DISCOURSE 10

"The earth, which has drunk the rain that has fallen upon it many times, and brings forth a grain that is useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; but she that yieldeth thorns and thistles is worthless, and is near to a curse, the end of which is burning" (Hebrews 6:7-8).

1. With fear we must listen to the word of God, with fear and great trembling: "Serve," says the Psalmist, "to the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11). But if our very joy and gladness should be with trembling, then when something terrible is said, what is it now, what punishment do we not deserve, if we hear it without trembling? Having shown that those who have fallen away cannot be baptized a second time, and that it is impossible for them to receive remission (of sins) through the font (of baptism), and having explained how terrible this is, (the Apostle) continues: "The earth, which has drunk the rain that has fallen on it many times, and brings forth cereal, which is useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; but she that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and is near to a curse, the end of which is burning." Let us be afraid, beloved! This is not Pavlov's threat, these are not human words; it is the Holy Spirit, Christ, which spoke in Paul. Who is clean from these thorns? Even if we were pure, we ought not to remain still, but to be afraid and trembling, lest thorns grow in us; and if we are all made up entirely of thorns and thistles, tell me, how can we remain calm and careless? What makes us careless? If he who thinks that he is standing must fear lest he fall, "who thinks that he is standing," it is said, "take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. 10:12), then how much should the fallen man take care to get up? If Paul feared, "lest, preaching to others, he himself should remain unworthy" (1 Cor. 9:27), if he, so worthy, feared to become unworthy, then we, who have already become unworthy, what justification and forgiveness will we have, having no fear, but fulfilling Christian duties, as if it were some custom, and only for appearances? Let us be afraid, beloved! "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven" (Romans 1:18). Let us be afraid, because he reveals himself not only to "wickedness," but also to every "unrighteousness," small and great. At the same time, (the Apostle) also points to God's love for mankind; and by rain he calls teaching, and what he said above in the words, "For you ought to have been teachers," he says the same here. And in many places the Scripture calls the teaching rain: "And I will command the clouds not to pour rain on it," says (the Lord) about the vineyard (Isaiah 5:6); and in another place the same thing is called the famine of bread and the thirst for water (Amos 8:11); and again: "The stream of God is full of water" (Psalm 64:10). "The earth," he says, "drinking the rain that falls on it many times." Here he expresses that they both received and drank his word, and were often vouchsafed to hear it, but did not benefit from it. If, he says, you had not been cultivated, if you had not received rain, then the evil would not have been so great, because "If I had not come," says (Christ), "and had not spoken to them, they would have had no sin" (John 15:22); but if you have often drunk and taken, why have you grown something else instead of fruit? "He expected," says (the Lord), "that he would bring forth good grapes, he brought wild berries" (Isa. 5:4). Do you see that the Scriptures everywhere call sins thorns? And David says: "I became a sufferer when thorns pierced into me" (Psalm 31:4). (Thorn) does not simply enter, but pierces; and though there be a little of it left, yet if it is not all pulled out, then even the smallest part of it produces pain as well as the thorns. But what do I say: a little? Even after it is pulled out, there is still pain in the wound for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to treat and use it for a long time in order to free oneself from it completely; It is not enough to pluck out the sin, but it is also necessary to heal the affected place. I am afraid that the words (of the Apostle) do not apply to us more than to others: "The earth, which drank the rain that fell upon it many times"; After all, we are constantly drinking, constantly listening, but as soon as the sun rises, we lose moisture, and therefore we grow thorns. What kind of thorns are these? Let us listen to Christ, who says: "The care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it is fruitless" (Matthew 13:22). "The earth, which has drunk the rain that has fallen on it many times, and which brings forth the grain that is useful."

