1. Having offered yesterday the blessing which Noah had received from the Lord because he had made an altar after leaving the ark, offered sacrifices of thanksgiving, and thereby expressed his gratitude to God, we could not extend further, explain the whole reading, and show the condescension and care which the humane God showed for this righteous man. As our discourse has become very long, we hastened to conclude it, so as not to burden your memory with a multitude of things, and not to damage what has already been said with what could still be said. For we are not only concerned with saying much, but with saying as much as you can keep in mind, and thus to get out of here for your own benefit. For if we also speak more than is proper, and you receive no fruit from our words, what is the use of this? Therefore, knowing that we have taken upon ourselves this work (preaching) for your benefit, and consider it a sufficient reward for us, if we see that you, carefully keeping our words (in memory), are progressing (in knowledge), and you compose them in the bosom of your soul, constantly meditating on them and reviving them in your memory. Remembering what has been said before, you can more easily accept what is to be said, and in this way in time you will become teachers for others as well. All our care, all our efforts are that you may all be made completely perfect, and that nothing contained in the Divine Scriptures may be unknown to you. Knowledge of the latter, if only we wish to be attentive and vigilant, will greatly help us in improving our lives and will make us more zealous for the feats of virtue. When we see that each of the righteous men, who have acquired great boldness before God, has been honored with rewards for having spent his whole life in temptations and sorrows and has shown great patience and gratitude (to God), then will we not also try to walk the same path with them, in order to receive the same rewards as them? Therefore, I ask you every day to make some progress (in good) and increase your spiritual edification, to preserve the good that has already been done carefully and with great vigilance, and to supplement what is still lacking, so that in this way you may attain to the very height of virtues, to our praise, to the building up of the Church, to the glory of Christ. And so I, seeing your tireless desire for spiritual instruction, do not cease daily, although I am aware of my great poverty, to offer you a feast from the Divine Scriptures, and whatever the grace of God gives me according to his love for mankind and for your benefit, to pass on to your ears. So let us show your love today the abundance of love that God has shown to the human race, and for this purpose let us offer the very words spoken by God to Noah. "And God spake unto Noah, and unto his sons with him," v. 8. After He had blessed Noah and his sons, and said, "Let them be fruitful and multiply," and gave them power over all the animals, and allowed them to be eaten in the same way as the "herbs," forbidding only the eating of flesh in blood, God, continuing His care for both the righteous man and his descendants, and always lavishing blessings upon our nature, added even greater blessings. "And God said to Noah, and to his sons with him, Behold, I make my covenant with you, and with your seed after you, and with every living thing that is with you, and with the fowl, and with the cattle, and with every beast of the earth that is with you, with all that came out of the ark, with every living creature of the earth. I make my covenant with you, that all flesh shall no more be destroyed by the waters of the flood, neither shall there be any more flood to desolate the earth" (vv. 8-11). Since the righteous man could still be troubled and indignant in spirit from fear, lest a similar flood should come upon the world when a little rain occurs, then that he and all his descendants should be calm about this, the good Lord, knowing that even the slightest trouble will be able to disturb him (the experience of past misfortunes can make a person very timid), - Since this righteous man could be dismayed and frightened by a small rain, the good God, wishing to encourage him, to deliver him from all fear, and to bring him to perfect calm and good humor, promises him not to inflict such a punishment again.

