given me two denarii, and I have gained the other two. And He will say to such a person: Well done, good servant!

In the course of their journey, He came to a certain village; here a woman, whose name was Martha, received Him into her house; and she had a sister named Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus and heard his word. Martha was taking care of a large feast and, approaching, said: Lord! or do you not need that my sister left me alone to serve? Tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha! Martha! you are anxious and fussy about many things, but only one thing is necessary; Mary chose the good part, which would not be taken away from her. Great is the benefit of hospitality, as Martha has shown, and should not be neglected; but it is even more good to listen to spiritual conversations. For by this the body is nourished, and by this the soul is enlivened. "We do not exist," he says, "Martha, in order to fill the body with various viands, but in order to do what is useful to the souls. Take note also of the Lord's prudence. He said nothing to Martha before he received cause for reproach from her. When she tried to distract her sister from hearing, then the Lord, taking advantage of the occasion, rebuked her. For hospitality is still praiseworthy, so long as it does not distract and divert us from that which is more necessary; but when it begins to hinder us in the most important things, then it is enough to prefer to it hearing about divine things. Moreover, to be more precise, the Lord forbids not hospitality, but variety and vanity, that is, entertainment and confusion. Why, says Martha, do you care and care about many things, that is, amuse yourself, worry? We only need something to eat, and not a variety of food. - Other words "only one thing is necessary" meant not about food, but about attention to learning. Thus, with these words the Lord teaches the Apostles that when they enter someone's house, they should not demand anything luxurious, but be content with the simple, caring no more about anything but attention to the teaching. "Perhaps you should understand by Martha active virtue, and by Mary contemplation. Active virtue has amusements and disturbances, and contemplation, having become master of the passions (for Mary means mistress), exercises itself in the mere consideration of divine utterances and destinies. - Pay attention to the words: "She sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His word." Feet can be understood as an active virtue, for they signify movement and walking. And sitting is a sign of immobility. Therefore, whoever sits at the feet of Jesus, that is, who is established in active virtue and through imitation of the walk and life of Jesus is strengthened in it, he then comes to hear divine utterances or to contemplate. For Mary also sat down first, and then listened to the words. "And so, if thou canst, ascend to the degree of Mary through mastery of the passions and the striving for contemplation. If this is impossible for you, be Martha, be diligent to the active side, and through this receive Christ. - To say this: "Which shall not be taken away from her." He who strives in works has something that is taken away from him, that is, cares and amusements. For, having reached contemplation, he is freed from amusement and vanity, and in this way something is taken away from him. And he who strives in contemplation is never deprived of this good part, that is, contemplation. For in what more will he succeed when he has attained the highest, I mean, contemplation of God, what is equal to deification? For whoever is vouchsafed to behold God becomes a god, since like is embraced by like.

Chapter Eleven

It happened that when He was praying in a certain place, and stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord! teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. He said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us our daily bread every day; and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one of our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. The disciple of Christ is jealous of the disciples of John, and therefore wishes to learn how to pray. The Savior did not reject the desires of the disciples, but He teaches. "Our Father," he says, "who art in heaven." Notice the power of prayer. It immediately elevates you to the things above, and since you call God Father, she urges you in every way not to lose your likeness to the Father, but to try to become like Him. He did not say "My Father," but "Our Father," stirring you up to brotherly love and urging you to love everyone as brothers in general. By saying, "in heaven," he does not limit God with them, but raises the listener to heaven and leads him away from earthly things. - "Hallowed be Thy name," instead of "Let it be glorified," that is, arrange our life so that it may be for Thy glory. For just as the name of God is blasphemed by the wicked, so are those who lead a good life glorified. - "Thy Kingdom come." The sinner does not pray for the Kingdom of God, for he does not desire its coming because of the punishments that await him there. On the contrary, the righteous man prays that it will come soon, so that he may be freed from the temptations of this world and calm down. - "Thy will be done", as in heaven - with the Angels, so with us people on earth. For the angels act all and in everything according to the will of God. - It teaches us to ask for "daily bread" only, that is, useful for our existence and for the maintenance of life, by no means superfluous, but necessary. - Not to enter into temptation means not to rush into temptations. For we should pray to God, not that He would send temptation upon us, but that He would turn it away; and if he does, he must endure it with courage. It must be said that there are two types of temptations. Some are arbitrary, for example, drunkenness, murder, adultery, and other passions; for we ourselves fall into these temptations arbitrarily. Other temptations are involuntary, to which we are subjected by the lords and the strong. It is from voluntary temptations, that is, from the passions, that we must flee from them, pray for deliverance from them and say, "Lead us not in," that is, do not allow us to fall "into temptation," that is, into voluntary passion, "But deliver us from evil." For it brings involuntary and voluntary temptations. Therefore, when you involuntarily endure temptation from a person, do not consider this person to be the author of your temptation, but the evil one. For it causes a man to be angry with you and to rage.