2. There is nothing so useful as purity of life, nothing so beautiful as a comfortable life, nothing so desirable as virtue. "And the one that grows," he says, "the grain that is useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives the blessing of God." Here he inspires that God is the author of everything, and in a certain way rebukes the pagans, who ascribed the production of fruits to the power of the earth. It is not the hands of the farmer, he says, that stir up the earth to bear fruit, but the command of God; therefore it is expressed thus: "receives a blessing from God." And look: he did not say about thorns: "thorns and thistles," he did not use such an approving expression, but what? – "producing thorns and thistles" – as it were: vomiting, throwing out. "Worthless and close to damnation." Oh, what consolation is contained in these words! "Near," he says, "to a curse," and did not say, "accursed; i.e. it has not yet been subjected to the curse, but is only close to it, but may be far from it. And not only with these words does he console, but also with the following; He did not say, "It is useless, it is close to a curse, and will be burned," but what? "whose end is burning"; expresses that if she remains like this to the end, she will tolerate this too. Consequently, if we pluck up and burn thorns, we can receive many blessings, become useful, and be worthy of blessing. He justly calls sin thorns in the words: "Producing thorns and thistles," because (sin), if you hold on to it firmly, pierces and, and is even ugly in appearance. And so, having rebuked them sufficiently, frightened and rebuked, (the apostle) then comforts them, so as not to strike them too much, and so that they do not become careless, because a lazy man, when he is punished (too much), becomes even more lazy. For this reason (the Apostle) does not approve of them for everything, so that they do not become proud, and does not reproach them for everything, so as not to make them more careless, but after saying a little reproach, in further words he offers great consolation, so that in this way he may attain his goal. What does he say? "Nevertheless, of you, beloved, we hope that you are in a better [condition] and hold fast to salvation, although we say so" (Hebrews 6:9), i.e., we say this not because we despair of you or consider you full of thorns, but because we fear that this may happen; It is better to inspire you with fear in words than to experience sorrow in deed. This is especially shown by the wisdom of Paul. He did not say: we think, we assume, we expect, we hope, but what? "We hope." So in the Epistle to the Galatians he says: "I am confident of you in the Lord, that you will not think otherwise" (Gal. 5:10); He did not say, "You understand," but, "You will not think otherwise," since (the Galatians) were then very worthy of condemnation, and (the Apostle) could not praise them for their present works, then he praises them for future ones: "You will not," he says, "think otherwise." And here he praises (the Jews) for their present works: "We hope that you are in a better [condition] and hold on to salvation, although we say so." But since he could not praise them much for their present works, he borrows consolation from the deeds of the past and says: "For God is not unrighteous, that he should forget your work, and the labor of love which you have shown in His name, in serving and ministering to the saints" (Hebrews 6:10). Oh, how he encouraged and strengthened their souls, remembering their former deeds and presenting the need to hope that God had not forgotten (their feats)! Truly, whoever is not convinced of God's justice and that He will reward each one according to the merits of this life is inevitably sinning and saying that God is unrighteous. That is why he inspired them with the need to fully hope for future retribution. Whoever despairs of the present and loses heart can be encouraged by the future. So also in the Epistle to the Galatians (Paul) says: "Ye have walked well: who has stopped you, that ye should not obey the truth" (Gal. 5:7)? and again: "Have you suffered so much in vain? Oh, if only it were useless!" (Gal. 3:4); and just as here he combines approval with rebuke, when he says: "For [judging by] the time, you should have been teachers" (Heb. 5:12), so there: "So quickly pass on to another gospel" (Gal. 1:6). Praise is also reproachful, because we are amazed when something great falls. Do you see how praise is hidden in the very rebuke and accusation? And he does not speak this only from himself, but in the name of all; He did not say, "I hope," but, "We hope that you are in a better [condition]," that is, better. Here he speaks either of their lives or of their retribution. Having said above, "Worthless and close to a curse, the end of which is burning," then, lest they should think that he is saying this of them, he immediately adds, "God is not unrighteous, that he should forget your work and the work of love," and thereby expresses that it is not of them that he speaks, "though we say so." But if you do not speak of us, why do you touch us, calling us lazy, and inspiring fear, reminding us of thorns? "We desire," he says, "that each one of you, for the perfect assurance of hope, should show the same zeal to the end, that you may not be slothful, but imitate those who by faith and patience inherit the promises" (Hebrews 6:11-12).

