[2] In the Slavonic text: "I am about Christ"

[3] i.e. simple believers.

[4] i.e. the Apostles.

DISCOURSE IV

containing a rebuke of those who were not in the church and an exhortation to those who were to take care of the brethren; also at the beginning of the Epistle to the Corinthians: "Paul is called" (1 Corinthians 1:1), and on humility

1. When I look at your small numbers, and see that our flock is decreasing in every congregation, I grieve and rejoice: I rejoice because of you who are here now; I grieve for those who are not here. You are worthy of praise for not becoming more careless even because of your small numbers; they deserve blame for not being stirred up to diligence and by your zeal. Therefore I call you happy and blessed, because you have not been harmed in the least by the carelessness of them; but those I consider pitiful and mourn because your zeal has not benefited them in any way. They did not hear what the prophet says: "I would rather be at the threshold in the house of God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psalm 83:11). He did not say, "I desire to dwell in the house of my God," nor "to dwell," nor "to enter," but, "to be at the threshold." I am glad, he says, to be among the last; I will also be pleased if I am worthy to enter the vestibule; I will honor for the greatest gift, if I am placed among the last in the house of my God. Love assimilates to itself the common Lord: such is love. "In the house of God."

The lover desires to see not only the beloved, and not only his home, but also the vestibule; and not only the vestibule of the house, but also the street and alley itself (i.e. the house of a loved one); and if he sees even the clothes or shoes of a friend, he thinks that before him is his friend himself. Such were the prophets: since they did not see the incorporeal God, they looked at the temple, and in it they imagined God Himself to be present. "I would rather be at the threshold in the house of God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Every place, every house, whether it be a judgment seat, or a senate, or a private house, is a dwelling place of sinners in comparison with the house of God, because although there are prayers and supplications, there are inevitably also strife, and quarrels, and strife, and strife, and consultations about the affairs of life: and this house (of God) is pure from all this. That's why those places are the dwellings of sinners, and this is the house of God. And just as a harbor, protected from winds and waves, gives complete safety to the ships that enter it, so the house of God, as if pulling those who enter it out of the storm of worldly affairs, allows them to stand quietly and safely, and listen to the word of God. This place is a school of virtue, a school of wisdom. Come, not only during the meeting, when there is a reading of the Scriptures, spiritual instruction, and a council of honorable fathers; no, and at any other time come only at the threshold – and immediately put aside the cares of life. Enter the vestibule – and like a spiritual breeze will blow upon your soul. This silence inspires fear and teaches wisdom, excites the mind and does not allow you to remember the present, transports you from earth to heaven. And if it is so profitable to be here without the assembly, what profit do those present here, and what loss do those who are absent suffer when the prophets cry out on all sides, when the apostles preach the gospel, when Christ stands in the midst, when the Father approves of what is happening (here), when the Holy Spirit communicates his joy?

I would like to know where those who have now turned away from the meeting, what has kept them and distracted them from this sacred meal – what are they talking about? However, I know this very well: they either talk about obscene and ridiculous things, or have given themselves up to the cares of life, and the occupation of both is unpardonable and deserves the most severe punishment. Of the former there is no need to speak or prove: but that even those who refer to domestic affairs before us and say that the inevitable necessity of these matters keeps them (from being present in church), that these people cannot receive forgiveness, since they are called here only once a week, and yet even at this time they do not want to prefer the spiritual to the earthly, is clear from the Gospel. Those who were invited to the spiritual wedding feast did not apologize in this way: one bought working oxen, another bought land, a third married; however, they are punished (Luke 14:18-24). Works are necessary, but they are not excusable when God calls, because everything that is necessary for us is inferior to God. First honor to God, and then concern for other things. What servant, tell me, will take care of his house before he performs the master's service? Is it not strange, then, in relation to people where dominion is a bare name, to show such reverence and obedience to masters, and not to have such respect for the true Lord, not only ours, but also of the heavenly powers, as we show to slaves like us? Oh, if you could enter into their (i.e., those who did not come to church) conscience, then you would clearly see how many wounds they have, how many thorns! As the land that is not cultivated by the hands of the farmer deafens and becomes overgrown with bushes, so the soul that does not use spiritual instruction grows thorns and thistles. If we, too, who daily listen to the prophets and apostles, can hardly restrain our anger, hardly restrain our rage, hardly restrain lust, hardly vomit out the pus of envy, and constantly singing verses from the Divine Scriptures to our passions, hardly subdue these impudent beasts, then they, who never use this medicine and do not listen to divine wisdom – tell me, what hope of salvation can they have? I wish I could show their soul to your eyes: you would see how impure, defiled, upset, humiliated, and hopeless it is! Just as the bodies of those who do not use the bath are covered with a great deal of dust and dirt, so the soul that does not use spiritual teaching is covered with great impurity of sins. Things here (i.e. the church and everything that exists and is done in the church) is a spiritual bath, cleansing all impurity by the warmth of the Spirit; still more, the fire of the Spirit cleanses not only impurity, but also the very color. "If," says God, "your sins shall be as scarlet, as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18); that is, let the sinful impurity cry out so strongly into the essence of the soul that it will receive the unchanging color of the paint, and then I can transfer it to the opposite state, because My one wave is enough – and all sins will be destroyed.

