"On the morrow John stood again and two of his disciples. And when he saw Jesus coming, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And when the two disciples heard these words from him, they followed Jesus" (John 1:35-37).

1. Human nature is careless and easily dragged to perdition not because it was created in this way, but from voluntary negligence. That is why it is necessary to exhort her a lot. And Paul, who writes to the Philippians, says for this reason: "To write to you about the same thing is not burdensome to me, but edifying to you" (Phil. 3:1). The earth, having once received seeds, soon yields fruit and does not require a second sowing; But our soul is not like that. It is desirable, at least, that he who sows often and takes much care to do so at least once receives fruit. And first of all, the proposed teaching is not easily imprinted on the soul, because there is a lot of fossilization in it, it is embraced by innumerable thorns, and besides, there are many slanderers who steal these seeds. Then, when the seed is implanted and rooted, it again requires the same care, so that it may grow up, and when it has sprung up, it will remain intact and not suffer any harm from anything. However, in the seeds of the earth, when the ear has reached maturity and has received its proper strength, it is no longer afraid of harmful dew, or heat, or anything else; but it is not so in the matter of teaching. Here, even after everything is fully arranged, often one bad weather and storm damages everything, under unfavorable circumstances, under the slanders of treacherous people, or at the confluence of other various temptations. We say this not without purpose, but so that when you hear John repeat the same words, you will not accuse him of superstition and do not consider him an empty and dull person. Of course, he wished that what he once said would be heard, but since at first not many listened to what he said, because of deep sleep, by repeating the same thing he awakens them again. See, he said, "He is He who comes after me, but He who stands before me," and "I am not worthy to untie the strap of His shoes," and also, "He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire," and "On whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God" (John 1:27-34). But meanwhile no one listened to him, no one asked: what are you saying, and about whom, and for what? Then he said again, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," yet he did not bring them out of their insensibility. In this way he was compelled to repeat the same thing, softening the rough and hardened earth with a new plough and word, as if with a plough, raising the depressed soul in order to sow seeds into its depths. That is why the Baptist does not spread his word, caring only about one thing – to bring them and unite them to Christ. He knew that if only they would accept Him and believe, they would no longer need another witness for Him. And so it happened. If the Samaritans, having listened to Christ, say to the Samaritan woman: "We no longer believe according to thy words, for we ourselves have heard and known that He is truly the Saviour of the world, the Christ" (John 4:42), then the disciples (of John) could have been converted to Christ much sooner, as indeed they were. Having come (to Christ) and having listened to Him one evening, they did not return to John, but were so devoted to Christ that they took upon themselves the ministry of John and began to preach about Christ themselves. "He is the first to find his brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is to say, Christ" (John 1:41). Notice also this: When John said, "He is He who comes after me, but He who stands before me," and "I am not worthy to untie the strap of His shoes," he caught no one; as soon as he began to discourse about the dispensation of our salvation and to converse in a simpler word, then his disciples followed Christ. But this is not the only thing that should be taken into account, but also the fact that not so many are brought (to Christ) when they are told something great and sublime about God, as when they talk about His goodness, love for mankind, and about what pertains to the salvation of those who hear. When they heard that He was taking away the sins of the world, they immediately hastened to Him. If it is possible, they say, to wash away one's sins, why delay? Here stands the One who will free us from them without difficulty. Is it not utterly foolish to postpone such a gift until another time? Let the catechumens hear this, postponing their salvation until their last breath. "Again John stood and said, Behold the Lamb of God." Christ says nothing, but everything is the Baptist. This happens with the groom. He does not immediately begin to speak to the bride, but stands in silence, and others point him out and hand him the bride; and when it appears, he does not receive it of his own accord and leads it away, but another hands it over to him. When he accepts it from the hands of others, he already disposes her to himself so much that she does not remember those who united her with him. So it was with Christ. He came to betroth the Church to Himself, and at first He said nothing of Himself, but only stood before Him; and His friend John gave Him the right hand of this bride, entrusting to Him through his word the souls of men. But having received them, Christ so endeared them to Himself that they no longer returned to the One who had entrusted them.

