"And he begat Noah," it is said, "three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But the earth was corrupted in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with wickedness." It seems to me that this righteous man has now allowed his abstinence and begat these sons, in obedience to God's dispensation. Since, as a result of increased depravity and extremely increased impiety, the universe was threatened with complete destruction, the lover of mankind was pleased to leave this righteous man as a kind of root and leaven, so that, after the destruction of those (impious contemporaries), he would be the firstfruits of future generations. For this reason, when he begat these three sons after five hundred years, he stops at them, showing by his very deed that he has thus acted in obedience to the goodness of God, which is to be revealed in relation to the human race. And to assure you that I am not saying this by mere conjecture, look at the accuracy of the words of the Scriptures. Having said that the righteous man "begat three sons," it immediately added: "But the earth was corrupted in the presence of God, and the earth was filled with wickedness." Do you see what a great and inexpressible difference there is in one and the same nature? Of the righteous man the Scripture said, "Noah was a righteous and blameless man in his generation," and of all others it says, "But the earth was corrupted in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with wickedness." By the name of the earth it calls the whole body of people. Since all their deeds were earthly, the Scriptures in the name of the earth signify their humiliation and the extreme degree of wickedness. As of the first man, when he transgressed the commandment and lost the glory that had previously clothed him, God, having subjected him to the punishment of death, said: "Dust art thou, and to dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19), so here, when evil greatly increased. The Scripture says: "The earth is corrupted." And it did not simply say: "The earth was corrupted," but – "in the presence of God, and the earth was filled with wickedness." By the word "corrupted" it signified all their vices, because it cannot be said that they were guilty of one or two sins; nay, they committed all iniquities in a great multitude. For this reason the Scripture added: "The earth is filled with wickedness." It was not simply or accidentally that they gave themselves over to impiety; No, they committed every sin with great effort. And see how the Scriptures no longer wish to vouchsafe them even a simple name, but call them simply earth, showing both the excessiveness of their depravity and the greatness of the wrath of God. "The earth was corrupted," he says, "before God," that is, they did everything contrary to the commandments of God, trampling on the commandments of God, and rejecting, in their carelessness, the instructor (conscience) invested in human nature. "And the earth was filled," he says, "with wickedness." Do you see, beloved, what evil sin is, how it makes people unworthy of the very name of man? Listen, then, to what is still next. "And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt" (Gen. 6:12). Look, they are called earth again. Then, when the Scripture called them earth once, and twice, and a third, so that no one would think that this was said about the earth of the senses, it says: "For all flesh has perverted its way on the earth." And now He has not deigned to call them men, but only wants to show us by the name of the flesh that this does not speak of the earth, but of men who are clothed with flesh and have given themselves over to earthly affairs. The Scriptures, as we have often noticed your love, have the custom of calling flesh people who have carnal dispositions and do not think of anything sublime, just as Blessed Paul says: "They that live according to the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:8). What then? Was not he who said this himself clothed with flesh? So. But he does not say that those who are clothed with the flesh cannot please God, but those who do not care in the least about virtue, but only care about the things of the flesh, pursue the pleasures of the flesh, and do not care in the least about the soul, incorporeal and rational. And so, when the Divine Scripture with these words pointed out to us the multitude of sins and the extreme degree of impiety, to the greatness of God's wrath and to the fact that for the commission of lawless deeds it called people once, and twice, and a third – earth, and also flesh, depriving them of the name of common nature (man), then in the following words it already shows us the ineffable love of mankind and the immeasurable condescension of God. What does it say? And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them. and behold, I will destroy them from the earth, v. 13.