2. I say this not so that you may hear, because you, by the grace of God, have no need of medicines; but – so that they (i.e. those who have not come to the church) will know about it through you. If I could know the places where they meet, I would not trouble your love; but since it is impossible for me alone to know such a multitude of people, I entrust to you the care of your brethren. Take care of your brethren, draw them in, call them. I know that you have done this many times before, but it is not enough to do it often, you must do it until you convince them and attract them here. I know that you troubled them, that you often seemed to them burdensome, that you could not convince them, and because of this you became less zealous; but may Paul comfort you, who says, "Love covers all things;

He believes in everything, hopes everything, endures everything. Love never faileth" (1 Corinthians 13:7,8). Do your own thing: and even if he (your neighbor) does not accept healing, you will still receive a reward from God. From the earth, if you throw seeds into it, and it does not bring forth ears of grain, you must leave empty-handed; it is not so with the soul; nay, teach her a doctrine, and let her not listen to your words, yet you will receive the full reward, such as she would have received if she had listened, for God does not look merely at the end of things, but at the disposition of those who do, and according to it determines the rewards. I beseech you, then, that what those who are addicted to the spectacle of horse racing do, do ye also. And what do they do? In the evening they all gather together, go to each other's houses until dawn, appoint other places for themselves, so that, having gathered together, they go with great pleasure to that satanic spectacle. As they are zealous and lead one another to the destruction of souls, so take care of your souls and save one another, and before the coming of the (church) assembly, (each of you) go to the house of your brother, wait for him at the door, and when he comes out, stop him. Even if you call (him) a thousand needs, do not yield to him and do not allow him to take up anything worldly before you bring him to church and make him stay there for the entire duration of the meeting. Let him argue and contradict, let him present a thousand excuses, do not bow down and do not yield, but having told and impressed upon him that his other deeds will be much more successful when he approaches them, having endured the entire service (of the church), having prayed and received the blessing of the fathers, and having bound him with these and similar words, lead him to this sacred table, that you may receive a double reward: Both for himself and for his coming (to the church). There is no doubt that if we use so much zeal and diligence to catch the careless, we will attain salvation. However careless, shameless, and stubborn they may be, they will be ashamed of the constancy of your determination, and will at last give up sloth. For they, however insensible, are not harsher than that judge, who knew neither God nor was ashamed of men (Luke 18:2); Meanwhile, his cruel, severe, iron, hard as a diamond, was bowed down by the persistent request of a widow. What excuse can we hope for, if, while the widow has succeeded in bowing down and making merciful a cruel judge, and not fearing God, and not ashamed of men, we shall not succeed in attracting brethren, who are much milder and more modest than this judge, when we admonish them for their own good? I have often spoken of this, and I will not cease to speak until I see that the sick have recovered. Every day I will look for them until I have time, with the help of your diligence, to find them. I earnestly beseech you, too, to investigate the careless with the same sorrow with which I am now speaking, with the same effort. Paul commanded not me alone, but you also, to take care of your fellow-members: "exhort one another," he says, "with these words,"[1] "as you do"; and again: "edify" one another (1 Thess. 5:11). Great is the reward for those who care for their brethren, and very great is the punishment for those who do not care and neglect their salvation.