2. Not only this, but also something else must be noted here. Just as, at the conclusion of marriages, it is not the maiden who comes to the bridegroom, but he hurries to her, even if he is the son of the king, and even if he wants to marry him from the poor and inferior class, even if he is a slave, so it was here. It was not human nature that ascended to heaven; but God Himself condescended to him, contemptible and wretched. After the marriage, He no longer allowed him to remain there, but, taking him upon Himself, brought him into the house of His father. But why does John not take his disciples separately and speak to them about Christ in order to convey them to Christ, but in the presence of all the people says to them: "Behold the Lamb of God"? So that it does not seem to be the work of his intent. If they had gone to Christ, being especially convinced by John and as if out of pleasing himself, then they could also soon have departed from Christ; but now, having decided to follow Christ according to the power of the teaching addressed to everyone in general, John's disciples remained firm in this, since they followed not out of pleasing the teacher, but out of their own zeal and for their own benefit. All the prophets and apostles preached Christ in His absence: some before His coming in the flesh, others after His ascension; only John preached about Him in His presence. That is why he is called the friend of the bridegroom, because he alone was present at the marriage; he arranged and accomplished all this; He initiated this business. "And when he saw Jesus coming, he said, Behold the Lamb of God." He said this, showing that he testified not only with his voice, but also with his eyes. He was amazed at Christ, in joy and ecstasy; and he does not immediately address the word of persuasion to his disciples, but at first is only amazed and amazed at the appearance of Christ; He shows everyone both the gift with which He came and the image of redemption. The word "lamb" expresses both. And John did not say, "He that takeeth," or, "He that hath taken," but "takeeth" the sins of the world, as Christ always did. In fact, He not only took sin upon Himself when He suffered, but from that time until now He will take away sins, not as if He had always been crucified (He once offered a sacrifice for sins), but as by this one sacrifice He always cleanses sins. Thus, just as the name of His Word shows the superiority of His nature, and the name of the Son expresses His difference from other creatures, so the words: lamb, Christ, prophet, true light, good shepherd, and other expressions used about Him with the addition of the term (o) show their great difference from ordinary expressions. There were many lambs, prophets, Christs[1]), sons; but John represents a great difference between Him and all those. And this he affirmed, not only by the addition of a member, but also by the addition of the word, "only-begotten," since Christ has nothing to do with creation. But if it seems inopportune to anyone that these words were spoken at the tenth hour (such was the time of the day: "it was about," it is said, "the tenth hour" - v. 39), then, in my opinion, such a person sins greatly. For many people who fawn on the flesh, of course, the time after satiation is not entirely convenient for important matters, because the soul is burdened with food. But he was a man who did not eat even ordinary food, who spent the evening with the same sobriety as we do in the morning, or rather, much more (for with us the remnants of evening food often fill the soul with dreams, and he did not burden this vessel with anything of the kind); therefore it is not surprising that John also conversed on such subjects in the evening. Moreover, he also lived in the wilderness near the Jordan, where everyone came with great fear for baptism, caring little at that time about the affairs of life, just as the people remained with Christ for three days, remaining without food. The duty of a zealous preacher, as well as of a caring farmer, is not to abandon his work until he sees that the implanted word has taken root. But why did John not go through all Judea preaching about Christ, but remained by the river, waiting for His coming, so that later, when He came, he could show Him to the people? John wanted the deeds themselves to bear witness to Christ, and John's special purpose was only to announce His coming and to persuade at least some to listen to the Eternal Life. And John leaves a greater testimony to Christ Himself, namely, the testimony of works, as Christ Himself says: "But I have a testimony greater than John's: for the works which the Father has given Me to do, the very works which I do, bear witness of Me" (John 5:36). See how strong such a testimony was. John threw only a small spark – and suddenly the flame rose in height. Those who had not even heeded John's words until then finally say, "All that John said concerning Him was true" (John 10:41).