3. "We will," he says; therefore, we do not want this only in words. But tell me, what do you want? We wish you to be virtuous, not by condemning you for the past, but by fearing for the future. Nor did he say, "Condemning not for the past, but for the present, because you have become corrupt and careless." But see how meekly he expressed this, and did not utter reproach. What does he say? "We desire that each of you, for the complete assurance of hope, show the same zeal to the end." Paul's wisdom is amazing: he does not directly express that they have weakened, that they have fallen, because to say: "We desire that each of you" is to say: I wish that you were always scrupulous, that as you were before, so that you will be now and in the future; by this he makes his rebuke more meek and acceptable. Nor did he say, "I want," which would show the power of the teacher, but he says, "we will," using an expression that shows fatherly love, and means more than "I want," and as if he were saying, "Forgive me if we say anything unpleasant." "We desire that each of you, for the complete assurance of hope, show the same zeal to the end." What does this mean? Hope, he says, endures, it strengthens; do not weaken and do not despair, lest your hope be superfluous; he who does good hopes for good, and never despairs. "Lest ye be slothful" – yet – let you not, although he said above: "Ye have become incapable of listening" (Hebrews 5:11). But note that there he indicated only the inability to listen, and here, although he uses a similar expression, he still hints at something else: instead of saying, "Do not remain lazy," he said, "Lest you become lazy." Again their guilt postpones them to the future, saying: "That ye may not be slothful"; and since the future tense does not yet exist, we cannot be guilty. He who is persuaded as lazy to be diligent at the present time may become still more lazy; but it is not the same with him who is (persuaded to reform) for the future. "We desire," he says, "that each of you." Great love! (Paul) cares equally for the great and the small, remembers all, despises no one, but equally cares for each and gives equal honor to all; by this he is all the more disposed to accept his words, in spite of their severity. "So that you do not become lazy," he says. As inaction harms the body, so does not exercise in good make the soul careless and weak. "But they have imitated those who by faith and patience inherit the promises." Who these (heirs) are, he explains further. Beforehand he said: "Imitate your former good deeds; and then, so that they do not ask: which one? - he points to the forefather (Abraham), presenting examples of good deeds in their own deeds, and as proof that they are not forgotten, the example of the forefather. He does this so that they do not say that they are forgotten and abandoned as unworthy, but that they know that to spend life in the midst of temptations is the lot of especially valiant people, and that God has always done this to wondrous and great men. It is necessary, he says, to endure everything with longsuffering, because this is what it means to believe. If I were to say, "Behold, I give unto thee, and thou wouldst immediately receive," what should thou believe? There would be no place for your faith here, but I warn and give as promised. But if I say, "Behold, I give to you, but I will give it to you in a hundred years, and you will not despair," then you consider me worthy of faith and have a proper opinion of me. Do you see that unbelief often comes not only from hopelessness, but also from faint-heartedness and impatience, and does not depend on the one who promised? "God is not unrighteous," he says, "so that he may forget your work and the labor of love which you have shown in His name by serving and serving the saints." He gives an important testimony about them, pointing not only to their deeds, but also to their diligent works, just as he says in another place: "And not only what we hoped, but they gave themselves, first to the Lord, [then] to us" (2 Cor. 8:5). "They did it in His name, serving and ministering to the saints." See how he comforts them again, adding: "having served and served"; even now you serve, he says, encouraging them and suggesting that they did not do this for men, but for God. "They did," he says, not just for the saints, but for God; this is the meaning of the words, "In His name," in which he seems to say, "You have done all things in His name." Therefore, He who has received such diligence and love from you will never despise you or forget you.

4. Hearing this, let us serve the saints, I exhort you. And every believer is holy, because he is a believer; even if he is a layman, he is holy. "For," says (alostol), "the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband" (1 Cor. 7:14). You see: faith brings sanctification. If we see a layman in wickedness, let us give a helping hand. It is not only for those who live in the mountains that we should take care of; Of course, they are holy both in life and in faith, but they are also holy in faith, and many of them are holy in life. We will not (act in such a way that) when we see a monk in prison, we will go to him, and when we see a layman, we will not go; and the latter is also holy, and also our brother. But what, you say, if he is unclean and wicked? Listen to what Christ says: "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). You do it for God. But what am I saying? Even if we see a pagan in misfortune, it is necessary to do good to him, and in general to every person in unfortunate circumstances, especially to a believing layman. Listen to what Paul commands: "Let us do good to all, and especially to those who are in the faith" (Gal. 6:10). I do not understand whence came (the contrary opinion) and how the (contrary) custom was strengthened among us.