3. Therefore I firmly hope and am confident that you will fulfill my words with great diligence, and therefore I will cease my admonition here, and try to bring you to Paul's table. "Paul the Apostle Called" (1 Corinthians 1:1). This you have often heard, and we have read: but the words (of the Scriptures) must not only be read, but also understood, otherwise it will be of no use to us to read. Treasure, as long as they walk on it, does not show riches; no, it is necessary to dig it up beforehand, go down, and thus find all the (hidden) wealth. It is the same with the Scriptures: if you do not examine the depths of them, then one reading will not show the treasures of the blessings contained (in the Scriptures). If one reading had sufficed, Philip would not have said to the eunuch, "Do you understand what you read?" (Acts 8:30). If reading had sufficed, Christ would not have said to the Jews: "Search the Scriptures" (John 5:39). And the investigator does not stop at the surface, but descends to the very depths. For in the very introduction (of the epistle) I see a great sea of thoughts. In secular letters, greetings are simply to show respect, but here it is not so; on the contrary, the very beginning is filled with great wisdom, because it is not Paul himself who speaks, but Christ who moves his soul. "Paul is called." This word Paul is, of course, only a simple name, but it contains such a treasure of thoughts as you already know from experience. If you remember, you know that for three whole days I spoke only of this name, explaining the reasons why the former Saul was afterwards called Paul, and also why he did not take this name immediately after his conversion to the faith, but for a long time bore the (name) which his parents had first given him. In this investigation we have discovered the great wisdom and care of God both for us and for those saints (i.e., whose names God has changed). If people give names to their children not simply, but either after their father, or after their uncle, or after other ancestors, how much more did God give names to His servants not simply and not without reason, but with great wisdom. People often call their children by the names of the dead, both in honor of the dead and for their own joy, finding in such a name of children the relief of their sorrow over the death of the dead; and God in the name of the saints, as on a brass pillar, places a reminder and a lesson in virtue.

Thus, He called Peter by this name out of virtue, wishing to enclose in his name a proof of the firmness of his faith, so that in his name (Peter) he would always have a teacher of this firmness. So both John and James were called (sons of thunder) because of their loudness in their preaching. But in order not to bore you with the repetition of what has been said, leaving this aside, I will only say that the names of the saints, both in themselves, are venerable for the God-loving, and terrible for sinners. Thus Paul, after having received Onesimus, this fugitive and thief of the master's money, after having converted him and initiated him into the mysteries of the faith, desiring to return him to his master, wrote to him as follows: "Wherefore, having great boldness in Christ to command thee what ought to be done, I ask better out of love none other than I, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ" (Philim 1:9). Do you see that (Paul) offered three reasons: the bondage for Christ, his stature according to his age, and the respect that his name inspires? Since he asked alone, he tried to make three petitioners out of one petitioner for Onesimus – Paul, the elder and the prisoner. Do you see that the very names (of the saints) are honorable and pleasing to the faithful? If the name of the name of a beloved child often compels the father, even against his will, to show mercy for the sake of his beloved name, how much more should it be so with the saints. And in order to prove that (the names of the saints) were terrible to sinners, as the names of teachers are terrible to negligent children, listen to how Paul gave this to be understood in the Epistle to the Galatians. Since they had deviated into Jewish weakness (i.e., circumcision and other Jewish rites) and were in danger of losing their very faith (Christian), Paul, wishing to restore them and persuade them not to mix anything Jewish with the teaching of the Gospel, wrote to them as follows: "Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, if ye be circumcised, it shall profit you nothing of Christ" (Galatians 5:2). Thou didst say, "I"; why did he add another name? Was this "I" not enough to signify who writes? Nay, so that you may know that the mere addition of a name is sufficient to defeat the hearers, so (Paul) adds his name, wishing to remind them (the Galatians) of the teacher. And the same thing happens to us: when we remember the saints, then if we are careless, we wake up, if we are fearless, we are afraid. Thus, when I hear about the Apostle Paul, I imagine how he was in sorrows, in distress, in beatings, in prisons, in the depths of the sea day and night (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), how he was caught up into the third heaven, how he heard ineffable words in paradise (12:2-4), I imagine this chosen instrument, the bride of Christ, who would himself be excommunicated from Christ for his brethren (Romans 9:3). It is as if a golden chain is revealed to the minds of the attentive, a series of feats (of the saint) at the remembrance of his name. And this is of great benefit to us.