3. Look, what immeasurable goodness! As with one another, so (God) converses with the righteous man about the punishment to which He wants to inflict on the human race, and says: "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with wickedness because of them"; and behold, I will destroy them from the earth. What does it mean, "the end of all flesh has come before me"? Great, he says, I have shown long-suffering, great condescension, not wishing to bring about this punishment, which I intend to inflict; but since the excessive increase of their sins continued until this very time, it is already necessary to put an end to and stop their wickedness, so that it does not extend further: "the end of all flesh has come before my face." See here also that God, as He said above: "All the thoughts and thoughts of the heart" (Gen. 6:5), so now He says: "The end of all flesh." All, he says, are of the same disposition, all have aspired to iniquity, and it is impossible to find in such a multitude even one who cares about virtue. "The end," he says, "of all flesh has come before me." The time has come, that is, the time at which the knife must be used to stop the growth of the wound. "The end of all flesh has come before my face": as if no one had watched over them and had no one to demand an account of their sins, so they gave themselves up to lawless deeds, not thinking that it was impossible to hide from Me, Who sustained their very life, gave them soul and body, and communicated such an abundance of blessings. So, "the end of all flesh has come before me." Then, as if defending himself before the righteous, and showing that the excessiveness of their sins provokes Him to such wrath, He says: "For the earth is filled with wickedness because of them." Have they, he says, omitted anything that pertains to wickedness? They have done so much evil that wickedness has already spread and covered the whole earth. Therefore I will destroy them and the earth: "And behold, I will destroy them from the earth." Since they have already destroyed themselves in advance by iniquity, I bring about complete destruction and destroy both them and the earth, so that the earth may be cleansed and freed from the defilement of so many sins. Consider, then, what kind of soul this righteous man must have had when he heard this from the Lord. For even if he was conscious of being virtuous, he could not hear these words without sorrow. The righteous are loving and are ready to willingly endure everything for the salvation of others. How could this wonderful man have been moved by these words, already imagining in his mind the destruction of all people and the destruction of all creation, perhaps not expecting anything good for himself? He didn't know it yet. And so, in order that he might not be troubled by his mind, but that in this great tribulation he might have at least some small consolation, God, having shown him the immensity of the wickedness of his contemporaries, and that the time had finally come to subject them to a deep section, said to him: "All these people will be destroyed, "but thou shalt make thee an ark" (Gen. 6:14). What does it mean – "you"? Since you were not an accomplice in their wickedness, but spent your whole life in virtue, I command you to build an ark of gopher wood: make compartments in the ark and tar it inside and out. Three hundred cubits shall be the length, and the breadth thereof shall be fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. And thou shalt make a hole in the ark, and thou shalt bring it together at the top of the cubit, and thou shalt make the door of the ark at its side; build in it a lower, second, and third dwelling" (Gen. 6:14-16). Notice God's condescension, and ineffable power, and love that surpasses every word. At one and the same time He shows His care for the righteous man, commanding him to build the ark and the drawing and the form of the building, and the width and height of the ark – and gives him the greatest consolation, by the very building of the ark arousing in him the hope of salvation, and by the very construction of the ark He wants to bring those such great sinners to the thought of their deeds, so that when they repent, they do not experience wrath. In fact, not a little time for repentance was given to them by the building of the ark, but even very much and enough so that they, if they were not extremely insensible, could come to contrition and correct themselves from their sins. Each of them, seeing that the righteous man was building the ark, should have asked the reason for the construction, and, having learned of the wrath of God, should have come to the consciousness of his sins, if only he had wanted to. But they did not take advantage of this either, not because they could not, but because they did not want to.

And so God, having given the righteous man the command to build the ark, informs him of the very nature of the punishment that He wanted to inflict, and says: "You build this ark as I commanded, and I, when you finish the construction, will prosper your fate also." "And behold, I will bring a flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh that hath the spirit of life under heaven; everything that is on the earth will be deprived of life" (Gen. 6:17). See how God by His very threat shows the greatness of their sins, and says: I will subject both rational and foolish creatures to the same punishment. Since people have betrayed their high dignity and have stooped to the malice of the foolish, there will be no difference in punishment. "I will bring a flood" of water, "to destroy all flesh that has the spirit of life under the heavens." And the cattle, he says, and the birds, and the beasts, and the quadrupeds, and all the creatures that are under heaven, shall perish. And so that you may know that nothing will remain, He says: "Everything that is on the earth will lose its life." The universe is already in need of purification, but let it not trouble you, and let it not frighten your heart, because I, seeing the incurability of their wound, want to stop the flow of wickedness, so that they may not become guilty of even greater punishments. Therefore, even now, following My love for mankind and tempering anger with goodness, I impose on them such a punishment that will be painless and insensible to them. Judging them not by the greatness of their sins, nor by what they deserve, but, foreseeing the future, I want to inflict appropriate punishment on these people, and deliver them from their contagion. Do not grieve and do not be dismayed when you hear this. Even if their punishment commensurate with their sins befalls them, but with you "I will establish my covenant" (Gen. 6:18). Since all who have lived up to now have become unworthy and have not been obedient to My commandments, then with "thee" at last "I will establish My covenant." In the same way, the first man, after so many blessings, succumbed to deception, transgressed My commandments; Then, his son also plunged into the same abyss of evil, for which he was subjected, with a curse, to punishment for life. But his descendants did not come to their senses, and by his punishment, on the contrary, they increased their impiety, so that for this they are excluded from the genealogy. Then, having found Enoch to keep the law of virtue, I, as being very pleasing to Me, added him to the living, showing also to those who did virtue what rewards they were worthy of, and desiring to make those who lived after him zealots for him, walking the same path with him. But