And in order for you to be convinced of this, listen to what Christ says in the next parable. "A certain man," He says, "was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers..." They, having beaten him, left him half-dead on the road. By chance a certain Levite was walking along that road, and seeing him, he passed by; A certain priest did the same, and passed by. But after them came a certain Samaritan, and showed great compassion to him: he bound up his wounds, poured oil on them, put him on a donkey, brought him to the inn, and said to its keeper, "Take care of him, and, behold his great love, if you spend more, I will give it to you." Then (Christ) asked: "Which of these three, do you think, was the neighbor of the robbers?" And when the lawyer answered: "He who showed him mercy", then He said: "Go, and you do likewise" (Luke 10:30-37). Notice this parable spoken (by the Lord); He did not say that the Jew was to the Samaritan, but that the Samaritan showed such mercy. From this we learn that we should take care of everyone equally, and not do good only by faith, and not think about others. In the same way, when you see someone suffering, do not inquire anything about him; He has the right to help because he suffers. If you help an ass when you see it dying, and do not ask whose it is, how much more should you not ask about the person whose it is; he is God's, even though he be a Gentile, even though he be a Jew. If he is unfaithful, but needs help. If you were allowed to examine and judge, you could say this; but now the very misfortune does not permit you to make investigations. If it is not proper to judge the healthy and examine the deeds of others, how much more so to those who suffer. Otherwise, what (will be)? Have you seen him happy, prosperous, that you say that he is evil and vicious? He suffers; but if you see him suffering, do not say that he is wicked. When we see a man prospering, then, perhaps, we can say this about him; but when we see a person suffering and in need of help, we should not say that he is vicious; This is a sign of cruelty, inhumanity and arrogance. Who, tell me, was more wicked than the Jews? God punished them, and punished them justly, very justly; but to those who had compassion on them, He was well pleased, and to those who rejoiced in their misfortune, He punished. "And you are not sick," says (the prophet), "because of the calamity of Joseph" (Amos 6:6). And in another place it says: "Save those who are taken to death" (Proverbs 24:11). It is said, "Search, and find out who they are," though for the most part those who are led away to death are wicked, but it is simply said, "Save," whoever they may be. This is what mercy especially consists of. Whoever does good to a friend, without a doubt, does not do it for God's sake; and whoever does it to a stranger, does it exclusively for God. (The Most Wise) says: do not spare money, and even if you have to spend everything, give it back; but we, seeing those who are exhausted, tormented, and suffering, are more cruel than a thousand deaths, and often unjustly, we grudge money and do not spare the brethren; We guard the soulless and do not think about the soul. Meanwhile, Paul commands "to instruct the adversaries with meekness, lest God give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, that they may be freed from the snare of the devil, who has ensnared them in his own will" (2 Tim. 2:25-26). "Will he not give," he says, "do you see what long-suffering his words are filled with? Let us also imitate him and consider no one hopeless. Fishermen, throwing their nets into the sea, often do not pull anything out, but when they throw it for the last time, they get everything. So we do not despair, but we hope that you will suddenly show us ripe fruits. And the farmer, having sown seeds, endures one day and another, and waits a long time, and then suddenly sees everywhere in sprouted fruit. This, we hope, will be with you, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory, dominion, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATION 11

"God, when he made a promise to Abraham, as he could not swear by anyone higher, swore by himself, saying, 'Truly I will bless you, and multiply you by multiplying you.' And so Abraham, being long-suffering, received what he had promised. Men swear by the highest, and an oath in witness puts an end to every dispute between them." (Hebrews 6:13-16).

