But, it will be said, what does it matter to us? This applies especially to you, to you who do not care for them, who do not persuade and advise them, to you who do not force them, do not force them, and do not divert them from great negligence. It should be useful not only for oneself, but also for many, as Christ showed when He called us salt, leaven, and light (Matt. 5:13,14). These items are useful and beneficial to others. Thus the lamp shines not for itself, but for those who are in darkness; and you are a lamp, not that you alone may use the light, but that you may guide the erring. What is the use of a lamp if it does not shine to him who is in darkness? What is the use of a Christian if he benefits no one, if he does not lead anyone to virtue? Also, salt not only supports itself, but also strengthens rotting bodies, does not allow them to deteriorate and die. So it is with you: if God has made you spiritual salt, then support and strengthen the decaying members, i.e. the careless and negligent of the brethren, and having delivered them from carelessness, as if from a certain rottenness, unite them with the rest of the body of the Church. For this reason He also called you leaven (Matt. 13:33): leaven does not leaven itself, but other mixture, great and immeasurable, although it itself is small and insignificant. So also you are: although you are small in number, yet be great and strong in faith and diligence in God. Just as leaven, in spite of its smallness, is not powerless, but acts because of the warmth contained in it and the power inherent in it, so you can arouse much greater to the same zeal as you, if you wish. But they can refer to the heat, because I hear them say: now there is a strong stuffiness, an unbearable heat, we cannot endure the difficulties and crowding in the crowd, drenched in sweat and exhausted from heat and crowding. I am ashamed of such people, believe me; These are the excuses of women, or, better, excuses that are not enough to justify them, whose bodies are more delicate and their nature is weaker. Although it is shameful to refute such an excuse, it is nevertheless necessary. If they are not ashamed to present such excuses, how much more should we not be ashamed to refute them. What shall I say to those who represent such excuses? I want to remind them of the three youths who were in the furnace and the flame, who, seeing the fire that surrounded them on all sides, embracing their body, their eyes, and their very breath, did not cease to sing with the creatures a sacred and mysterious song to God, but then standing in the midst of the flames, more zealously than those in the meadow, they offered up praise to the Lord common to all; and together with these three youths also about the lions of Babylon, about Daniel and his den (Dan. 6:24). And not only about this I ask them to remember, but also about the other pit and the prophet, about Jeremiah, who sank in the mud up to his neck (Jeremiah 38:6). Coming out of the pits, I would bring those who plead the heat into prison and show there Paul and Silas, bound with a stock, burdened with wounds and sores, struck all over their bodies with many blows, and at midnight singing praises to God and performing this sacred all-night vigil (Acts 16:25). Is it not foolish, while these saints, being in the furnace, in the fire, in the pit, in the midst of the beasts, in the mud, in the prison, in the stock, in the wounds, in the guards, and in the midst of intolerable calamities, never referred to anything of the kind, but with great readiness and ardent zeal constantly continued in prayer and sacred songs, we, having suffered not a little, nor do we neglect our own salvation because of the heat, little warmth, and sweat, and, leaving the congregations here, we wander outside, corrupting ourselves in the congregations that have nothing sound? Such is the dew of divine utterances, and you refer to the heat? "The water," says Christ, "which I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life" (John 4:14), and again: "Whosoever believes in Me, as it is said in the Scriptures, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). Tell me, having spiritual springs and rivers, are you afraid of the heat of the senses? And in the marketplace, where there is such noise, crowding, and great heat, tell me, why do you not complain about the stuffiness and heat? You cannot say that there you can enjoy the coolest air, but here we have all the suffocating heat; quite the opposite, here, from the slabs lying on the floor and from the other conveniences in the construction of the church, because it rises to a great height, the air is lighter and cooler, and there are everywhere strong rays of the sun, great crowding, smoke and dust, and other much greater troubles. From this it can be seen that these reckless excuses come from carelessness, from a soul that is negligent and devoid of the flame of the Spirit.