behold, all have deviated to wickedness, and in such a multitude I have found thee alone capable of recompensing thee for the transgression of the progenitor: wherefore I will make my covenant with thee, since thy past life vouches that thou shalt faithfully keep my commandments. Then, so that the righteous man would not be sad when he heard this, at the thought that he would be left alone, God, so to speak, comforting him, said again: "And thou shalt enter into the ark, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee." Although they were far inferior to the righteous man in virtue, they were nevertheless alien to the excessive impiety of their depraved contemporaries. However, they are saved for the following two reasons. Firstly, in honor of the righteous man. It is customary for God, the lover of mankind, to honor His servants and often grant them the salvation of others, as He did with Blessed Paul, the teacher of the universe, who poured out the rays of His teaching everywhere. When he sailed to Rome, a violent storm arose on the sea; And when all those who were on the ship, because of the great agitation, feared for their very lives and lost all hope, he called them all together and said: "I urge you to be of good cheer, for not one soul of you will perish, but only the ship. For the angel of God, to whom I belong and whom I serve, appeared to me that night and said, "Do not be afraid, Paul.. God has given you all those who sail with you" (Acts 27:22-24). Do you see how the virtue of this man has thereby gained salvation? However, not only his virtue, but also the love of the Lord. It was the same now for this first reason. The second reason is that God wanted to leave as it were a leaven and root for the race (human) that was subsequently formed, not because it was impossible for God to create man again, and to spread the human race from alone, but because He so deigned in His goodness.

5. See the goodness of God in the following. Since He, threatening punishment, said that cattle, and creeping things, and birds, and beasts would perish along with people, then, again, for the sake of the righteous man, He commanded that one pair of each breed of these animals should be brought into the ark, so that these pairs would be the seed and the firstfruits for the multiplication of animals in the future. "And of every beast, of every beast, and of every flesh, two by two, that they may live with thee; male and female, let them be. Of all the birds that are feathered after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after their kind, of all they shall come in two to thee, that they may live" (Gen. 6:19-20). Do not pass this by, beloved, without attention: think how confused the righteous man was when he thought that he was concerned about all this. It was not enough for him to care for his wife, for his sons and their wives: no, he was also entrusted with the care of so many animals and their food. But wait a little, and you will see the goodness of God – how He eases the care that lay upon the righteous. "Thou shalt take," says God, "all the food that is eaten, and gather unto thee; and it shall be food unto thee and unto them" (Gen. 6:21). Do not think, he says that you are left without my thoughts. Behold, I command to bring into the ark all that is necessary both for your food and for the sustenance of the animals, so that you also may not experience hunger and lack, and the animals will not perish for want of their proper food. "And Noah did," it is said, "all things: as God commanded him, so he did" (Gen. 6:22). Behold, here again there is great praise (to the righteous). "He did," it is said, "Noah did everything: as God commanded him." It is not that he fulfilled one command and ignored another; no, he did all that was commanded, and "so he did," as he was commanded. He omitted nothing, but fulfilled everything, and proved by his very deeds that he had justly been vouchsafed the favor of the Lord. With what crowns can this testimony which the righteous man received from the divine Scriptures not be compared? Who can be more blessed than he who has fulfilled all that God commanded him, and has shown such obedience to Him who commanded? And so that you may know what a prophecy he receives for this from the Creator of all creation, listen to what follows. "And the Lord said to Noah, Enter thou and all thy family into the ark" (Gen. 7:1). Then, so that we may know that He not only saves the righteous by grace, but also gives a reward for labor and reward for virtue, (God) says (to Noah): Therefore I command you to enter into the ark with your house, "for I have seen you righteous before Me in this generation." Important and reliable evidence! In fact, what could be more important than this testimony, when the Creator and Creator himself pronounces such a judgment on the righteous? "For thee," he says, "I have seen righteous before me." This is true virtue when a person performs it before God, when that incorruptible Eye pronounces judgment on it. Then, God, the lover of mankind, wishing to show us the measure of virtue which He then demanded of the righteous man (and He does not require virtue from everyone in equal measure, but in different ways, judging by the difference of time), says: "For I saw thee righteous before Me in this generation," which deviated into such great wickedness, in this corrupt generation, which revealed such insensibility. "I have seen thee righteous"; thee alone have I found thankful; I saw you earnestly caring for virtue; thou alone hast appeared righteous before me, while all these have destroyed themselves, I command thee to enter into the ark with all thy house; "And of the clean beasts" I command thee to introduce "by seven" (Gen. 7:2). Since He had previously commanded that all the animals should be brought in one pair without distinction, He now says, "Take every clean beast by seven, male and female, and of the unclean cattle two by two, male and female." Further, in order to show the reason for this, he added: "I will destroy all that exists from the face of the earth" (Gen. 7:4). It is proper to ask here and consider how the righteous man knew which of the animals were clean and which were unclean? At that time there was no division that Moses later legitimized for the Jews. How did Noah know? Of course, guided by the instruction placed in nature; and at the same time his reason decided. Of course, there is not a single unclean person among God's creatures. Indeed, how can we call any creature unclean, when the highest definition was once pronounced about them, and the divine Scripture said that "God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31)? But nature (human) itself made this distinction. And that this is just, consider how even now in some places some abstain from certain things as unclean and forbidden, while others, on the contrary, use these things in accordance with this custom. In the same way, even then, the very knowledge of the righteous taught him which animals were fit for food and which were unclean, although they were not really there, but were only considered so. Why, tell me, do we consider the ass unclean, although it feeds only on seeds, and we consider other quadrupeds fit for food, while they feed on unclean substances? So our teacher in this was the knowledge given by God to our nature. But on the other hand, it can be said that God, who gave Noah such a command, Himself communicated to him the knowledge of this difference. However, we have said enough about clean and unclean animals.