1. Having greatly touched the Jews and sufficiently inspired them with fear, (the apostle) comforts them first with praise, and then, which is much more effective, with the fact that they will certainly receive what they expect. He borrows this consolation from events, not present, but past, which was more convincing for them. Just as when he threatens with punishment, he especially frightens with present events, so when promising rewards, he consoles with past events, pointing out how God usually acts, i.e. that He does not fulfill His promises quickly, but after a long time. He does this in order to provide a powerful proof of His power and to arouse faith in us, so that people who spend their lives in sorrows and receive neither promises nor rewards, will not weaken in their struggles. Having the opportunity to introduce many, (the Apostle) leaves all the others and points to Abraham, both in view of the importance of the person, and especially because it happened to him, as he says at the end of the epistle: "All these, not having received the promises, but only saw them from afar, and rejoiced... did not receive what was promised, ... that they may not be made perfect without us" (Hebrews 9:13, 39, 40). "God, when he made a promise to Abraham," he says, "as he could not swear by anyone higher, swore by himself, saying, 'Truly I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.' And so Abraham, being long-suffering, received what he had promised." How then does he say at the end, "We have not received the promise," and here, "Having suffered long, we have received the promise?" He does not speak of the same thing here and there, but inspires a twofold consolation. He promised (God) to Abraham, and the promise spoken of here He fulfilled after a long time; and that (promise) which is spoken of there was not so. "And so Abraham, being long-suffering, received the promise." Do you see that not only the promise has accomplished everything, but also longsuffering? Here he inspires them with fear, expressing that often the promise is not fulfilled because of the faint-heartedness (of people). This he proved by the example of the (Israelite) people, who were faint-hearted and therefore did not receive the promise, but by the example of Abraham he proves the opposite. In the end, he inspires something even more: he says that (others) even those who have suffered long, have not received, and yet have not given themselves over to despondency. "Men swear by the highest, and an oath in witness puts an end to every dispute between them. For this reason God, wishing to show the heirs of the promise the immutability of His will, used an oath as an intermediary." Correct. But who was he who swore to Abraham? Is it not the Son? No, you say. Why do you say so? On the contrary, it is He; However, I will not argue. When He swears by the same oath, "Amen, amen I say unto you," is it not clear that it is for lack of anyone higher to swear? As the Father swore, so the Son swears by Himself: "Amen," he says, "Amen I say to you." Here (the Apostle) reminds them of the oaths that Christ often pronounced when He said: "(Verily, verily, I say unto thee:)[1] He that believeth on Me shall never die" (John 11:26). What does it mean: "And an oath for a testimony puts an end to every dispute between them"? In other words: this resolves perplexities in every disputed case, not in this or that, but in every case. God had to be believed without an oath; but "and God, desiring to show the heirs of the promise the immutability of His will, used an oath as an intermediary" (Hebrews 6:17). Here (the Apostle) also means believers; therefore he mentions such a promise, which applied to all of us in general. "I have used," he says, "an oath." Again here he speaks of the Son, who is the mediator between people and God. "That in two things that are immutable, in which it is impossible for God to lie" (Hebrews 6:18). Which and what? Which and which ones? By what He said and promised, and by the fact that He added an oath to the promise. Since among men it is considered more certain that which is confirmed by an oath, therefore he added an oath.