3. Of this I now speak, not so much for them as for you, who do not attract them, do not divert them from carelessness, and do not lead them to this saving table. And the servants, intending to perform the common service, call their fellow servants, but you, intending to perform this spiritual service, do not care about your fellow servants, who are deprived of use. And what, you say, if they don't want to? Make them will, by unceasing perseverance; If they see our persistence, they will certainly want to. But this is a pretext and an excuse. How many fathers are there with whom their sons do not stand together? Was it really difficult for you to bring your children with you? From this it is evident that the others also remain outside (the church) not only because of their own carelessness, but also because of your neglect. If not before, then at least now reform yourselves, and let each one come to church with his own member, and let the father of the son, the son of the father, the husbands of wives, the wives of husbands, the lord of the slave, the brother of the brother, each other, be urged and drawn into this assembly; or, better yet, let us call not only friends, but also enemies into this common treasury of blessings. When the enemy sees your concern for him, he will certainly cease enmity.

Say to him, "Are you not ashamed of the Jews, who observe the Sabbath with such exactness, and cease all work from the very evening?" As soon as they see on Friday that the sun is inclined to the west, they cease their contracts and end their trade; And if a man, having bought anything from them before the evening, comes in the evening and brings the payment, they do not allow themselves to receive it and receive the money. But what do I say about payment for what is sold and about contracts? If they were to get the treasure, they would rather forfeit the profits than break the law.

Do you not know that if you come and pray to God and take part in this meeting, then the things that lie ahead of you will be much more successful? Do you have worldly concerns? Come here for them, so that you may gain God's favor by being here, you have come out with safety, so that you may have God as your helper, so that you may become invincible to demons with the help of the Right Hand on high. If you make use of the prayers of the fathers, take part in common prayer, listen to the divine sayings, gain God's help, and thus come out of here protected by this weapon, then the devil himself will not dare to look at you, not only evil people who try to slander and slander. But if you go out of the house to the market place without this weapon, you will be easily caught by all enemies. That is why many things in public and private affairs do not proceed according to our wishes, because we do not care about spiritual things in advance, and then about worldly things, but have perverted the order. As a result, the correct course of affairs was perverted, and everything was filled with great confusion. Do you think I am grieved and grieved when I think that at the beginning of the celebration and the feast the whole city flocks together, even if no one invites me, and after the celebration and feast are over, even if we spend the whole day straining and inviting you, no one listens? Often imagining this in my mind, I sighed heavily, and said to myself, Why should you offer exhortation or counsel, when you do everything simply and out of habit, and do not in the least become more diligent from our instruction? If at the feasts you have no need of our exhortation, and after them you do not make any use of our instruction, do you not make our words superfluous, how much does it depend on you?

4. Perhaps many of those who hear this are indignant. But this is not what the careless think; otherwise they would have given up their negligence, like us, who take care of you every day. Do you profit as much from external affairs as you harm yourself? It is impossible to leave another assembly or society with such benefit as being here – whether you point to the judgment seat, or to the place of meetings, or to the royal palace itself. It is not the government of nations and cities, nor the command of armies that we give to those who come here, but another authority that is more important than the reign itself, or, better, we do not teach, but the grace of the Spirit.

What kind of power is this more important than the reign that those who come here receive? Here they learn to rule over shameful passions, to reign over vicious lust, to restrain anger, to suppress envy, to enslave vanity. Not so important is the king who sits on the royal throne and is clothed with a diadem, but the man who has raised his common sense within himself to the throne of power over the slavish passions and has clothed his head with dominion over them, as if with a kind of brilliant diadem.

In order that this may not be the case, prophets and apostles from everywhere flock to tame our passions, to expel from us all ferocious folly, and to give us power more important than kingship. For this reason I have said that those who deprive themselves of such care receive a mortal wound, suffering such harm as is not experienced by anything else; on the contrary, those who come here receive such benefits as they could not get from anything else, as was proved in our discourse. Yes, "Let them not come before me empty-handed," said the law (Exodus 23:15), i.e. do not come without sacrifices. But if one should not enter the house of God without sacrifices, how much more should one not enter the congregations of the brethren; the best sacrifice and offering is when you enter here with your soul. Do you not see how learned pigeons, flying out, drag others with them? So will we.