3. Otherwise, if, i.e., John preached, going around all Judea, it would seem that this was done according to the forms of men, and the preaching would be suspicious. "When the two disciples heard these words from him, they followed Jesus" (v. 37). John also had other disciples; but not only did they not follow Christ, but they also looked at Him with envy. "Rabbi," they said to John, "He who was with you at the Jordan, and of whom you testified, behold, He baptizes, and they all come to Him" (John 3:26); and at another time they appear accusing: "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, and Thy disciples do not fast" (Matt. 9:14)? But the best of them did not do so, but as soon as they heard about Christ, they followed Him. And they did not follow out of contempt for their teacher, but most of all out of obedience to him, and presented the greatest proof that they did so from sound conviction. They did this not being prompted to do anything that would be suspicious, but only because John prophesied of Him that He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. So they did not abandon their teacher, but wanted to know if Christ gave anything more than John. And notice how their solicitude was combined with modesty. They did not suddenly come and ask Jesus about important and necessary things; and not openly in the presence of all, and not in passing, and as it happened that they wanted to converse with Him, but in private. They knew that the words of their teacher expressed not only humility, but pure truth. "One of the two who heard of John [of Jesus], and followed him, was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter" (v. 40). Why did the Evangelist not mention the name of the other disciple as well? Some explain it by saying that this disciple who followed Christ was the same one who wrote about it; others do not think so, but that he was not one of the chosen disciples, while the Evangelist spoke only of persons more remarkable. But what is the use of knowing the name of this disciple, when the names of the seventy-two disciples are not spoken? The same can be seen in Paul. "With him we have sent," he says, "also a brother, praised in all the churches for the gospel" (2 Corinthians 8:18). And Andrei is also mentioned for another reason. What is this reason? So that you, knowing how Simon and Andrew did, would only hear: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19), so that you, I say, would know that the beginnings of faith were laid down by his brother even before Simon. "And when Jesus turned and saw them coming, he said to them, What do you need" (v. 38)? From this we learn that God does not precede our desires with His gifts, but when we begin, when we discover the desire, then He also gives us many ways to salvation. "What do you want"? What does that mean? Should he, who guides the hearts of people who penetrate into our thoughts, ask? But He asks not in order to know (how is this possible?), but in order to draw them closer to Himself by question, to give them more boldness, and to show that they are worthy to converse with Him. They were probably ashamed and afraid, like people who were unfamiliar with Him and heard only from their teacher the testimony of Him. In order to destroy all this in them – shame, fear, He Himself asks them questions and does not leave them in silence to go to His dwelling. Yet perhaps it would have been the same if He had not asked the question, for they would not have ceased to follow Him, and would have followed His footsteps to His dwelling. Why does He ask them? As I have said, to calm their troubled and restless hearts and inspire them with boldness. Meanwhile, they expressed their devotion to Christ not only in following Him, but also in the question itself. Not yet being His disciples and hearing nothing from Him, they already call Him a teacher, count themselves among His disciples, and show the reason why they followed Him, namely, that they wanted to hear something useful from Him. Take note also of their prudence. They did not say: teach us dogmas or anything else necessary, but – what? "Where do you live"? They, as I said above, wanted to converse with Him in solitude about something, to listen to Him, to learn from Him; therefore they do not delay their intention, they do not say, "Let us come the next day and hear Thee when Thou speakest in the assembly of the people," but show all their zeal for listening, so that they do not refrain from it even by time itself. The sun was already sinking to the west: "It was about ten o'clock," it said. That is why Christ does not tell them to accept His dwelling, does not appoint a place for conversation, but only draws them more and more to follow Him, showing that He receives them to Himself. Wherefore neither did He say anything of the sort, "Now is not the time for you to go to my dwelling, tomorrow, if you want to hear anything, now go home; but he converses with them as with friends and people who have been with him for a long time. Why then does He say in another place: "The Son of Man has not where to lay His head" (Luke 9:58), and here: "Go and see" (v. 39) where I live? But the words, "He hath nowhere to lay His head," show that He had no shelter of His own, not that He did not live in any house. This is indicated by the adverbial expression. Further, the Evangelist says that they stayed with Him that day, but for what purpose, he does not notice this, because the goal itself is clear. For no other reason they followed Christ, and Christ drew them to Himself as for edification; and in one night they enjoyed His teaching in such abundance and with such eagerness that immediately both went to draw others to Christ.