6. But here another question presents itself to us: Why is it (commanded to be brought into the ark) "of the unclean cattle two by two, and of the clean cattle by seven"? And then: why not six, not eight, but seven? Perhaps our word is already becoming very long; but, if you are not weary, and if you please, we will briefly settle this question of your love, as the grace of God will help us. After all, many people talk a lot about this, and on this occasion they make an observation of numbers. But that this is not an observation, but an invention of the misplaced inquisitiveness of people, from which a great many heresies have originated, you will now learn. In fact, we notice (and by this remark we hope to completely shut the mouths of lovers of fiction) that in the Scriptures the number of pairs is very often used. Thus, when Jesus Christ sent His disciples to preach, He sent them "two by two" (Mark 6:7), and there were twelve of them, and the Gospels were four in number. However, there is no need to discuss this before your love, since you have already been sufficiently instructed to block the ears of such (idle talkers). And it is necessary to say, why did God command to bring into the ark "of the pure by seven"? God commanded that more pure animals should be introduced, so that both the righteous and those who would use these animals with him might have some consolation; and as for the fact that they were brought in "by seven," then even this, if you know the reason, will be the strongest proof of the God-loving disposition of the righteous man. For God, the lover of mankind, knew the goodness of this man, and knew that he, being righteous, and having experienced such love of the Lord, and having escaped destruction from the flood, would intend, after being delivered from the calamity, and coming out of the ark, to show his good gratitude, and in gratitude for his salvation would be willing to offer a sacrifice, so that by this (Noah) (Noah) would not spoil the couple, (the Lord), such his gratitude, He commands to bring into the ark "seven" from each breed of birds, so that, after the flood ceases, the righteous man may both show his favor and not damage the pairs of birds and other animals. This, however, you will learn from the following teaching, when we come to this very place, where you will see that the righteous man did just that. Now you have learned the reason why it is commanded to bring into the ark "seven at a time" (from clean animals). Do not heed after this the fabulous words, which, contrary to the divine Scriptures, introduce into the divine teaching the fictions of their minds. And so, when God has given a clear command about everything, both about birds, and clean and unclean animals, and about their sustenance, He says to the righteous man: "For in seven days, behold, I will pour rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy all that exists that I have created from off the face of the earth," from man to beast (Gen. 7:4). Discern also from these words the immeasurable goodness of the Lord, as He, after such great long-suffering, still foretells seven days in advance, wishing to bring the people of that time to reason with fear and bring them to repentance. And in order to prove that He foretells in order not to fulfill His word, think of the Ninevites, and see what is the difference between these and those. These (Noah's contemporaries), after so many years, heard that misfortune was already at the door, and, nevertheless, did not abandon sin. Of course, we are careless and do not hurry to correct ourselves when punishment threatens from afar; but when misfortune is near to us, then we humble ourselves and manifest a great change in ourselves. So it was with the Ninevites. When they heard that forty days more and Nineveh would be destroyed (Jonah 3:4), they did not despair at these words, on the contrary, they perked up, and so resolutely refrained from sin, showed such strong repentance, that they made the dumb partakers of it, not so that the dumb would bring confession – for how is this possible when they do not have the gift of speech? – but in order to attract to oneself the mercy of the good Lord through them. Having declared, it is said, a fast, the king commanded that the sheep, and the oxen, and all the dumb ones, should eat neither food nor water (Jonah 3:7); Then, all the people, even the king himself, who sat on the throne, put on sackcloth, made a deep and earnest confession, although they did not know whether they would escape punishment. "Who knows," they said, "that God may yet turn away from us the calamity which He said He would bring upon us" (Jonah 3:8,10)?