But our exhortation was in no way successful. Therefore I speak again, and I will not cease to speak until I have produced a conviction. Listening will not do any good if it is not accompanied by activity. Even we will incur the most grievous punishment if, constantly listening to the same thing, we do not do any of what is said. And that the most grievous punishment awaits for this, listen to Christ, who says: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have had no sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22); and the Apostle says: "Not the hearers of the law are righteous in the sight of God, but the doers of the law shall be justified" (Rom. 2:13). This he says to those who hear; and in order to teach the speaker that he will not benefit from the teaching if his teaching is not accompanied by activity and life corresponding to the word, listen to how both the Apostle and the Prophet address him. One says, "But God says to the sinner, 'Why do you preach my statutes, and take my covenant in your mouth, and yet you hate my instruction, and cast my words for yourself?' (Psalm 49:16,17). Likewise, the Apostle, addressing those who think too much of themselves for their teaching, says thus: "And I am sure of myself that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a guide to the ignorant, a teacher of babes; How is it that when you teach another, you do not teach yourself?" (Romans 2:19, 20, 21)? If, however, hearing cannot benefit me to the speaker of my speech, nor to you who listen to it, without doing what is said, but still serves to greater condemnation, then let us not limit our diligence only to listening, but let us begin to do what is said in practice. It is good to be constantly engaged in listening to divine utterances; but this good is useless when it is not combined with the benefit that comes from obedience. Therefore, so that you do not gather here in vain, with all earnestness, as I have often asked and will not cease to ask, bring brethren to us, convince those who are in error, advise not only in word, but also in deed. The best instruction is instruction in the way of life, instruction in activity. Though you say nothing, but when you leave the assembly, by your appearance, look, voice, gait, and every other posture of the body, you have shown to the absent people the benefit that you have received here, this is sufficient for instruction and exhortation.

Imagine what mysteries you are initiated into, initiated into them, with whom you lift up a mysterious song, with whom you invoke the Trisagion. Teach those outside that you have rejoiced with the seraphim, that you belong to the highest assembly, that you have been numbered among the angels, that you have conversed with the Lord, that you have treated Christ. If we so dispose ourselves, then when we leave here, we will have no need of words for those who are absent, but for our benefit they will feel their own loss, and will soon run to receive the same. Seeing the beauty of your soul, manifested in the very feelings, they, even if they are the most careless, will be imbued with love for your appearance. In fact, if bodily beauty touches those who look at it, then much more beauty of the soul can touch the spectator and arouse him to emulation. Let us adorn our inner man, and let us remember what is said here externally, because it is especially opportune there to remember it. Just as a warrior shows what he learns in the school of martial arts during his exploits, so we must also show what we learn here in external affairs.

5. Remember, then, what is said here, so that when the devil goes out and attacks you, either through anger, or through vanity, or through some other passion, you may easily escape from the snares of the evil one, remembering the teaching here. Do you not see in the fields of fighting how the teachers of young men, after innumerable feats, because of old age, who have finally received a release from fighting, sitting outside the fences near the dust, prompt those who are inside and enter into the struggle to seize their hand, to drag their legs, to take hold of their backs, and many other similar words, for example, if you do this and that, then you will easily defeat the enemy, and in this way they help the disciples very much? In the same way, look to your teacher, blessed Paul, who, after innumerable crowns, being now outside the field, i.e. the present life, prompts us who strive and cries out by means of epistles, when He sees those possessed by anger and rancor and tormented by some passion: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20). And as the teacher of young men says, "If you do this and that, then you will overcome the enemy," so he adds, "By doing this, you will gather burning coals on his head." But as I read this commandment, there is a question which seems to arise from it, and which gives many occasion to speak against Paul, which I wish to propose to you today. What is it that troubles the thoughts of those who do not want to investigate everything thoroughly? Paul, they say, by turning away from anger and exhorting them to be meek and kind to their neighbors, irritates them even more and disposes them to anger. Indeed, in the words: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink," contains a beautiful commandment, full of wisdom and beneficial both for the one who does it and for the one who receives it; but the words that follow are very perplexing and apparently do not agree with the idea expressed in the former. What is it? In the fact that he says: "By doing this, you will gather burning coals on his head." With these words, they say, he harms both the one who does and the recipient of the beneficence, by burning the head of the latter and putting hot coals on it. Indeed, can there be as much good from nourishment and water as there is from the imposition of a heap of coals? In this way, it is said that he also does evil to him who receives a good deed, exposing him to a greater punishment, and on the other hand, he does harm to him who does a good deed, because what benefit can the latter derive from a good deed to his enemies, if he does it in the hope of bringing punishment upon them? Whoever feeds and drinks the enemy in order to gather hot coals on his head cannot be philanthropic and kind, but inhuman and cruel, causing unspeakable torment by means of a small beneficence. In fact, what can be harsher than the feeder in order to gather hot coals on the head of the nourished? Such is the objection. Now it is necessary to offer permission, so that from the very thing that seems to degrade the words of the commandment, you may clearly see all the wisdom of the lawgiver. What kind of permission is this?

