3. Do you see how the New Testament agrees with the Old, how both prove the independent authority of Christ? But what of it (it will be said) if He, although He created man, He created Him as a servant? This is an inappropriate verbal debate. When God said, "Let us make man," He did not add, "In thy lesser image," or, "In my greater image," but what? "In our image and likeness," He says, expressing by these words that the Father and the Son have one image. He did not say, "after the types," but, "after our image"; for the Father and the Son have not two unequal, but one and the same image of the Father. Wherefore it is said of the Son that He sits at the right hand of the Father, that you may know that He has the same honor and the same authority as the Father, since the servant does not sit, but stands. And that sitting signifies equal honesty and equality of the power of the Lord, while standing is characteristic of slavery and submission, listen to what Daniel says: "I saw at last that thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat down: thousands of thousands served Him, and thousands of thousands stood before Him" (Dan. 7:9-10). Also Isaiah: "I saw the Lord seated on a throne high and exalted, around Him stood the Seraphim" (Isaiah 6:1-2). And Micah: "I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven stood with Him, on His right hand and on His left" (1 Kings 22:19). Do you see that the higher powers are always present, and He is sitting? Therefore, when you see that the Son also has a seat at the right hand of the Father, do not ascribe to Him a servile and servant dignity, but a sovereign and independent dignity. Wherefore Paul, knowing that it is proper for servants to stand, and for rulers and rulers to sit, see how he distinguishes between the two in the following words: "Of the angels it is said, Thou makest spirits by thy angels, and flaming fire by thy servants. And of the Son, Thy throne, O God, for ever and ever" (Hebrews 1:7-8), representing to us royal power under the image of the "throne." If, therefore, I have proved by all that has been said that the Son has not a servant dignity, but a sovereign dignity, then let us worship Him as a Master and equal to the Father; and He Himself commanded this, saying: "That all may honour the Son as they honour the Father" (John 5:23). With the right confession of dogmas let us also unite the righteousness of life and works, so that we may not accomplish our salvation by half. And nothing can contribute to the righteousness of behavior and purity of life so much as frequent presence here and diligent listening. What is food for the body, so for the soul is the study of the divine prophecies; for "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Therefore, those who do not participate in this meal usually experience hunger. Listen to how God threatens this famine and puts it along with punishment and torment: "I will send upon them," He says, "not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a thirst to hear the words of the Lord" (Amos 8:11). Is it not insane to do everything and take all measures to avoid bodily hunger, and to voluntarily bring spiritual hunger upon oneself, while it is the more severe the greater the harm it causes? No, I beg and urge you, let us not treat ourselves so badly, but let us prefer our stay here to all occupations and cares. Tell me, how much will you gain by leaving the congregation as you will lose for yourself and for the whole house? Even if you could find a whole treasure of gold and leave this collection for its sake, then you will lose more, and as much as spiritual goods are higher than material ones. The latter, even though they are numerous and flock from all sides, will not accompany us into the future life, will not transmigrate with us to heaven and will not stand before the dreadful throne, but often leave us and disappear even before our death; but if they remain to the end, they will certainly be taken away at death. And spiritual treasure is an inalienable acquisition; it follows us everywhere, both on our way and at our departure, and gives us great boldness before the throne of God.