2. True, He had already promised this before the blessing, when He said, as you have heard, "I will curse the earth no more" (Gen. 8:21); Let men, that is, do much evil, yet I will not subject the human race to such a punishment. But now, manifesting His ineffable love for mankind, He again promises the same thing, so that the righteous man may be calm and not reason with himself in this way: God has previously vouchsafed our race a blessing and allowed it to multiply, and, nevertheless, has brought about such a general destruction. Therefore, in order to remove all anxiety from his mind and to assure him that it will no longer happen, God says: As I brought the flood out of love for mankind, in order to stop evil and stop its further spread, so now, in My love for mankind, I promise not to do this again, so that you may lead the present life without any fear. That is why He says: "I make My covenant," i.e., I make a contract. As in human affairs, when a man promises something, he concludes a contract, and thereby gives the proper assurance, so the good Lord says: "I make my covenant." He wisely said: "I set up" [in Greek, I restore], i.e., behold, I renew that which was utterly destroyed because of the sins of men, and "I establish (restore) My covenant with you and with your descendants after you." Notice the Lord's love for mankind: I extend the covenant, he says, not only to you, but I declare that it will be inviolable with your descendants. Then, to show His generous goodness, He says: "And with every living creature that is with you, with the birds and with the cattle, and with every beast of the earth that is with you, with all that came out of the ark, with every living creature of the earth; I make my covenant with you, that all flesh shall no more be destroyed by the waters of the flood, and there shall be no more flood to desolate the earth." Do you see the greatness of the covenant? Do you see the unspeakable importance of the promise? See how He extends His goodness to the dumb and to the beasts, and not without reason. What I have often said before, I will repeat now. Since these animals were created for man, now they also participate in the beneficence shown to man. True, the covenant seems to be equally common to him and to the dumb; But in fact, it is not so. And this is done for the comfort of man, so that he may know what honor he is worthy of, when the good deed does not stop at him alone, but because of him all these (animals) participate in the goodness of the Lord. And "all flesh shall no more be destroyed by the waters of the flood," he says, "and there shall be no more flood to desolate the earth."

"And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you" (Gen. 9:12). See what honor the righteous man has been vouchsafed. As man speaks to man, so God makes a covenant with him, and says, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you, and between every living soul that is with you throughout the generations forever." Do you see that the sign promised to all living creatures extends to eternal generations? God gives a sign not only to all living creatures in general, but forever, forever, to the end of the world. What kind of sign is this? "I set my rainbow," he says, "in a cloud, that it may be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth" (v. 13). Now, after the verbal promise, I give (says God) this sign also, that is, a rainbow, which some produce from the rays of the sun falling on the clouds. If, he says, My word is not enough, then behold, I also give a sign that I will not bring such punishment again. Looking at this sign, be already free from fear. "And it shall come to pass," he says, "that when I bring a cloud upon the earth, a rainbow shall appear in the cloud; and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you, and between every living soul in all flesh" (vv. 14-15). What say thou, blessed prophet? – "I will remember," he says, "my covenant," i.e., my contract, condition, promise; and this is not because God Himself has need of remembering, but so that we, looking at this given sign, do not fear any danger, but immediately, remembering the promise of God, be sure that we will not suffer such a misfortune.

3. Do you see how great is God's condescension, what care He exerts for our race, what love for mankind He shows, not because He already sees a change (for good) in people, but in order to inspire us with the thought of the immeasurable greatness of His goodness? "And there shall be no more," he says, "the waters shall be a flood to destroy all flesh," and such a flood shall be no more. Since God knows that human nature is afraid of this, see how often He repeats the promise, as if to say: If you ever see a heavy rainfall, and then fear no misfortune, because "the waters will no longer be a flood to destroy all flesh," such a flood will no longer be, such wrath (mine) will no longer be experienced by human nature. "And there shall be," he says, "a rainbow in the cloud, and I will see it, and I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living soul in all flesh" (v. 16). See what humble expressions He uses to inspire people with calm and complete confidence. "And I'll see," he says, "and I'll remember my covenant." Does sight awaken in Him remembrance? No, we should not think so, but in such a way that when we see this sign, we can calmly rely on the promise of God, (knowing that) the promises of God cannot but be fulfilled. "And God said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant which I have made between me and every flesh that is on the earth" (v. 17). Thou hast received, saith he, the sign which I have given (as a covenant) between me and all flesh that is on the earth; Do not be troubled in your soul, and do not waver in your mind, but, looking at this sign, remain trustworthy yourself, and let all your descendants receive comfort from it; Let the appearance of this sign give confidence that such a flood will not befall the Universe. Let the sins of men multiply, but I will fulfill My promise, and I will no longer show such wrath against everyone. Do you see the abundance of God's goodness? Do you see the greatness of condescension? Do you see the power of caring? Do you see the generosity of the promise? God did not extend His beneficence only to two, three, or ten generations, but promised to keep it until the end of the world, so that we would be taught both - both by the fact that Noah's contemporaries were subjected to such punishment for their multitude of sins, and by the fact that, through the ineffable love of God, we were vouchsafed such a promise. For those who are sane are more inclined to fulfill God's commandments blessings than punishments.