This great and valiant man knew well that it is a difficult and difficult task to quickly reconcile with the enemy, difficult and difficult not because of its nature, but because of our negligence. Moreover, he commanded not only to be reconciled, but also to nourish, which is much more difficult than the first: if some, only seeing their offenders, become hardened, then how would they dare to feed their hungering ones? But what do I say, seeing? If someone reminds us of them and pronounces their name alone, he inflames the wound in our soul and increases irritation. Wherefore Paul, knowing all this, and desiring to make the inconvenient and difficult convenient and easy, and to dispose him who does not even want to see his enemy to become his benefactor, added "burning coals," so that he, impelled by the hope of punishment, would resolve to do good to him who had offended him.

He knows that if he undertakes such a beneficence, the path to reconciliation will be started and continued. No one, for no one can have as an enemy the one whom he nourishes and waters, even if at first he did it in the hope of punishment. Time in its course weakens the power of anger as well. And just as a fisherman, if he had thrown down an empty fishing rod, would not have caught a fish, but, having closed it, imperceptibly implants the fishing rod into the mouth of an approaching animal, so Paul, if he had not offered the hope of punishment, would not have persuaded the offended to proceed to do good to those who had offended them. Therefore, wishing to persuade those who deviate, are indignant, and irritated at the mere sight of their enemies, to the greatest benefactions for them, he proposed "burning coals" – not in order to subject them to inevitable punishment, but in order to persuade those offended by the hope of punishment to do good to their enemies, in the course of time to persuade them to abandon all their wrath.

6. Thus he calmed the offended; See how he reconciles even the offender with the offended. And in the first place, by the very method of beneficence, because no one can be so low and insensible that, when he receives food and drink, he does not want to be the slave and friend of him who does it for him; and secondly, the fear of punishment. Apparently, he addresses the feeder with the words: "By doing this, you will gather burning coals on his head"; but they are chiefly directed against the offender, so that he may not remain an enemy forever for fear of punishment, but, knowing that food and drink can do him a great deal of harm if he persists in his enmity, he would cease his anger. In this way, it will be able to extinguish hot coals. Thus the punishment and the impending torment dispose the offended to do good to the offender, and the offender is frightened, corrected, and forced to be reconciled with him who nourishes and waters him. Consequently, by a double bond he unites both of them with each other, the bonds of beneficence and punishment. It is difficult to begin and make an attempt at reconciliation; and when it is made in any way, then everything that follows will be easy and convenient. Though the offended man at first nourishes his enemy in the hope of punishing him, yet by the very nourishment he has become his friend, he may reject the desire for punishment, because having become a friend, he will no longer nourish him who has been reconciled to him in such expectation. Likewise, the offender, seeing that the offended one intends to nourish and drink him, will therefore forsake all enmity himself, even though he be a thousand times cruel as iron and adamant, being ashamed of the benevolence of the feeder and fearing the punishment that awaits him, if even after eating he remains an enemy.