4. If there is so much benefit from other gatherings, then from these gatherings it is twice as much. Here we receive not only the benefit of watering the soul with divine pronouncements, but also that of bringing great shame to our enemies, and giving great consolation to our brethren. In battle, it is useful to hasten to the aid of that part of the army which is exhausted and in danger. Therefore, everyone should gather here and repel the attacking enemies. But you can't make a long speech and don't have the ability to teach? Just come here, and with it you will fulfill everything. Your bodily presence increases the flock and greatly encourages the diligence of your brethren, and brings shame to your enemies. When someone, having approached this sacred vestibule, sees a small number of those gathered, then the zeal that was in heaven cools down, and he weakens, evades, becomes indifferent and leaves; so little by little all our people become careless and negligent. And if he sees those gathering, zealous, flocking from all sides, then the zeal of others awakens zeal even in the most indifferent and inactive. Stone striking stone often produces sparks: although what can be colder than stone and warmer than fire, and yet continuous blows overcome its nature; and if this happens with a stone, then it can be even more so with souls that are in communion with each other and are warmed by spiritual fire. Have you not heard that our ancestors had only a hundred and twenty believers, and even before the hundred and twenty there were only twelve, and these are not all left, but one of them, Judas, died, and there were only eleven? But out of these eleven there were one hundred and twenty, and out of a hundred and twenty, three thousand, then five thousand, and then they filled the whole universe with the knowledge of God. And the reason for this is that they never ceased to communicate with each other, but all together they constantly spent their days in church, engaged in prayers and reading; For this reason they kindled such a great fire that they never separated, but attracted the whole universe to themselves. Wouldn't it be strange not to show even such care for the church as women show towards their neighbors? When they see a poor and helpless maiden, they all render their services to her, taking the place of relatives, and there is a great deal of noise among those who have gathered for the marriage of such a girl. Some sometimes bring her money, others (do honor) by their presence, and the latter is not unimportant; because their diligence serves as a cover for its poverty; and thus they cover up her poverty with their helpfulness. Do the same in relation to this church. Let us all flock from everywhere and cover up its poverty, or rather, let us put an end to its poverty by our constant presence here. "The husband is the head of the woman" (Ephesians 5:23); and the wife is her husband's helper. Let neither the head dare to cross these sacred thresholds without a body, nor let the body appear without a head, but let the whole man come here, bringing with him his children. If it is pleasant to see a tree having a young plant growing from its root, it is much more pleasant - and even more pleasant than any olive tree - to see a person near whom a child stands, as if a young plant from its root. This is not only pleasant, but also useful, for those who gather here will be, as I said before, a great reward. And we are especially surprised at the farmer, not when he labors over land that has been cultivated many times, but when, having taken fields that are unsown and unplowed, he labors over them with great care. Paul did the same, preferring to preach the gospel not where "the name of Christ was already known" (Rom. 15:20). Let us also imitate Him, both for the increase of the church and for our benefit; We'll flock here to every meeting.

Amen.

AGAINST ANOMEE