2. Do you see that (God) does not look at His own dignity, but, in order to convince people, allows things unworthy of Him to be spoken of Himself, precisely in order to assure. Concerning Abraham, (the Apostle) shows that everything was the work of God, and not the work of his long-suffering, when God was pleased to add an oath, when, just as men swear, God also swore by Himself. People swear by Him as great, but He did not swear as great, and yet He did. The oath of oneself is not the same for man and God, because man has no power over himself. So, you see, this is said (by the apostle) not so much in relation to Abraham as in relation to us. "In order to... firm," he says, "we had consolation, who ran to take hold of the hope that lay before us." Above he said, "Long-suffering, he received the promise," and now he says (that... we had firm consolation); however, he did not add: because (God) swore. And what the oath consists of, He explained in the words: "They swear by the highest." Since the human race is distrustful, (God) descends to that which is peculiar to us; He swears to us, although distrust is unworthy of Him, just as He "learned obedience through suffering" (Hebrews 5:8), because people consider what is known by experience to be more reliable. What does it mean: "for the hope that is set before us"? On the basis of these (promises), he says, we look forward to the future, because if they have been fulfilled after a long time, then this also will surely come to pass. Thus what happened to Abraham assures us of the future. "Hope, which is like a safe and strong anchor for the soul, and enters into the innermost beyond the veil, where Jesus entered as a forerunner for us, having become High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 19-20). We, who live in this world and have not yet departed from life, (the Apostle) presents as having already attained the promise, because by hope we are already in heaven. Hope, he says, for this will surely come to pass; and in assurance he says, "It is better to say, by hope you have already attained this." He did not say, "We are going in," but, "She has gone in," which is more just and more convincing. As an anchor lowered from a ship does not allow it to be tossed about on the waves, no matter what faiths shake it, but by attaching itself to it, it makes it immovable, so hope is. And see what a close comparison he presented; He did not point to a base, which would not be so appropriate here, but to an anchor. By means of it, the ship, which is on the high seas, and apparently unfortified, stands on the water as if on land; hesitates and does not waver. Concerning people who are very firm and wise, Christ appropriately uses the following expression: "who," he says, "built his house upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24); and about people who are not quite firm and are forced to be guided by hope, Paul rightly used this expression (anchor). Waves and violent storms shake the ship; but hope does not allow him to be carried about on the waves, no matter what winds attack him, so that if we did not have it, we would have drowned long ago, and not only in spiritual matters, but also in worldly matters, it exerts great power, such as: in trade, in agriculture, in war; whoever does not keep it in mind will not get down to business. (The Apostle) called it not just an anchor, but a faithful and firm one, in order to show its certainty for the salvation of those who are established on it; Wherefore he adds, "He enters into the innermost beyond the veil." What does that mean? The same as reaching to heaven. Then he adds a assurance that it should be not only a hope, but also a completely true hope; after the oath he cites something else, namely, the proof of works: "whither Jesus entered for us as a forerunner." The Forerunner is the one who goes before someone, as, for example, John (the Forerunner) of Christ. And not simply, "He entered," but, "He entered as a forerunner for us," so that we also must follow him, because there should not be a great distance between the forerunner and those who follow him, otherwise he would not be a forerunner. The Forerunner and those who follow him must be on the same path; the first - to go ahead, and the last - to follow him. "Having become," he says, "a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." And there is another consolation, that our high priest is higher and far better than the Jewish high priests, not only in the manner (of election), but also in place, and in tabernacle, and in covenant, and in person. However, this is said (of Christ) according to the flesh.

3. Therefore it is necessary to be better also for those to whom he is a high priest; as great as the difference between Aaron and Christ is, so great must be the difference between us and the Jews. Behold, we have the woe of the sacrificial lamb, the woe of the high priest, the woe of the sacrifice. Therefore we must offer such sacrifices as could be offered on such an altar, not sheep and oxen, not blood and fat. All this ceased, and instead of that, verbal ministry was introduced. What is verbal ministry? That which is natural, spiritual, "God," says (in the Scriptures), "is spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24), that for which there is no need of body, tools, or places; such are: meekness, chastity, kindness, gentleness, longsuffering, humility. Such sacrifices have long been foretold in the Old Testament. "Offer" to God, says David, "sacrifices of righteousness" (Psalm 4:6); and again: "Unto Thee will I offer a sacrifice of praise" (Psalm 115:8); and again: "He who sacrifices praise honors Me" (Psalm 49:23); and again: "The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit" (Psalm 50:19); and again: "What does the Lord require of you: to act justly, to love works of mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8)? "Sacrifices and offerings thou didst not desire; Thou hast opened my ears; Thou didst not demand burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said, Behold, I am coming; in the scroll of the book it is written about me: I desire to do Thy will, O my God, and Thy law is in my heart" (Ps. 39:7-9); and again: "Why do I need the frankincense that comes out of Sheba" (Jeremiah 6:20); and another (prophet): "Remove from Me the noise of thy songs, for I will not hear the sound of thy harp" (Amos 5:23); but, instead, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6). .