7. Do you see the gratitude of the barbarians? Do you see how this brevity of time did not rob them of their vigor, and did not lead them to despair? Look also at these (Noah's contemporaries), how, after so many years, when they heard that "seven more days" and the flood would come, they still did not convert, but remained unrepentant, which serves as proof that the cause of all evil is our will. For these are men, and they are men: nature is given to them the same, but not the same volition. For this reason their fate was not the same, but some escaped destruction, because the good God, in His love for mankind, accepted their repentance, while others perished in the waters of the flood. "For," it is said, "after seven days I will pour out rain on the earth." Then, wanting to increase the fear, God says: "forty days and forty nights." Why is that? Could He not, if He had willed, bring all the rain in one day? What do I say – on the same day? In an instant (He could). But He does this with intention, desiring at the same time to increase the fear, and to give them the opportunity to escape punishment, although it was already at the very door. "And I will destroy all that exists that I have created from off the face of the earth," from man to cattle. See how God foretells once and twice, and yet they do not move. And He did all this to show us that He had justly inflicted such a punishment on them, and that no foolish person could reproach (God) and say that if He had shown long-suffering, they might have repented, perhaps they would have abstained from sin, and would have turned to virtue. For this reason He announces to us the number of years and commands (Noah) to build an ark. After all this, he also foretells seven days in advance, in order to stop the shameless lips of all those who dare to speak foolish words. "And Noah did," it is said, "all that the Lord commanded him" (Gen. 7:5). See how the Divine Scripture now proclaims the gratitude and obedience of the righteous man, showing that he did not ignore a single command, but fulfilled everything, and in this he presented a proof of his virtue.

8. It is this righteous man whom we also will imitate; let us try to fulfill the commandments given to you by God, and let us not be inattentive to the laws communicated to us by God, but, constantly keeping them in mind, let us be zealous for their fulfillment; let us not do carelessly that on which our salvation depends, especially when the higher degree of virtue is now required of us, the higher the blessings we have received. That is why Christ said: "Unless your righteousness surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). Let us look around, and let us not pass these words unheeded, but let us consider what punishment threatens those who not only do not try to surpass these (the scribes and Pharisees), but are even much inferior to them, who do not want to cease to be angry with their neighbor, nor to restrain their tongues from oaths, nor to forbid their eyes to have a pernicious view, whereas the Lord commands not only to endure offenses with good humor, but also to give more than they want to take from us. "Whosoever will sue thee," He says, "and take thy shirt, give him also thy outer garment" (Matt. 5:40). And we often offend our neighbor, or take revenge on him for an offense – we, who are commanded not only to love those who love us ("and the publicans," says the Lord, "do the same" Matt. 5:46), but also to harbor a good disposition towards our enemies, do not repay equal love to those who love us. Wherefore I grieve and am sick, seeing how rare virtue has become among us, and how, on the contrary, the vice increases from day to day, how neither the fear of hell stops our striving for evil, nor the love of the kingdom draws us to the path of virtue, but we all, so to speak, are drawn like animals, and do not think in the least of that terrible hour, nor about the laws given to us by God, on the contrary, considering only the opinions of people and pursuing their praise, we do not want to hear what the Gospel says: "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that is from the one God" (John 5:44)? Just as those who aspire to human glory completely lose the glory of heaven, so, on the contrary, those who seek the ultimate glory do not lose even that glory. And the Lord Himself, even before that, said: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33), i.e. whoever seeks the kingdom, all the rest follows. In fact, whoever soars there with his mind looks with contempt at the present well-being, as if it did not exist. The eyes of faith, when they see its ineffable blessings, no longer notice the visible blessings: such is the distance between these and other blessings! But I do not see who would prefer invisible goods to visible ones.

