THE WORKS OF OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Volume III

Book 1

I. DISCOURSE on the Parable of the Debtor

ten thousand talents, who sought a hundred denarii (Matt. XVIII, 23-35), and that grudge is worse than any sin.

This discourse was recognized by the saint in the year 387 between Pascha and Ascension, after a long break in conversations on the occasion of the saint's grave illness. Therefore, the very introduction expresses the joy of the priest on the occasion of his return to his listeners after a long absence due to illness.

Having devoted Great Lent to the eradication of the bad habit of swearing, the preacher proceeds to denounce another vice and condemns anger and passion for retribution for offenses, which he does by explaining the parable of the servant who owed ten thousand talents. - Jesus Christ, through this parable, wanted to teach His disciples to suppress fits of anger in themselves; This is proved by the question with which Ap. Peter turns to the Savior on this subject. "We must forgive, not seventy-seven times, as some interpret, but an infinite number of times. - The report that the King of Heaven will demand will be equally strict for all ages, sexes and conditions. - About the meaning of the words: "he had nothing with which to pay." - How a debtor who feared to be condemned receives forgiveness of his debt as a result of his supplication. - God, who forgives Him the insults inflicted on Him, did not forgive the offense of which the cruel servant was guilty towards his brother. "There is nothing more hateful before God than vengeance.

II. CONVERSATION on the words:

"My Father! if possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matt. 26:39).

Since the prophets also knew about the circumstances of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, how much more did He Himself know about them. - It cannot be said that Jesus Christ refused to undergo suffering; this is indicated by the severe rebuke which He made to Ap. Peter, who wanted to turn Him away from this. - Just before the crucifixion, He said to His Father: "The hour has come, glorify Thy Son," as if all His glory was to come from the cross. - Miracles performed by the cross. - In vain do the Anomoeans and Arians use the text: "My Father! if possible" to confirm his misconceptions. - The petition with which Jesus Christ addressed His Father, He made as a man, and not as God. - The Father and the Son have only one and the same will. - The Doctrine of the Incarnation. - Since this mystery is beyond human reason, God, in order to make it plausible, proclaimed it through the prophets. - He Himself appeared in the world, and in order not to be mistaken for a ghost, He proved that He was the true first man, having endured all the calamities and all the inconveniences associated with human nature, and finally undergoing death on the cross. - If all these signs could not prevent Marcion, Valentinus, Manes and other heresiarchs from questioning the mystery of the Incarnation, then what would have happened if Jesus Christ had been a stranger to human infirmities? Then, of course, we would see even more false teachings of all kinds.

III. ON THE LIFE ACCORDING TO GOD AND ON THE WORDS:

"Strait is the gate"... etc. (Matt. 7:14), and the explanation of the prayer: "Our Father."

In this discourse, the preacher, after showing how the faithful should be attentive to the proclamations of the Gospel, and by means of the texts "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way" and "wide is the gate, and broad is the way," having pointed out how many Christians occupy themselves with their souls and heavenly things, and to what extent, on the contrary, they devote themselves to the care of the body and earthly things, after these preliminary reflections, proceeds to prayer, as an object that is actually subject to explanation. - The conviction of the majority of people that they ask God for temporal and transitory blessings - beauty, riches, honors, and do not turn to Him with a request for goods, which alone are truly useful; he denounces those vengeful souls who give themselves over to their vengeance with malicious glee, while God Himself condemns vengeance. - Jesus Christ teaches us how we should pray. - Praise of the Lord's Prayer and then the very explanation of this excellent prayer, all the petitions of which are consistently set forth with extraordinary elegance and simplicity.