4. From this we will learn to prefer hearing the divine teaching to everything, and we will not consider any time inconvenient for this; but even if it be necessary to enter someone else's house, even if a stranger should make the acquaintance of noble people, even if it is untimely or, at any time, let us never miss such an acquisition. Food, supper, baths, and other worldly affairs should have a definite time for themselves, but the study of the heavenly wisdom should not have any definite hours: to it should belong all time. "Preach the word, be persistent in season and out of season, rebuke, rebuke, exhort with all patience and edification" (2 Timothy 4:2). And the prophet says: "On His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2). And Moses commanded the Jews to do these things at all times. The affairs of life - I mean baths - if necessary, then, often, they relax the body; but the edification of the soul, the more it increases, the stronger it makes the soul that receives it. Now we spend all our time in empty and absurd superstition, we meet for this purpose at dawn, and in the morning, and at noon, and in the evening, and even appoint special places for this; and when we listen to the Divine dogmas once or twice a week, we become burdened and tired. Why? Because we dispose our soul badly: we completely destroy in it the desire and zeal for such things. Therefore, we do not have a desire for spiritual food. In addition to other signs of illness, it is strongly proved by the fact that we do not want to eat or drink, and we feel disgust for both. If, when it happens in the body, it is a sign of a serious illness and produces a weakening, how much more so when it happens in the soul. How can we strengthen it, fallen, exhausted? By what deeds, by what words? Let us turn to the divine, prophetic, apostolic, and all other words. Then we will know that it is much better to eat these words than unclean food, as we should call timeless gatherings and discourses. Tell me, what is better: to converse about the affairs of the people, the courts, the military, or about the things of heaven and what will happen after our departure from here? What is better: to talk about our neighbor and his affairs, and in general to attend to other people's affairs, or to talk about angels and things that concern our own benefit? The affairs of your neighbor do not concern you at all; but the things of heaven apply to you also. Yes, they say, you can say everything about it at once. But why do you not think so about what you are talking about in vain and vain among yourselves, but, using your whole life for this, you never exhaust the subjects for such conversations? I'm not even talking about what is much worse than this. People who are still modest talk among themselves about these subjects; and the more idle and careless in their conversations circle around jesters, dancers, runners, defiling their ears, corrupting their souls in such conversations, intoxicating their nature with voluptuousness, and introducing into their imagination all sorts of vicious images by such conversation. As soon as the tongue pronounces the name of the dancer, the soul immediately imagines his face, hair, fine clothes and himself, which are more pampered than all this. The other stirs up the flame in the soul in another way, introducing into conversation the prodigal woman, her words, clothes, dissolute eyes, voluptuous glances, braiding hair, rubbing the face, tinting the eyelashes. Don't you feel something terrible when I tell you about it? But do not be ashamed and do not blush: it is already inevitable, natural that the power of a story has such an influence on the soul. If, however, in my story, you already feel something from the mere hearing, standing in the church and away from such subjects, then consider what must happen to those who sit at the spectacle itself, with complete freedom, outside this venerable and important assembly, and with great shamelessness watch and listen to what is happening there. Why, some of the inattentive will say, why do you accuse us, losing sight of the fact that this is a natural thing and already necessary, as you say, it has such an influence on the soul? But that he who hears this is pampered is a natural thing; and to listen to this is not a matter of nature, but a sin of will. That he who approaches fire must suffer harm is necessary and this is a consequence of the weakness of nature, but it is not nature itself that draws us to fire and the harm that comes from it: this depends solely on the perverted will. So I want this not to happen, that it be corrected, so that you do not fall into the abyss of your own free will, or fall into the abyss of evil, or run into the fire against your will, and thus make yourselves guilty of the flame prepared for the devil. And so, may all of us, having been freed from it, be vouchsafed to pass into the bosom of Abraham, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

[1]) in a general sense: anointed, such as were high priests, kings, etc.

CONVERSATION 19

"He was the first to find his brother Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which means, Christ; and brought him to Jesus" (John 1:41,42)