For this reason the Apostle did not stop here in his exhortation, but when he had destroyed the wrath of both, then he corrected their disposition and said: "Do not be overcome by evil" (Romans 12:21). If, he says, you remain vindictive and vindictive, then it seems that you conquer him, and yet you yourself are overcome by evil, i.e. by anger, so that if you want to conquer, then be reconciled and do not take revenge. A brilliant victory is that when you overcome evil with good, i.e. with forgiveness, leaving anger and rancor. But these words would not have been accepted at first by the offended and burning with anger. Wherefore the Apostle, when he had satiated his wrath, then presented him with a better inducement to reconciliation, and did not allow him to remain in the evil hope of punishment. Do you see the wisdom of the lawgiver? And in order that you may be convinced that because of the weakness of those who otherwise would not be reconciled to one another, he proposed this commandment, – listen to how Christ, when proposing the same commandment, did not assign the same reward, but when He said, "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you," which is what it means to feed and drink, He did not add: "In doing this, you heap hot coals on their heads, But what? "that ye may be like your Father, who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:44). And rightly so. He conversed with Peter, James, and John, and with the other apostles; That is why he appointed such a reward. But if you say that this commandment is heavy, then again you will give us even more the opportunity to justify Paul, and you will deprive yourself of all justification. Why? Because, I will show you, this work, which seems difficult, was done even in the Old Testament, when such wisdom was not yet manifested. For this reason Paul did not express the commandment in his own words, but used the same words with which he first proposed this commandment was expressed, so that there would be no excuse for those who do not fulfill it. The words: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him with bread; and if he thirsts, give him water to drink" was not used by Paul, but by Solomon (Proverbs 25:21,22). That is why he used these words to convince his listener that it is very shameful that the ancient law, which was often fulfilled by the Old Testament, is now, with such lofty wisdom, considered difficult and difficult. And who, it will be said, of the Old Testament fulfilled it? Many, especially David with greater fullness. He not only fed and watered the enemy, but also repeatedly delivered those who were in danger from death, and, having the opportunity to kill him, spared him once, twice, and many times. Saul so hated and hated him after his innumerable blessings, after his brilliant victories and salvation from Goliath, that he could not even hear his name and called him by his father's name. Thus, once, at the onset of the feast, when he had formed a certain plot against David and prepared evil plots, but did not see him coming, he asked: "Where is the "son of Jesse" (1 Samuel 20:27); he called him by his father's name, both not wishing to remember his name out of enmity, and thinking that his father's ignorance would overshadow the fame of the righteous man, thinking pitifully and miserably, because, even though he could blame his father for something, it did not harm David in the least. Everyone is responsible for his own deeds, and for them he can only be approved or blamed. And here, not being able to say anything bad about David, he made a show of his ignorance of birth, hoping thus to darken his fame; It was extremely crazy. What, in fact, is the guilt of descending from ignoble and degraded parents? But he did not know how to be so inquisitive. So Saul called David the son of Jesse; and David, finding him sleeping inside the cave, called him not the son of Kish, but by an honorable name: "Let not the Lord suffer me," he said, "to lift up my hand against the anointed of the Lord" (1 Samuel 26:11). So he was pure from anger and all rancor! He calls the Lord's anointed the one who, having so wronged him, thirsted for his blood, after countless blessings, often tried to kill him. He did not look at what Saul was worthy to endure, but he looked at what he had to do or say; this is the highest limit of wisdom. How? Having captured the enemy, as it were in prison, bound by double, or, better, triple bonds, and the narrowness of the place, and the lack of helpers, and the need of sleep, do you not demand an account from him and do not subject him to punishment? No, he says; I now look not at what he is worthy to endure, but at what I should do. He did not look at the ease of killing, but looked at the fulfillment of his inherent wisdom. Meanwhile, what of the circumstances of that time was not enough to induce him to murder? Is it that the enemy was betrayed to him bound? You know, of course, that as soon as we begin to do easy things, the hope of fulfillment awakens in us a greater desire to act, as it was then with him.