I know that you do not like to hear this; But I'm sorry. I say this out of concern for your salvation, and wishing that you would rather suffer a little trouble here and be delivered from eternal punishment, than that you would be subjected to eternal torment after rejoicing a little here. After all, if you listen to my words and put aside your former carelessness, especially now, when there is not much time left for you during the Holy Forty Days, then you will be able to wash away your sins and deserve great mercy from God. The Lord does not need many days and (long) time; no, if we wish, then in these two weeks we will have time to correct ourselves from many sins. If He showed such love to the Ninevites because they performed three days of repentance, how much more will He not despise us, if only we show sincere repentance, and, abandoning sin, enter the path of virtue. So also of them, that is, the Ninevites, the Divine Scripture testifies: "God saw that every man had turned from the way of his evil one" (Jonah 3:10). Therefore, if He sees that we too have turned to virtue and have turned away from sin, and are zealous for doing good works, He will also accept our conversion, and having freed us from the burden of sins, He will give us His gifts. It is not so much that we ourselves desire deliverance from sins and seek salvation, as He hastens and hastens to grant us both deliverance from sins and the blessedness of salvation.

But if anyone sees himself still in the grip of a (sinful) habit and still in the same sins, let him do violence to his soul, demand an account of such carelessness, and do not allow it to continue further, but, ceasing to obey the sinful habit, stop its striving, restrain the thought, bring to mind the terrible day, meditate on the communion of this terrible meal, on the brilliance of the fire that proceeds from it and its scorching power, and what is required of the approaching soul, pure from all defilement and uncleanness, and having expelled from itself iniquitous thoughts, so that, having thus prepared and, as far as possible, purified ourselves during these days, we may be partakers in this enjoyment (of the holy mysteries), and be worthy of those ineffable blessings which God has promised to those who love Him, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, With Whom be glory, dominion, and honor to the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

DISCOURSE 25

"And Noah was six hundred years after the flood of waters came upon the earth" (Gen. 7:6).

1. I want to take up again the same subject about which I recently talked with your love, and consider again the story of the righteous Noah. In fact, great is the wealth of virtues of this righteous man, and we must, as far as possible, examine everything in detail, in order to be of the greatest benefit to you. Only strain, I beg you, to pay attention, so that not a single thought contained (in this narration) is hidden from you. But first it is necessary to remind your love where our previous instruction stopped, so that, having begun the word today, we may unite it with the preceding and the following. In this way, the present word will be clear to you. Where did our teaching stop? "The Lord said to Noah, Enter thou and all thy family into the ark: for I have seen thee righteous before me in this generation; and every clean beast thou shalt take seven, and of the unclean cattle two... for after seven days I will pour rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy all that exists that I have created from off the face of the earth," from man to cattle. "Noah did all that the Lord commanded him" (Gen. 7:1-2, 4-5). At this point we stopped speaking, and stopped teaching. You yourselves, perhaps, remember when we told your love about the reason why God commanded Noah to bring in from the clean by seven, and from the unclean by two. Let us consider further reading today, and see what the divine Scripture tells us after Noah's entry into the ark. If at any other time, then especially now we must show great zeal – now, when, for the sake of the Lenten time, we so often enjoy the most pleasant conversation with you, and are free from satiety with pleasures, and, with an excited mind, we can attentively listen to the proposed teaching. So, it is necessary to say how we began today's reading. "And Noah was six hundred years," it is said, "as the flood of water came upon the earth." Be careful, please, and do not skim these words superficially. In these brief words a certain richness is hidden, and if we strain our minds, we can learn from them both the extraordinary height of the Lord's love for mankind and the great increase in the malice of the people of that time. "And Noah was," it is said, "six hundred years." It is not without reason that the Divine Scripture has told us here the number of years of the righteous, and not only so that we may know how old the righteous man was, but because it has already informed us that "Noah was five hundred years" (Gen. 5:31). Having informed us of such a number of years, (the Scriptures) then told us about the strong desire of people for vice, "for the thinking of the heart of man is evil from youth" (Gen. 8:21), which is why God said: "My Spirit shall not forever be despised by men; for they are flesh" (Gen. 6:3), foretelling them with these words about His great wrath. Further, in order to give them ample time to repent and avoid wrath, (God) says: "Let their days be a hundred and twenty years," that is, I will endure even after five hundred years, because this righteous man did not cease, for five hundred years, to admonish all of them in his own name, and, if only they would listen, he inspired them to abandon sin and turn to virtue. With all this, says God, even now I promise to endure another hundred and twenty years, so that they, taking advantage of this time as they should, will turn away from wickedness and begin to do good. However, (God) was not satisfied with this promise of a hundred and twenty years, but still commands the righteous man to build an ark, so that the very appearance of the ark would give them sufficient admonition, and none of them would be ignorant of the greatness of the threatening punishment. The very fact that this righteous man, who had attained the highest perfection, was so concerned about the building of the ark, could have already led all the prudent to fear and apprehension, and forced them to propitiate such a meek and humane Lord. If, indeed, those barbarians, that is, the Ninevites... Again, they must be presented as an example, so that the excessive impiety of these (Noah's contemporaries) and the great gratitude of them (the Ninevites) may be more clearly revealed. And our Lord Himself, on that dreadful day of judgment, will set some servants against others, and then He will pronounce condemnation (on sinners), rebuking them for having received the same means and blessings (as the righteous), and did not strive like them in virtue. He often makes comparisons and