Let us not be ungrateful. If God has vouchsafed us such a good deed even before we have done anything good, or rather, when we have done many worthy punishments, then what more mercies will He not vouchsafe us when we are grateful, when we show our gratitude for the former (blessings) and discover in ourselves a change for the better? If He does good to the unworthy and shows love for mankind to those who have sinned, then what will we not receive when we abandon sin and do virtue? For this reason He bestows upon us many blessings, before we do anything good, and vouchsafes us forgiveness when we sin, and does not send us punishment (for sins) suddenly, but in order to draw us to Himself by all things, both by good deeds and longsuffering. Often, too, when He punishes some, He wants to impress upon others that they, having come to their senses by the misfortune of others, should not suffer punishment themselves. Do you see how inventive is His love for mankind, how everything He does is accomplished solely for our salvation? Therefore, thinking about this, let us not be indifferent, let us not neglect virtue and transgress the laws given by Him. If He sees that we turn (to goodness), become modest, and in general lay down at least some beginning (of a virtuous life), then on His part He will help us, making everything easy and convenient for us, and not even allowing us to feel (the heaviness) of the feats of virtue. And in fact, when the soul directs its thoughts to God, it can no longer be deceived by the sight of sensual objects, but, passing by everything sensible, or rather these objects that are before our eyes, it contemplates objects that are invisible to the bodily eyes and are not subject to change, but are constantly present, unchangeable and unshakable. Such are the eyes of the mind: they are constantly fixed on the contemplation of heavenly objects, and, illumined by their brilliance, they look upon the objects of present life as shadows and dreams, without being in the least deceived or carried away by them. On the contrary, when they see wealth, they immediately laugh at it, knowing that it is more fickle than any runaway slave, passes from one to another and never remains in one place, and moreover causes many evils to its possessors and plunges them, so to speak, into the very abyss of vice. If they see bodily beauty, they are not deceived by it, imagining its fragility and changeability, as, for example, sometimes illness destroys all beauty, even without illness, old age makes a formerly beautiful face ugly and ugly, and death finally destroys all bodily beauty. If anyone is seen invested with glory or power, who has attained the highest degree of honor and enjoys full prosperity, he is looked upon as a man who has nothing solid and unchangeable, but prides himself on flowing away faster than the streams of the river. And indeed, can anything be more insignificant than all the glory of the present life, when it is compared to the color of grass? "All human glory," says the Scriptures, "is like a flower on the grass" (Isaiah 40:6; 1 Peter 1:24).