THE TWELFTH WORD.

The full title of this word is as follows: "On the paralytic, who was in his paralytic thirty-eight years, and on the words, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17).

BLESSED BE GOD: at every meeting I see that the field is enlarged, the harvest thickens, the threshing floor is filled, the sheaves are multiplied. Not many days have passed since I threw the seed, and now we have grown a rich ear of obedience. From this it can be seen that it is not human power, but Divine grace that cultivates this church. Such is the quality of spiritual sowing: it does not wait for time, it does not require many days, it does not depend on the change of months, seasons, weather, or years, but on the same day when the (spiritual) seeds are sown, it is possible to harvest a whole handful. Those who cultivate sensual land need to work hard and wait a long time; they must harness the oxen to the yoke, make a deep furrow, throw seeds abundantly, level the surface of the earth, cover with earth all that is sown, wait for moderate rains, do many other labors, and wait a long time, and then reach the end. And here it is possible to sow and reap both in summer and in winter, and often both are done on the same day, especially when a fat and fertile soul is cultivated, as can be seen in you. That is why I am so willing to come to you, just as a farmer is more willing to cultivate the field with the fruit of which he has often filled the threshing floor. Since you, too, give me a great gain for my little labor, I am beginning my agriculture with great zeal, and I am addressing you with the remnants of what has been said before. At that time I was speaking of the glory of the Only-begotten Son of God on the basis of the Old Testament; I will do the same and on the same basis now; then I said that Christ said: "For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me also" (John 5:46); and now I say that Moses said: "The Lord thy God shall raise up for thee a prophet from among thee, from among thy brethren, like me, and hear him" (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22). As Christ refers to Moses, in order to draw him to Himself through him; thus Moses hands the disciples over to the Master, commanding them to obey Him in all things. Let us pay attention to everything else that Christ says and does, as well as to what is read to us today about His sign. What kind of sign is this? "There was," it is said, "the feast of the Jews, and Jesus came to Jerusalem: and there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep's [gate] a pool, called in Hebrew Bethesda, at which there were five covered passages" (John 5:1-2). Into it, as the Gospel relates, at a certain time an angel descended, which was recognized by the movement of the water; and the first who entered the font after the water was disturbed, recovered, no matter what disease he suffered. In these porches lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered, waiting for the water to move (John 5:3). Why did Christ often visit Jerusalem and treat the Jews on feast days? Because then a multitude of people gathered, and He chose this place and this time to help the weak; for it was not so much that the sick wished to be delivered from illnesses, as this Physician exerted diligence to heal them of their infirmity. When the assembly was full and the spectacle was completely ready, then He went out openly before everyone and took care of the salvation of their souls. So there lay a multitude of sick people waiting for the water to move, and the first, who came in because the water was disturbed, was healed, but the second was no more; the healing power ceased, the healing power of grace was exhausted, and the water was already left without action, as if the illness of the first descendant completely weakened it; and very rightly, since that grace was slavish.

