- The monk is mine, since he fulfills my will. He is merciless and has no part with God, he works for me like an idolater.

"No, he is mine," the angel objected, "for he fasts and prays, and moreover he is meek and humble.

Thus they disputed, and there was no agreement between them. And there was a voice from heaven to the light-bearing angel:

"You have no part in that black, leave him, because he does not work for God, but for mammon."

After this, the angel of the Lord departed from him, and the spirit of darkness received power over him. Meeting the monk afterwards in the street, the saint took him by the right hand and said:

"Servant of God, listen to me, thy servant, without irritation, and graciously accept my wretched words. I can no longer bear that you, who were at first a friend of God, now become a servant and friend of the devil. You were the sun, but you went into a dark and calamitous night. While others are dying of hunger, cold, and thirst, you rejoice at the abundance of gold. I beseech you: distribute your possessions to the poor, to the orphans. Try to be a friend of God again.

The third vice that the Lord notes in the scribes is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is rarely found in its pure form. Hypocrisy just to be a hypocrite makes no sense. Hypocrisy is usually only a mask to cover up some inner vice, with which it is most often associated. For the scribes and Pharisees, it covered up their vanity and greed. Praying earnestly and for a long time for show to people, they, of course, did not think about pleasing God, but about people considering them righteous and pious. Thus, this mask of outward piety was worn for the specific purpose of deceiving others. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites," the Saviour rebukes them, "for you are likened to painted sepulchers, which outwardly seem beautiful, but inwardly are full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of uncleanness; so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity (Matt. XXIII, 27-28).

Perhaps the main danger of hypocrisy lies in the fact that, by deceiving others, a person gradually begins to deceive himself. Enjoying the respect of people for his imaginary holiness, seeing this worship of his righteousness, he himself involuntarily submits to the hypnosis of public opinion, is imbued with exaggerated respect for his person, which is so valued by people, and, in the end, begins to take his false righteousness of outward piety for a genuine coin, for the pure gold of holiness. Having reached such a state, a person becomes almost hopeless for the Kingdom of God, for he ceases to understand that in serving God one needs sincerity, inner feeling, and genuine love. Accustomed to being content with only a hypocritical appearance, he becomes incapable of sincere service. Such were the people who crowded around the Lord while He and His disciples sat in front of the treasury of the temple and watched the people put money into the treasury. And here, too, He had before Him a picture of the same hypocrisy and ostentatious piety. Many rich people put in a lot, slowly and solemnly untying their purses, slowly counting the jingling pieces of silver with a feigned carelessness and indifferent look, but keeping a sharp eye from under their brows to see if those around them were looking at them and admiring their generosity. They were worthy disciples of their leaders.

Against the background of this empty conceit and pompous hypocrisy of the scribes and rich visitors to the temple, the figure of the poor widow, sincere, modest and heartfelt in her zeal for God, is so joyfully depicted! Timidly she approached the treasury and furtively, blushing and ashamed of her insignificant gift, she put down the last two mites.

But how great was this gift in the eyes of God!

Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them, "Verily I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who put into the treasury, for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, all for her food" (vv. 43-44).

This is how the Lord values sincerity, diligence and love.

For us, this is a great lesson and a great commitment. We are often inclined to the excuse that we cannot serve God in any way, because we have neither the means nor the ability to do so. Some are depressed by this thought, while others, on the contrary, find in it, not without pleasure, an excuse for their laziness and carelessness. The example of the poor widow teaches us that even small sacrifices and deeds can be valuable before God if done with heartfelt zeal; and the small size of these sacrifices makes them possible and accessible to everyone. Therefore, no man can excuse himself by saying that he does not have sufficient means to serve God. The gift can be small, and there is no sin before God in it. It is bad when there is no diligence and desire to do something for God in the heart.

"Life," writes Bishop Theophan "is a time of bargaining. Sell what you have, even bast shoes, even bast. Everyone has something. Take a closer look at yourself and determine what you have and what you can acquire, and act not lazily."