4. Do you see, beloved, how faithfully the eyes of faith see when the soul is directed to God? Do you see how they cannot be deceived by anything visible, but have a correct judgment about things and are not subject to any deception? However, if you wish, let us again pass on to the subject of the word, and, having offered a little more, let us cease the teaching, so that what has been said may remain in your memory. The Divine Scripture, having finished the narration of the divine sign, wants to give us more information about the righteous man and his sons, and says: "The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah, and of them the whole earth was inhabited" (Gen. 9:18-19). Here it may be asked, why did the divine Scripture, after mentioning the three sons of Noah, add: "Ham was the father of Canaan"? Do not think, I beseech you, that this should be added without purpose: there is nothing in the Divine Scripture that is said without any purpose, and does not contain great benefit. So why is it signified and added: "Ham was the father of Canaan"? The Scriptures want to show us the extreme intemperance of Ham, that neither so great a calamity (the flood), nor such a small life in the ark, could restrain him, but while his elder brother had not yet had children, he gave himself over to intemperance in the time of such wrath (of God), when the whole world was perishing, and could not restrain his unbridled lust, but even then and so early he revealed his vicious inclinations. And so, since a little later, for the insult he had done to his father, his son Canaan was to be cursed, the divine Scripture already shows and makes known to us both the name of the son and the intemperance of the father, so that when you later see that he shows great disrespect to his parent, knowing that he has long been so, and will not even be enlightened by misfortune. In fact, such a calamity could completely curb voluptuous lust, and indeed nothing is more capable of extinguishing this flame and this fury than great sorrow and great misfortune. Who, therefore, even in such a great calamity, has shown such unbridled lust, what can he deserve forgiveness?

But here we have another, so well-known and everywhere repeated, question: why is the son cursed for the sin of the father? However, in order that we may not now continue the discourse too much, let us postpone this question to another time, and when we come to the very place (in which it is spoken), then let us also propose the solution that God will inspire. In the divine Scriptures, as I have said above, there is nothing that is written without some foundation or reason. So far we know that Moses did not mention the name of the son (of Ham) in vain and without purpose, saying: "Ham was the father of Canaan." Then he says: "Three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was inhabited." Let us not pass without attention, beloved, even these words, but from them let us understand the greatness of the power of God. "Three," it is said, "were the sons of Noah, and of them the whole earth was inhabited." How did so many people come from three? How could they be capable of this? How did the whole world come into being from so few? How were their very bodies preserved? At that time, there was no doctor who would treat, there were no other benefits (to preserve health). The cities had not yet been built, and after such a calamity (flood) and being in the ark, they came out weary and weary. How, being left in such solitude and in such a terrible desert, did they not die? How did they not die? For fear and trembling, tell me, did not shake their souls and disturb their thoughts? Do not be surprised, beloved: God has done all this; all these obstacles were removed by the Creator of nature; It was His commandment, which said: "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Gen. 1:28), granted them (the sons of Noah) the power to multiply. In the same way, the Israelites in Egypt, though they were burdened with "their life bitter because of hard work in clay and bricks, and because of all the work of the field, and because of all the work to which they were forced with cruelty" (Exodus 1:14), nevertheless, and in spite of this, they multiplied still more, and neither the cruel and inhuman command of Pharaoh, who commanded that male children should be thrown into the water, nor the oppression that they suffered from the overseers of the works could reduce their number, on the contrary, they multiplied more and more, because the higher power acted contrary (to the desires of the persecutors).