Such is the difference between the power of the servant (angel) and the authority of the Lord. He healed one, and this one the whole world; the one is one a year, and this one is daily, if thousands enter the font, he makes everyone well; this one healed through the descent and disturbance of the waters, but this one did not, but it is enough to pronounce His name alone over the water to impart to it all the healing power; the one healed bodily injuries, but this one heals the infirmities of the soul. Do you see how in everything there is a great and boundless difference between them?

2. So there lay a multitude of sick people, waiting for the water to move; because this place was a spiritual hospital. As in the asylum one can see a multitude of people with a gouged out eye, and with an injured leg, and with a disease in another limb, sitting together and waiting for a doctor; so in this place one could see a multitude of people gathered. In those narthex "there was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. And when Jesus saw him lying down, and knew that he had been lying there for a long time, he said to him, Wilt thou be made well? The sick man answered Him, "Yes, Lord; but I have no man to lower me into the pool when the waters are troubled; but when I come, another already descends before me" (John 5:5-7). Why did Jesus, having passed over all the others, come to him? In order to show both His strength and love for mankind: strength, because the illness had already become incurable and the weakening of the sick was hopeless; love for mankind, because the Providence and Lover of mankind, above all others, looked upon the one who was especially worthy of mercy and beneficence. Let us not take this passage lightly, nor the number of thirty-eight years during which the sick man was paralyzed. Let all who struggle with constant poverty, or spend their lives in sickness, or are in straitened living circumstances, or have been subjected to the storm and whirlwind of unexpected calamities, hear. This paralytic is presented as a common harbor of human misfortunes. No one can be so faint-hearted, so pitiful and unhappy, that, looking at him, he will not endure everything that happens courageously and with all cheerfulness. If he had suffered for twenty years, or ten, or only five, would not they have been enough to crush the strength of his soul? And he remained in this position for thirty-eight years, and did not lose heart, but showed great patience. Perhaps it seems surprising to you because of the length of time; but when you listen to his own words, then you will especially see all his wisdom and patience. Jesus came and said to him, "Do you want to be well?" Who did not know that the paralytic wanted to be healthy? Why does He ask? Of course, not through ignorance: for Him Who knows the secret thoughts of men, how much more was known what was manifest and obvious to all. Why did He ask? As to the centurion He said: "I will come and heal him" (Matt. 8:7), not because He did not know his answer beforehand, but because, foreseeing and knowing the answer very accurately, He wished to provide this centurion with an occasion and an opportunity to reveal to everyone his piety hidden in the shadows, and to say: "Lord! I am not worthy that Thou should come under my roof," so the Lord asks this paralytic, about whom he knew that he would answer, whether he wanted to be healed, not because He Himself did not know it, but in order to give the paralytic a reason and an opportunity to express his misfortune and become a teacher of patience. If He had healed this man in silence, we would have suffered an important loss, not knowing the firmness of his soul. Christ not only arranges the present, but also vouchsafes great care for the future. He discovered in the sick a teacher of patience and courage for all living in the universe, putting him in the need to answer the question: "Do you want to be healthy?" What is it? I was not grieved, I was not indignant, I did not say to the questioner: "You see me paralyzed, you know the age of my illness, and you ask me if I want to be healthy, have you not come to laugh at my misfortunes and joke about the misfortunes of others?" You know how faint-hearted the sick can be if they lie in bed even for one year, and whoever has been sick for thirty-eight years, was it not natural for him to lose all wisdom, which had been exhausted for so long a time? However, the paralytic did not say or think anything of the kind, but gave an answer with great modesty and said: "Yes, Lord; but I have no man to lower me into the pool." See how many misfortunes have joined together and vexed this man: sickness, poverty, and the lack of helpers. "And when I come, another one descends before me." The ego is the most deplorable of all, and could touch the stone itself. It seems to me that I see this man crawling every year, and crawling to the entrance of the font, every year he stops at the very end of a good hope; And this is all the more difficult because he experienced it not for two years, not three, not for ten, but for thirty-eight years. He made every effort, but did not receive fruit; the feat was performed, and the reward for the feat went to another, in the course of so many years; and, what is even more difficult, he saw others being healed. You know, of course, that we feel our own calamities more strongly when we see that others, having fallen into the same calamities, have been freed from them. A poor person feels his poverty especially when he sees another rich; And the sick person suffers more when he sees that many of the sick have been delivered from their illness, and he has no good hope. In the midst of the well-being of others, we see our own misfortunes more clearly; It was the same with the paralytic. However, he had struggled for so long with illness, poverty, and loneliness, seeing that others were healed, and he himself, although he always tried, could never achieve, and, not hoping to be freed from his torment later, he did not retreat, but flowed in every year. And we, if one day we ask God for something and do not receive what we ask for, immediately begin to grieve and fall into extreme carelessness, so that we cease to pray and lose our zeal. Is it possible both to praise the paralytic and to condemn our negligence? What justification and forgiveness can we have if he has endured thirty-eight years, and we despair so soon?