4. We could say more about the name (of Paul), but in order that we may touch upon the second word, let us cease to consider the name here, and now pass to this word. As the name Paul has given us great riches, so the word "called," if only we dare to examine it with due diligence, will give us the same, or even more abundant, object for contemplation. For just as he who takes out of a royal ornament or diadem a single stone, having sold this precious stone, can also buy splendid houses and expensive fields, crowds of servants, and a multitude of other things, so with regard to the words of God, if you wish to explain the meaning of one saying, it will give you great spiritual riches, not by bringing houses or servants, or tithes of the land, but in that they may stir up the souls of those who are attentive to piety and wisdom. Here is the very word: "called," see to what the history of spiritual affairs leads us. However, we must first learn what this "called" means, and then consider why (Paul) wrote thus in the Epistles only to the Corinthians and Romans, and to no one else: it is not without reason and not without reason that he does this. If we also do not indiscriminately write our letters, but when we send a letter to the inferior, we write: so-and-so; and when we send it to equals, we call the recipient of the letter in the inscription also master; but when we write to those who are much higher in dignity, we add many other names expressing deep reverence, if we also observe such legibility, and do not write to everyone in the same way, but, judging by the difference in the persons receiving the letters, we use this or that name; how much more did Paul write to some in this way, and to others in another, not without reason and not without reason, but with a certain spiritual wisdom. That Paul did not call himself in any of the other epistles, in the very introduction of the epistle, we can find out by running through the very beginnings of the epistles. It remains for us to say why he did this; only we will show beforehand what is meant by "called" and what Paul wanted to impress upon us by this word. What does he want to impress upon us by calling himself called? That he himself was not the first to come to the Lord, but obeyed when he was called; he did not seek and find himself, but was found while he was wandering; He was not the first to look at the light, but the light (heavenly) shed its rays on his eyes, and, blinding his carnal eyes, then opened the inner ones. Thus he calls himself called, wishing to make us understand that he does not attribute all his good works to himself, but to God who called him. Whoever has opened to me, he says, the gates to the arena and opened the field of struggle, is the author of crowns; Whoever made the beginning and planted the root, gave me the opportunity to bring forth fruit afterwards. Wherefore in another place, having said, "But I have labored more than all of them," he added, "Not I, however, but the grace of God, which is with me" (1 Cor. 15:10). Thus, the word "called" means nothing else than that Paul did not assimilate to himself any of his feats, but attributed everything to the Lord God. This is what Christ inspired in His disciples, saying: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:16). The Apostle points to the same thing in the same epistle, saying: "Then will I know even as I am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12); now, that is, I was not the first to know, but I myself was known beforehand, because when he was persecuting and devastating the church, then Christ called him, saying: "Saul, Saul! why persecute me?" (Acts 9:4). That's why he calls himself called. And why did he write to the Corinthians in this way? Corinth is the chief city of Achaia, and was rich in spiritual gifts, which must have been the case, for it was the first time (Acts 13:1,8-11; 1 Corinthians 1:14-17; 2:1,3; 3:6,10) that Paul had preached. As a vineyard cultivated by a skilful and diligent farmer abounds in leaves and is always burdened with a multitude of fruits, so this city, having for the first time benefited from the teaching of Paul, as if it were the cultivation of a skilled farmer, and for a long time enjoying his wisdom, was adorned with all blessings. In him there was not only an abundance of spiritual gifts, but also a great abundance of worldly goods, because he surpassed other cities in outward learning, wealth, and power. It was these blessings that puffed him up with pride, and through pride they divided him into different parts.

Such is the quality of pride: it dissolves the union of love, separates people from one another, and forces everyone it possesses to live separately from others. As a wall, swelling, destroys a building, so the soul, puffed up with pride, cannot be in union with others. The same thing happened to the Corinthians at that time: they began to argue among themselves, divided the church into many parts, appointed for themselves many other teachers (besides Paul), and, dividing themselves into communities and special brotherhoods, they injured the dignity of the church, because the dignity of the church is maintained when its members observe among themselves the bond (which should be between the members) of the body.