5. So, when God commands, do not try to explain events according to human order. Being above nature, He does not submit to its order, but arranges it in such a way that the very obstacles contribute to the success of the work. In the same way, now from these three (the sons of Noah) He inhabited the whole world. "From them," says the Scripture, "the whole earth was inhabited." Do you see the power of God, do you see how, despite the many obstacles, nothing stops His will? The same can be seen in the (Christian) faith. There were so many enemies, so many persecutors: kings, tyrants, and peoples rose up and used all means to extinguish the spark of faith; but from the persecutors themselves, who wanted to hinder, such a flame of piety was kindled that it embraced all countries, inhabited and uninhabited. Whether you go to the Indians, or to the Scythians, or to the very limits of the universe, or even to the ocean, everywhere you will find the teaching of Christ, enlightening the souls of all. It is surprising and extraordinary that the Orthodox faith has transformed even the most barbarian peoples; and they learned to be inquisitive, and, abandoning their former habits, turned to piety. As from those three (the sons of Noah) the Creator of all things produced such a multitude of people, so He converted the whole universe to faith through eleven fishermen, unlearned, simple, who did not even dare to open their mouths. These unlearned and simple fishermen stopped the mouths of the philosophers and as if on wings flowed around the whole world, sowing in it the word of piety, uprooting thorns, destroying ancient customs and everywhere planting the laws of Christ. Neither their small number and simplicity, nor the severity of the commands (proclaimed by them), nor the attachment of the whole human race to ancient customs, could serve as an obstacle for them, but all this was removed by the grace of God that preceded them, so that they did everything easily, stirring up to greater zeal by the very obstacles. Thus, once, having endured beatings, they went out of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing, not just because of the beatings, but "because for the name of the Lord Jesus they were counted worthy to receive dishonor" (Acts 5:41); another time, being locked up in prison and led out of there by an angel, they again began to do the same thing that they had done before, and having come to the temple, they sowed the word of teaching, catching a multitude of people to godliness; and then, being detained again, not only did they not become more inactive, but showed even greater boldness, standing in the midst of the people raging and gnashing their teeth, and saying: "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:19-29). Do you see the greatness of daring? Do you see how simple fishermen despise so many people who are mad and ready to commit murder and put them to death? But hearing of this, beloved, attribute what happened not to the apostles themselves, but to the grace from above, which strengthened and revived their zeal. Blessed Peter himself, when he healed a lame man from birth, and when everyone was amazed and amazed at him, with his characteristic sincerity says: "Men of Israel! Why do you marvel at this, or why do you look at us, as if by our own power or godliness we had made him walk" (Acts 3:12)? Why, he says, were you so amazed and amazed at this event? Did we do this ourselves, did we restore his health by our own strength and gave him the ability to walk? "Why are you looking at us"? We, for our part, have done nothing, but have only used our tongue (to pronounce words); everything was arranged by the Lord and Creator of nature. He, "the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob," whom you esteem patriarchs; He is "Whom you have betrayed, and whom you have denied in the face of Pilate, when he thought to deliver Him"; He did it, He, Whom "you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked to give you a murderer, but you killed the Author of life. This God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And for the sake of faith in his name, his name has strengthened this one whom you see and know, and the faith that is from him has granted him this healing before you all" (Acts 3:13-16).

6. Great is the boldness (of the apostles); Great and ineffable is the power of grace granted to them from above! The boldness of this blessed one (Peter) can serve as the most obvious proof of the resurrection. Indeed, what greater sign can be demanded, when he who before the cross could not endure the threats of even a simple servant, now stands so opposed to the Jewish people, and stands alone with such boldness before such a crowd, so disorderly and restless, and speaks to them such words as can stir up their fury even more? Do you see, beloved, as now, it turns out to be the same as I said at the beginning? When someone is inflamed with love for God, he no longer wants to look at the objects that are subject to bodily sight, but, having other eyes, i.e. the eyes of faith, he constantly directs his mind to heavenly objects, contemplates them, and, walking on earth, does everything as if he lives in heaven, not encountering in any human obstacle to the feats of virtue. Such a person no longer looks at the pleasures of life, nor at the nasty and difficult circumstances, but, passing by all this, hastens to his homeland. As one who runs with great intensity in the field of the senses does not see those who meet him, even though they have encountered him a thousand times, but, directing his thoughts to the field and quickly running through everything, strives towards the intended goal, so he who strives to follow the field of virtue and ascend from earth to heaven leaves everything visible below, turns all his attention to the field, and it does not stop, is not restrained by anything visible, until it reaches the very top (virtue). For a person in such a mood, what seems terrible in the present life means nothing: he is not afraid of the sword, or the abyss, or the teeth of beasts, or tortures, or the hands of executioners, or any other unpleasant things in life; no, let hot coals lie before him, he will walk on them as in a meadow and a garden; let them threaten him with some kind of torment, he does not become numb at the sight of them and does not shrink, because his soul has been seized by the desire for the good of the future, and he, as if being outside the body, rises above sufferings and, being strengthened by the grace of the highest, does not even feel bodily torments.