3. What then is Christ? Having shown that the paralytic is worthy of healing, and that He has justly approached him in preference to others, Christ says to him: "Arise, take up thy bed, and walk" (John 5:8). Do you see that thirty-eight years did not harm the paralytic in the least, since he patiently endured what happened to him? During this long time his soul, as if purified by misfortune in a furnace, became more wise, and he received healing with greater glory: he was healed not by an angel, but by the Lord of the angels himself. Why then did He command him to take up his bed? The first and foremost reason was that Christ wanted to free the Jews from keeping the law (of the Sabbath); for when the sun appeared, it was no longer necessary to hold on to the lamp; when the truth was revealed, it was not necessary to care about its image. Therefore, if Christ sometimes broke the Sabbath, he performed the greatest sign on that day, in order to amaze the spectators with the greatness of the miracle, and little by little weaken and destroy the observance of inactivity. Secondly, Christ gave this command in order to stop the shameless lips of the Jews; since they maliciously distorted the meaning of Christ's miracles and tried to harm the glory of His works, He commanded that the bed be openly carried, as if it were a trophy and an indubitable proof of health, so that they would not say the same thing about the paralytic as they said about the blind man. And what did they say about the blind? Some said that it was he, others that it was not he, and still others that it was himself (John 9:9). Therefore, in order that they may not say the same about the paralytic, the accuser of their shamelessness is carried high on the bed. A third reason can be cited, no less than those indicated. In order that you might know that the healing was accomplished not by human art, but by Divine power, Christ commanded the healed man to carry his bed, presenting the greatest and clearest proof of true and perfect health, so that none of those blasphemers could say that the paralytic pretended to please Christ with a weak gait. For this reason Christ commands him to bear the burden on his shoulders. If his limbs had not been well strengthened and the compositions had not been corrected, he would not have been able to bear such a burden on his shoulders. In addition, by this he showed everyone that when Christ commands, then suddenly both the cessation of illness and the return of health are accomplished. Physicians, although they cure diseases, cannot suddenly restore the sick to health; And they still require a long time for the patient's strength to recover, so that the remnants of the disease are gradually erased and destroyed from the body. But Christ did not do so, but in an instant He both delivered from illness and restored health; there was no interval of time between the two, but as soon as the sacred words flew from His holy tongue, immediately the sickness left the body, the word became a deed, and the whole infirmity was completely healed. As some restless servant, seeing her master, immediately calms down and again accepts the proper decency; so also the bodily nature, which was then indignant like a servant girl and weakened, when it saw its Lord come, returned to its former decorum and to proper order. All this was done in one saying, because these were not simple words, but the words of God, of which it is said: "Mighty is the doer of His word" (Joel 2:11). If He created a man who did not exist, how much more could He correct the upset and paralyzed. Here I would gladly ask those who are investigating the essence of God how the limbs of the paralytic were united, how the bones were connected, how the disordered activity of the womb was strengthened, how the weakened nerves were again strained, how the weakened strength was restored and strengthened. But they couldn't answer that. Therefore, only marvel at the event, and do not investigate the way it was accomplished. When, in this way, the paralytic fulfilled the command and took up the bed, then the Jews, seeing him, said: "Today is the Sabbath; thou shalt not take up thy bed" on the Sabbath (John 5:10). It was necessary to bow down to the one who performed (the miracle), it was necessary to marvel at what was accomplished, but they speak of the Sabbath, truly driving away the gnat and devouring the camel. What about the paralytic? "He who healed me," he says, "said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk" (John 5:11). Do you see the gratitude of this man? He openly acknowledges the physician and says that the one who gave him this command is worthy of faith. Whatever reasoning the blind man gave them, so is this one. And how did the blind man reason? The Jews said to him, "This man is not of God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." What is he doing to this? "We know," he says, "that God heareth not sinners: but he hath opened my eyes" (John 9:16,30-31). The meaning of his words is as follows: if He had transgressed the law, He would have sinned; but if he had sinned, he would not have had such power, because where there is sin, there is no power, but He has shown power; therefore, having transgressed the law, He did not sin. Thus also the paralytic thinks; For His words, "Who healed me," mean, If He showed power, it would be unjust to accuse Him of iniquity. What about the Jews? "Who is the man who said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk" (John 5:12)? See how mad and insensible they are; See how their souls are filled with haughtiness! The eyes of haters do not look sensibly at anything, but only at what they would find a reason (for condemnation). In the same way, the Jews, when the healed man announced to them both of them, i.e. that the Lord had healed him and commanded him to take the bed, they did not mention the former, but said about the latter, they concealed the miracle, and exposed the violation of the Sabbath. They did not say, "Where is he who made you well?" But when they were silent about this, they said: "Who is the man who said to you, Take up your bed and walk? But he who was healed did not know who he was, for Jesus hid himself among the people who were in that place" (John 5:12-13). This is the greatest justification of this man; this is the proof of Christ's care! When you hear that the paralytic did not receive the Lord as the centurion did, and did not say: "Speak only the word, and my servant shall recover" (Matt. 8:8), then do not accuse him of unbelief, because he did not know Jesus; he did not know who He was; and how could he know him whom he had not seen before? Wherefore he said, I have no man to lower me into the pool; if he had known the Lord, he would not have mentioned the font and the descent into it, but would have asked to be healed as he had been healed; but he took Christ for one of many, for a simple man, and therefore he mentioned ordinary healing. The proof of Christ's care consists in the fact that He withdrew from the healed and did not reveal Himself to him. The Jews could no longer suspect that this was a false witness and that he spoke thus in the presence and under the inspiration of Christ; his ignorance and the absence of Christ removed such a suspicion, as the Evangelist also says: "He did not know who He was" (John 5:13).