unequal sides, in order to subject the careless to all the greater condemnation. That is why he said in the Gospel: "The Ninevites will rise up to judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they have repented because of the preaching of Jonah; and behold, here is greater than Jonah" (Matt. 12:41). As if He had said so: barbarians who did not use any special guidance, who did not hear prophetic teachings, who did not contemplate signs, who did not see miracles, but who heard from one man who had escaped from shipwreck such words as could plunge them into utter despair and bring them to extremity, to contempt for his very words – these barbarians not only did not disregard the words of the prophet, but, having received a short period of three days, they showed such strong and zealous repentance that they rejected God's decree. It is they, he says, who will condemn this generation, which enjoyed such great care from Me, was brought up in the books of the prophets, and saw signs and wonders every day. Further, in order to show both the extreme unbelief of the Jews and the unspeakable obedience of the Ninevites, the Lord added: "For they repented because of the preaching of Jonah; and behold, there is more Jonah here." They, he says, when they saw the poor man, Jonah, accepted his preaching, and brought the strictest repentance; but these, seeing the much greater Jonah, the Creator of all creation, Who was converted among them, performed so many and great miracles every day, cleansed lepers, raised the dead, corrected natural defects, cast out demons, healed diseases, and granted remission of sins with full authority, did not show the same faith as the barbarians.

2. But let us return to the order of the word, so that you may know both the extreme insensibility of Noah's contemporaries and the great gratitude of the Ninevites, how these, being limited to a period of three days, did not despair of their salvation, but, hastening to repent, washed away their sins, and were counted worthy of the mercy of the Lord, and they, having received a hundred and twenty-year respite for repentance, did not use it for good. That is why the Lord, seeing their extreme corruption and complete stagnation in vice, brings upon them a speedy destruction, and thus destroys and uproots the evil leaven of their wickedness. That is why it is said, "And Noah was six hundred years after the flood of water came upon the earth." Now we know that when God's threat and prediction was made, Noah was five hundred years old, and when the flood came, he was six hundred years old. This means that a hundred years have passed in between; but even these hundred years they did not make use of, although the very construction of the ark by Noah so strongly enlightened them. But perhaps someone will want to know why the Lord, having said: "Their days shall be a hundred and twenty years," and having promised to endure so many years, brought the flood before the end of these years. And this is the greatest proof of His love for mankind. He saw that people sin incorrigibly every day, and not only do they not use His ineffable long-suffering for their own good, but also multiply their wounds; therefore he shortened the term, so that they would not become worthy of even greater punishment. And what, you ask, would be an even greater punishment than this? There is, beloved, a punishment that is greater, and more terrible, and unending – punishment in the age to come. Some, having suffered punishment here, although they will not escape the torment there, will nevertheless suffer a lighter punishment, reducing the greatness of the torments there by the sufferings here. Listen to how Christ speaks about this, prophesying woe to Bethsaida. "Woe unto thee, Chorazin," saith He, "woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the powers manifested in you had been manifested in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, that the land of Sodom shall be more pleasing in the day of judgment than unto thee" (Matt. 11:21,24; 10:15). Do you see, beloved, how by the word "more joyful" the Lord has shown that those who have been subjected to such a great punishment here, who have suffered such an unusual and strange burning, although they will be punished there, will be punished very lightly, because they have already experienced such wrath here? Thus, so that Noah's contemporaries, in multiplying their iniquities, would not deserve a greater punishment, the good and humane Lord, seeing their impenitence, shortened the time that He had promised to endure. Just as in relation to those who show themselves to be obedient, He, in His inherent goodness, cancels His sentences, accepts those who convert, and delivers them from threatening punishment, so, on the contrary, when He promises to grant either some blessings or time for repentance, but sees that people have become unworthy, then He cancels His promises. For this reason He said through the prophet: "Sometimes I will say of a nation and a kingdom, that I will root it out, and crush it, and destroy it; but if this people, upon whom I have spoken these things, turn from their evil deeds, I will put aside the evil which I have thought to do them" (Jeremiah 18:7-8), and further: "And sometimes I will say of any" nation and kingdom, "that I will establish and establish it; but if he does evil in my eyes, and does not obey my voice, I will take away the good with which I would have done him good" (Jeremiah 18:9-10). Do you see how He takes from us a reason to show us either mercy or wrath? For this reason, even now, since (Noah's contemporaries) did not take advantage of the proper increase in time, He shortens the period. That is why Blessed Paul also said to insensitive people who rejected the salvation granted to us through repentance: "Do you despise the riches of God's goodness, meekness, and longsuffering, not understanding that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But according to thy stubbornness and impenitent heart, thou hast stored up for thyself wrath for the day of wrath, and the revelation of righteous judgment from God" (Romans 2:4-5). Do you see how this wonderful teacher of the universe has clearly shown us that those who do not make proper use of God's long-suffering, which is given to us for repentance, deserve greater condemnation and punishment? That is why even now the loving God, as if justifying Himself and showing the reason why He brought the flood before the end of the time, points out to us the number of years of the righteous man, and says: "And Noah was six hundred years." For those who have not wanted to change for a hundred years, what profit would they have gained from twenty years, unless they added to their sins? For His part, God, wishing to show the immeasurable greatness of His unspeakable love for mankind and goodness, did not fail to announce to them seven days in advance that the flood was approaching, so that they, being amazed at this shortness of time, would discover some kind of change.