Therefore, I beseech you, in order that we may be able to easily endure the labors of virtue, let us show great love for God, and, directing our thoughts to Him, let us not dwell on this field by any object of the present life, but, thinking of the uninterrupted enjoyment of future blessings, let us complacently endure all the sorrows of the present life.

If we are indignant at unclean lust, let us cast it out. If anger inflames it, let us quench this heat by singing spiritual instructions that show the pernicious nature of this passion. "A fierce man," says the Scriptures, "is not decent" (Proverbs 11:25); and in another place: "He who is angry with his brother in vain ... is subject to hell fire" (Matt. 5:22). If our soul is indignant at the love of money, let us try to flee from this destructive infection, and let us uproot it as the root of all evil. And let us try to correct each of the passions that disturb us, so that, abstaining from evil and doing good deeds, we may be worthy of God's love for mankind on that terrible day, through the grace and mercies of His only-begotten Son, with Whom to the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory, dominion, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

DISCOURSE 29

"Noah began to till the land, and planted a vineyard; and he drank wine, and became drunk" (Gen. 9:20-21).

1. We have now come to the end of the story of the righteous man (Noah): therefore, I beseech you, strain your mind, and pay careful attention to what is said. And from today's reading we can receive no small and no small benefit, because everything that happened to the ancients (men), if only we want to be attentive, can bring us the greatest edification. For this reason not only the virtues of the saints are described, but also their sins, so that we may avoid the latter and imitate the former. Not only that, but the Divine Scripture shows you that the righteous often fell, and the sinners showed great correction, so that from both we would receive sufficient admonition, so that he who stands (in good) does not give himself over to carelessness, seeing that even the righteous have fallen, and he who abides in sins does not despair, knows how many (sinners) have repented and managed to reach the highest degree (virtue). Therefore, I beseech you, do not be proud, even if you are aware of many good deeds behind you, but be careful and heed the admonition of Blessed Paul, who says: "Whoever thinks that he is standing, take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). And he who has descended to the very depths of evil, do not despair of your salvation, but, thinking about the ineffable love of God, also heed God, who says through the prophet: "Do they not rise when they fall, and turn away from the way, and return?" (Jeremiah 8:4); and in another place: "I do not want the death of the wicked," but that "I turn from his ways and live" (Ezekiel 18:23). Do you see, beloved, that every circumstance described in the Divine Scriptures has been handed over to the memory of nothing else but for our benefit and for the salvation of the human race? Thinking about this, let each of us draw from it a medicine that is appropriate for himself. That is why it is offered to everyone without hindrance, and anyone who wishes can extract from it the medicine peculiar to his depressing passion and receive a speedy cure, provided that he does not reject the healing medicine, but accepts it with gratitude. In fact, of all the ailments that burden human nature, there is not one, either spiritual or physical, that could not receive healing from the Scriptures. Thus, for example, does anyone come here depressed by the sad circumstances of life, from which he gives himself over to despondency? And he came and immediately heard the words of the prophet: "Why are you discouraged, O my soul, and why are you troubled? Trust in God, for I will still glorify Him, my Saviour and my God" (Psalm 41:6,7) - he receives sufficient consolation, and leaves here, completely free from despondency. Another grieves and grieves, being burdened with extreme poverty, and seeing how others are surrounded by wealth, splendor and splendor; but he also hears again the words of the same prophet: "Cast thy cares upon the Lord, and He will sustain thee" (Psalm 54:23), and again: "Fear not, when a man grows rich, when the glory of his house increases: for when he dieth he shall take nothing" (Psalm 48:17-18). Some lose heart, enduring insults and slander from others, and consider their life unbearable, because they cannot get human help from anywhere; but this one also learns by the same blessed prophet not to resort to human help in such circumstances, hearing his words: "They are enmity against me, but I pray" (Psalm 108:4).