1. In the beginning, when God created man, He did not leave him alone, but gave him a wife to help him, and commanded them to live together, because He knew that many benefits could come from this cohabitation. What if the wife did not use this benefit as she should? If anyone delves into the essence of this matter, he will see that there is much benefit from cohabitation for prudent people. However, not only from the cohabitation of husband and wife, but if the brothers also live together, then they also benefit from it. That is why the prophet said: "How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together" (Psalm 132:1)? And Paul exhorted not to abandon mutual communion. This is what distinguishes us from animals. We build cities, marketplaces, and houses in order to be together with one another, not only in dwellings, but also in the union of love. Our nature was created by the Creator in such a way that it has different needs, but is insufficient for itself; therefore God arranged it so that the needs arising from this would be corrected by the benefit arising from communal life. For this reason marriage is also instituted in such a way that, what is lacking in one, the other makes up for it, and in this way the needs of nature are satisfied, and although it was created mortal, it nevertheless preserves immortality for a long time by succession. I could dwell further on this subject and show how much benefit to people comes from a mutual, close, and sincere connection with each other. Andrew, having spent time with Jesus and having learned from Him as much as he could, did not keep this treasure with him, but hurried, immediately ran to his brother, in order to share with him the goods he had acquired. But why did John not say what Christ was talking to them about? And how can it be seen that they were with Him precisely for this purpose? We have already shown this before; But this can also be learned from the current reading. Notice what Andrew says to his brother. "We have found the Messiah, which means, Christ." Do you see that he shows here how much he has learned in a short time? By this he expresses both the power of the Teacher, who convinced them of this, and his own zeal, with which they have long been concerned about this from the very beginning. The very expression "found" shows a soul yearning to see Christ, awaiting His descent from above, and filled with joy when the object of its expectation appeared, and finally hastening to tell others the joyful news of it. In spiritual matters, shaking hands with each other is a sign of brotherly love, kindred friendship, and sincere benevolence. Notice also that he also speaks of the Messiah with the addition of a penis. He did not simply say, "The Messiah," but the Messiah of the expected one. In this way they were expecting one Christ, who had nothing in common with the others[1]. See, then, how Peter from the very beginning discovers in himself a soul that is obedient and obedient. He immediately hastens to Jesus, without the slightest delay. "Brought him," it is said, "to Jesus." But no one accuses him of frivolity, if he accepts his brother's words, without further investigation. Probably, his brother also told him about this at length and in detail, but the Evangelists usually present much in brief, taking care of brevity. Moreover, it is not said that Peter simply believed, but only that Andrew "brought him to Jesus," wishing to present his brother to Him so that he would learn everything from Him. Moreover, another disciple was with them and helped to do so. If, however, John the Baptist himself, having said of Christ that He is the Lamb and that He baptizes with the Spirit, left the clearest teaching about Him to his disciples to learn from Himself, how much more must Andrew have done so, feeling himself unable to explain everything. Wherefore he drew his brother to the very fountain of light, with such care and joy that he did not hesitate or hesitate in the least. "And Jesus looked at him, and said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is to say, Peter the Stone" (v. 42). Here (Christ) already begins to reveal His divinity and little by little reveals it in His utterances. Thus He did it in His conversations with Nathanael and with the Samaritan woman.

2. Prophecies are no less convincing than miracles, and moreover they do not contain vanity. Miracles were still subject to perverse interpretations, at least from foolish people: of "Beelzebub," they said, "casteth out demons" (Matt. 12:24); but nothing of the kind has ever been said of prophecies. Thus, Christ used this method of teaching for Simon and Nathanael, but He did not do the same with Andrew and Philip. Why? Because they had already received no small training in the testimony of John; and Philip, moreover, saw those who stood before Christ, took this as a direct proof for faith in Him. "Thou art Simon, son of Jonah; thou shalt be called Cephas, which means Peter the Stone." From the present, the future also becomes reliable. The one who named Petrov's father, of course, foresaw the future. Prophecy is here combined with praise; but this was not flattery, but a prediction of the future, as is evident from the following. Remember with what powerful rebuke He allows His sight to be seen in His conversation with the Samaritan woman. "Thou hast had five husbands," He says, "and he whom thou hast now is not thy husband" (John 4:18). In the same way, His Father, rebelling against the worship of idols, speaks much about prophecy. "Let them go forth and save you from what is to happen to you." And in another place: "I prophesied, and saved, and declared; but there is no other among you" (proclaimed and saved, and was not a stranger to you) (Isaiah 47:13; 43:12). And this is evident throughout the prophecy. Prophecy is primarily the work of God, which the demons cannot even imitate, no matter how much they intensify. In miracles there may still be some deception; But to predict the future with accuracy is peculiar only to one eternal being. If the demons ever did this, it was only to deceive the foolish; therefore it is always easy to denounce their prophecy as a lie. Meanwhile, Peter does not answer anything to the words of Christ, because he did not yet understand anything clearly, but only learned. Moreover, the prediction itself was not yet fully pronounced. Christ did not say, "I will rename thee Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church," but only said, "Thou shalt be called Cephas, which means, the rock of Peter." That renaming would mean the highest dignity and great power. But Christ did not suddenly and not from the very beginning show His authority, but for a time He spoke more humbly. When He has given a full proof of His divinity, He also says with greater authority: "Blessed art thou, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven." And in another place: "I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:17,18). Thus Christ called Simon, and Jacob and his brother sons of thunder. Why does He do this? By this He shows that He is the One Who gave the Old Testament and then changed the names, calling Abraham Abraham, Sarah Sarah, Jacob Israel, and many of them from their birth gave names, such as: Isaac, Sampson, and the persons mentioned by Isaiah and Hosea; and to some he changed the names given by their parents, such as to the persons mentioned above, and to Joshua. It was also the custom of the ancients to give names according to circumstances, as Elijah did. And this was not without purpose, but so that the very name of people would be for them a reminder of God's blessings, so that, through the expression of prophecy in names, it would be all the better preserved in the minds of those who heard. In the same way, John was given a name before his birth. Thus, people who had to shine with virtue from the first age received names even before birth; and to those who were glorified afterwards, and the nickname was afterwards attached.