4. For this reason He sends the healed man lonely, and leaves him to himself, so that the Jews, if they wished, may question him in private, investigate the event, and, having sufficiently ascertained the matter, cease their madness. He Himself says nothing, but presents them with proof by works, which always cry out more clearly and resonantly than any trumpet. In this way, no suspicion was aroused by the testimony: "He who healed me said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'" The paralytic becomes an evangelist, a teacher of the unbelievers, a physician and a preacher to their shame and condemnation - a preacher not by voice, but by deeds, not by words, but by events themselves; he presented clear and irrefutable proof, and showed on his own body what he was saying. "Then Jesus met him in the temple, and said to him, Behold, thou art healed; sin no more, lest something worse happen to you" (John 5:14). Do you see the wisdom of the Physician? Do you see His care? He not only delivered from the present disease, but also warns against the future; And very timely. When he was on his bed, Christ did not say anything to him, did not remind him of his sins, since the soul of the sick is irritable and sickly; and when He has banished sickness, when He has restored His health, when He has proved His power and care in deed, then He offers timely advice and exhortation, having already proved to be worthy of faith by His very deeds. Why then did the healed man go and announce Him to the Jews? He wanted them to accept the true doctrine. And for this they hated and persecuted Jesus, says the Evangelist. Now listen to me carefully, for here is the whole point of the matter. "And the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath" (John 5:16). Let us see how He justifies Himself; for the manner in which he is justified shows us whether he is subject or free, servant or commanding. His action seemed to be the greatest iniquity; and he who once gathered wood on the Sabbath was stoned because he carried heavy loads on the Sabbath (Num. 15:32-36). Christ was accused of this great sin, namely, that He violated the Sabbath. Let us see, then, whether He asks forgiveness as a slave and a man under authority, or whether He appears as having authority and independence, as a Lord who stands above the law and Himself has given the commandments. How does He justify Himself? "My Father," he says, "worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). Do you see His authority? If He were inferior and less than the Father, then what He said would not serve to justify, but to greater accusation and the most grievous condemnation. If a man does that which is lawful only to him who is above him is lawful to do, and then, having been taken and judged, says, As the highest has done, so have I also done, not only does he not absolve himself from guilt by this method of justification, but exposes himself to greater rebuke and condemnation, because to take up that which is above his own dignity, is characterized by arrogance and pride. Therefore, if Christ were inferior to the Father, then what He said would serve not to justify, but to a greater accusation; but since He is equal to the Father, there is no fault in His words. If you like, I will explain what I have said with an example. Wearing a scarlet robe and having a diadem on his head is allowed only to the king, and no one else. Therefore, if any of the crowd appeared in such garments, and then, being brought to the judgment seat, said: Since the king is clothed in this garment, I also am clothed; then not only would he not have been delivered from the accusation, but in this way of justification he would have subjected himself to greater punishment and torment. Likewise, it is only the king's magnanimity that frees the meanest people from punishment and torment, for example, murderers, robbers, grave robbers, and other similar criminals. If, therefore, a judge were to release a condemned man without the king's permission, and being accused of it, were to say, "Since the king releases, I also let him go," he would not only not be spared punishment by this method of acquittal, but would arouse even greater anger against himself. And very fairly. It is not fair for the inferior, as if in intoxication, to appropriate to themselves the power of the higher and to justify it; for it is a great insult to those who have entrusted them with authority. Therefore the inferior will never be justified in this way: but the king and the one who is endowed with the same dignity with him will boldly say this; for where there is the same degree of authority, there can be the same authority in justice. And if any one thus finds himself justifying himself, he must necessarily have the same authority as the one whose authority he ascribes to himself. Thus, if Christ also justified Himself in this way before the Jews, He undoubtedly showed us that He has the same dignity as the Father. Let us apply, if you will, the examples given to the words of Christ and to the work that He did. Let the authoritative violation of the Sabbath be the same as the scarlet robe and the diadem and the absolution of the guilty. The latter is permissible only to the king, and to none of the subjects; but if anyone is found to be doing the same thing, and doing it justly, then surely he is also a king. So it is here: if Christ is found to do this with authority, and then, being accused, refers to the Father, and says, "My Father does it hitherto," then surely He is equal to Him who does it with authority; for if I were not equal to Him, I would not have used this method of justification. And in order that you may understand what has been said more clearly, remember that His disciples also broke the Sabbath at one time, plucking ears of corn and eating them on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:1); now He Himself has broken it; the Jews accused them, and they accused Him also. Let us see how He justifies them as Himself, so that from the difference between the one and the other you may understand the superiority of His justification. How did He justify His disciples? "Have you not read what David did when he hungered" (Matt. 12:3)? In justifying the slaves, He refers to the servant David who is like them, and in justifying Himself, He raises a speech to the Father: "My Father works, and I work." But perhaps someone will say: what activity is He talking about, if after six days He "rested on the seventh day from all His works" (Gen. 2:2)? About daily providence, because God not only created creation, but also preserves His creation. Whether you point to angels, or archangels, or higher powers, and in general to everything visible and invisible, everything is under His providence, and if it were to become outside of His activity, it would disintegrate, collapse, and perish. Thus, Christ, wishing to show that He is a provident, and not an object of providence, a doer, and not an object of activity, said: "My Father works, and I work," wishing to show His equality with the Father.