3. See the Lord's love for mankind also from the various ways in which He, like a skilful physician, healed the illness of these people. Since their wounds were incurable, He gave them such a long respite, wishing that they, even though they had been brought to their senses by the length of time, would deflect His wrathful sentence. Since God cares about our salvation, he usually always predicts what punishments he wants to bring about, only in order not to bring them. If He had wanted to lead, He would not have said; but He foretells with the intention that we, having learned of these things and been made aware of them by fear, should turn away our wrath and revoke His sentences. Nothing pleases Him so much as our conversion and transition from sin to virtue. See how He healed the illness of these people. At first He gave them such a long respite for repentance, then, when He saw their insensibility, for which they did not take advantage of such a long time, already before the very doors, so to speak, of the flood, He predicted, however, not three days in advance, as in the Ninevites, but seven days in advance. Knowing the boundless love of humanity of our Lord, I boldly say that even in seven days, if they had wanted to sincerely repent, they would have averted the calamity of the flood from themselves. And when neither the former long delay nor the last short period could turn them away from sin, God brought a flood upon them when Noah was six hundred years old: "And Noah was six hundred years old, since the flood of water came upon the earth." Do you see, beloved, how useful it was to know the number of years of the righteous man, how old he was when the flood came? Now let us consider what is said next. When the flood came, it is said, "Noah and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, entered into the ark out of the waters of the flood" (Gen. 7:7). "And of the clean beasts, and of the unclean beasts, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, they entered in two by two, male and female, and entered into the ark unto Noah, as God commanded Noah" (Gen. 7:8-9). It is not without reason that it is added, "As God commanded Noah," but in order to give praise again to the righteous man, because he did all things as the Lord commanded, and omitted nothing that was said to him from Him. "In seven days," as the Lord promised, "the waters of the flood came upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month" (Gen. 7:10-11). Notice the accuracy of the Scriptures, as it shows us not only the year, but also the month, and even the day on which the flood occurred, in order to bring the following people to their senses more strongly and to make the event more terrible, it says: "On this day all the fountains of the great deep were opened, and the windows of heaven were opened; and rain poured down upon the earth forty days and forty nights" (Gen. 7:11-12). See what condescension the Holy Scriptures use here as well, how they speak of everything in a human way. Not that there are slabs in heaven, but the Scriptures are expressed in our usual words, as if to say: the Lord only commanded – and the water immediately obeyed the command of the Creator, and, flowing from all sides, drowned the whole world. And that God brought a flood of forty days and nights, and this again serves as the greatest testimony of His love for mankind. In His great goodness, He wanted at least some of them to come to their senses and avoid ultimate destruction, seeing before their eyes both the death of their neighbors and the calamity threatening them. In fact, one may think that on the first day a considerable part of the people were already drowned, and on the second even more; and so it was on the third and other days. That is why God appointed the flood to last forty days and forty nights, in order to take away from them any reason for justification. If He had willed and commanded, He could have drowned everything in an instant; but since He heeded His love for mankind, He appointed such a length of time. Further it says: "On this very day Noah entered into the ark, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, and all the beasts after their kind, as God commanded Noah (Gen. 7:13-14). When, that is, the flood began at the command of the Lord, Noah entered into the ark with his sons and his wife, and with the wives of his sons, and the beasts of all kinds went in with him. "And the Lord God shut the ark behind him" (Gen. 7:16).