Do you see by what sacrifices one must please God? Do you see that those sacrifices have long ceased, and these have been introduced in their place? We will bring them. The former are the victims of the rich and prosperous, and these are the victims of virtue; those are external, and these are internal; those can be brought by everyone, and these by few. As much as a man is better than a sheep, so much is this sacrifice (higher) than that, because here you sacrifice your soul. There are also sacrifices, verily burnt offerings; these are the bodies of the holy martyrs; their soul and body are holy; they are full of great fragrance. And you, if you wish, can make such a sacrifice. How, when thou canst not give up thy body to be burned? You can (surrender yourself) to another fire, such as the fire of arbitrary poverty, the fire of sorrow. When someone, who is the opportunity to live luxuriously and magnificently, mortifies himself with a life of asceticism and sorrow, is this not a burnt offering? Kill your body and crucify it, and you will also receive the crown of martyrdom. What the sword does there, let him be diligent here. Let not the love of money be inflamed or take possession of you, but let this insane passion be burned and destroyed by spiritual fire, let it be cut off by the sword of the Spirit. This is a good sacrifice, for which there is no need for a priest, but only for the one who offers it, a beautiful sacrifice that is made on earth, but is immediately accepted in heaven. Do we not wonder how in ancient times fire descended and destroyed all things (1 Kings 18:38)? Even now, a much more wondrous fire can descend and destroy everything that is offered, or rather, not destroy it, but lift it up to heaven, since it does not turn gifts into ashes, but offers them to God.

Such were the offerings of Cornelius: "Thy prayer," it was said (to him), "and thy alms were remembered before God" (Acts 10:11). What a perfect combination! Then we too are heard when we ourselves hear the poor coming to us. "Whoever stops his ear," says (the Scriptures), "because of the cry of the poor," God will not listen to his prayer (Proverbs 21:13); "Blessed is he who thinks of the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord will deliver him" (Psalm 40:2). This is not any other day, but the day that will be difficult for sinners. What does it mean: "thinks"? He who understands what a beggar is, who delves into his misfortune, for whoever befalls his misfortune will surely immediately show him mercy. When you see a beggar, do not turn away from him, but immediately think what you yourself would be like if you were in his place, what would you like to receive from everyone? "He thinks," he says. Imagine that he is free just like you, has the same noble nature as you, and has everything in common with you; and yet he, who is a little worse than you, you often do not equal even with your dogs; these are fully satisfied with bread, and it often falls asleep hungry, so that the free becomes inferior to your slaves. But slaves, you will say, render us services. Which ones, explain to me? Do they serve you well? But if I prove that he also renders you a service much more than they do, what will you say? He will stand on the day of judgment, and deliver you from the fire. Can all slaves do something like this? When Tabitha died (Acts 9), who raised her up? Were they the slaves who surrounded her, or the poor? And you do not want to put the free on a par even with slaves. Here is a great cold; the beggar lies on the platform, dressed in rags, dying of cold, gnashing his teeth, and arousing compassion by his appearance and clothing; but you, warmly clothed and drunk, pass by (paying no attention to him), How then do you want God to deliver you when you are in misery? You often say: if I were in such a position that someone sinned much against me, then I would forgive him, - will not God forgive me? Don't say that; you yourself despise him who has not even sinned against you in anything, and whom you could help. But if you despise such a person, how can God forgive you your sins against Him? Does this not deserve hell? And this is what is strange: often you cover a body that is dead, lifeless, no longer feeling honors, with a multitude of various gilded garments; but a body that is suffering, sickly, tormented, and exhausted by hunger and cold, you despise; you please vanity more than the fear of God. And, oh, if only that! But immediately (they begin again) reproaches against the suitable (poor man). Why, you say, does it not work? Why does he eat bread without working? But tell me, did you yourself gain what you have by your own labors? Did he not receive his father's inheritance? And even if you worked, could you therefore reproach another? Have you not heard the words of Paul, "But you, brethren, do not be weary in doing good"? And he says this after he said, "If any man will not work, neither shall he eat" (2 Thess. 3:13, 10). But he, you say, is a deceiver.