5. Remember and observe this with all zeal, and combine wisdom in life with the righteousness of dogmas; Thus I have admonished you before, and now I exhort you, and I will not cease to exhort; and life and wisdom depend on nothing so much as on being here. As dry land, watered by no one, abounds in thorns and thistles, but cultivated by the hands of farmers blossoms, is beautiful, and bears much fruit; so the soul, watered by divine prophecies, blossoms, shines and bears abundant fruits of the spirit; but left in drought and neglect, and seldom receiving such irrigation, it becomes empty, overgrown with grass, and produces a multitude of thorns of sin. And where there are thorns, there are dragons, snakes, scorpions, and all the power of the devil. If you do not believe these words, then we will compare those who are absent and ourselves, and then you will see a great difference; or rather, let us look at ourselves, what we are like when we enjoy the divine teaching, and what we are like when we are deprived of this useful teaching for a long time. Let us not lose our usefulness. Staying here is the source of all blessings; Coming out of here, the husband seems more honorable to his wife, and the wife to her husband more dear, since it is not the beauty of the body that makes the wife acceptable, but the virtue of the soul, not rubbing and dyeing, not gold and precious clothes, but chastity, meekness, and the constant fear of God. This spiritual beauty develops nowhere more successfully than in this wondrous and divine place, where the apostles and prophets wash away, correct, erase the old age of sin, bring the flower of youth, destroy every stain, every "blemish," every "defilement" of our soul (Ephesians 5:27). Let us try, both husbands and women, to infuse ourselves with this beauty. Bodily beauty dries up and illness, and spoils the length of time, and extinguishes old age, and completely destroys the death that has come; On the contrary, the beauty of the soul cannot be destroyed by time, sickness, old age, death, or anything of the kind, but it always remains flourishing. Bodily beauty often arouses intemperance in those who look at it, and spiritual beauty disposes God Himself to love it, as the prophet says, addressing his speech to the church: "Hear, daughter, and see, and incline thy ear, and forget thy people and thy father's house. And the King will desire your beauty" (Psalm 44:11-12).

Amen.

REASONING