3. But then each received a special name; and now we all have one name, which is more important than all those, the name of Christians, the sons and friends of God, the body (of Christ). Such a designation, more than all these, can arouse in us an intensified zeal for excellence in virtue. Let us not do anything unworthy of this honorable title, thinking about the loftiness of the dignity by which we are called Christ's. This is what Paul called us. Let's keep this in mind, let's respect this great name. If some, bearing the name of some famous commander or any other illustrious person, think highly of themselves when they hear that they are called by the name of so-and-so, consider this name a great virtue for themselves, and take every care not to dishonor him with whom they are namesake, then we, who are called by the name of not a general, nor any earthly ruler, not an angel, not an archangel, not a seraphim, but their King himself, should we not lay down the soul itself, so as not to offend Him Who has vouchsafed us such an honor? Do you not know what honor is enjoyed by the detachments of the king's shield-bearers and spearmen who surround the king? In the same way, I, who have been vouchsafed to be near the King Himself, and even much closer to Him than those we have mentioned are to our King, as close as the body is to the head, must act in all things only in imitation of Christ. And what does Christ say? "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head" (Luke 9:58). If we were to demand this of you, it might seem difficult and burdensome to many. And so, for the sake of your infirmity, I leave this severity, and only demand that you should not be addicted to riches, and just as, for the sake of the infirmity of many, I do not demand of you such a high virtue, so I urge you, and even more so, to shun vices. I do not condemn those who have houses, fields, money, servants; but I only want them to possess all these things prudently and properly. In what proper way? As masters should, and not slaves, i.e. to possess wealth, and not so that it possesses you, using it, and not abusing it. Money exists so that we use it for necessary needs, and not to save them: this is characteristic of work, and otherwise of the master. To guard is the business of a slave, and to spend is the business of a master who has full power to do so. You do not receive money to bury it in the ground, but to distribute it. If God wanted them to be preserved, He would not give them to people, but would leave them forever in the ground. But since He wants them to be expendable, He allowed us to have them – to pass them on to one another. If we keep them to ourselves, then we are no longer their masters. And if you keep them in order to multiply them, then the best way to do this is to squander them and distribute them everywhere. And there can be no income without expenditure, or wealth without expense. This can be seen in the affairs of life. This is what the merchant does, this is what the farmer does: one spends seed, the other money. One sails on the sea, squandering his money, the other works for a whole year, sowing seeds and working. Yet there is no need for anything of the sort: there is no need to prepare a ship, nor oxen to harness and plow the land, nor to worry about air storms, nor to be afraid of hail. There are no waves, no (underwater) rocks. This swimming, this sowing, requires only one thing – to give up what you have; and all the rest will be done by the Farmer of whom Christ said: "My Father is a husbandman" (John 15:1). And so, is it not foolish to indulge in laziness and negligence where everything can be obtained without difficulty, and to show all one's activity where there is much labor, care, and sweat, and after all this is still a false hope? Let us not, beseeching you, be so foolish in the matter of our own salvation, but, leaving behind the most burdensome works, let us hasten to work that are easier and more useful, in order to attain to future blessings, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] That is, with those persons who in the Holy Scriptures. The Scriptures are called anointed in the general sense of the word.

CONVERSATION 20

"On the morrow [Jesus] desired to go into Galilee, and found Philip, and said to him, Follow me. And Philip was from Bethsaida, from the same city with Andrew and Peter" (John 1:43,44)