Therefore, listen to what follows, and know the greatness of God's ineffable love for mankind. "And the Lord God came down," it is said, "[to see the city and the tower which the sons of men were building" (Gen. 11:5). "The Lord God has descended," it says, not so that we may understand this in a human way, but so that through this we may learn never to imprudently condemn our brethren, and not to judge them by hearsay, until we have received a full confirmation. And whatever God does, He does for it; and He always uses such condescension for the instruction of the human race. "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower." Behold, He does not stop their fury from the very beginning, but shows great patience, and waits for them to carry out all their evil plan, and then to frustrate their undertaking for Him. In order that no one may say that they have made up their minds, but have not carried out their designs, God waits for them to carry out their plans, and then shows how useless their plans are. "And the Lord came down," it is said, "to see the city and the tower which the sons of men were building." Look, what a great love of humanity! He allowed them to bear labors and burdens, so that experience itself would become a teacher for them. And when He saw that the evil was increasing and the disease was spreading, He no longer left them in the end, but, showing His goodness, as the best physician, who noticed that the disease was growing stronger and the wound was incurable, he made a speedy cut in order to completely destroy the very cause of the disease. "And the Lord said," it is said, "Behold, there is one people, and they all have one language," that is, one speech and one tongue, "and this is what they have begun to do, and they will not depart from what they had planned to do" (Gen. 11:6).

4. Do you see the Lord's love for mankind? Since He wants to frustrate their plan, He first makes a justification (of this intention), points out the greatness of their sin, the extreme of their wickedness, the fact that they did not properly use the unity of language. "Behold," he says, "one people, and all have one language; and this is what they have begun to do, and they will not depart from what they have planned to do." God usually acts in the following way: when He intends to send punishment, He first shows the greatness of sins and as if represents justification, and only then He punishes. So it was during the flood, when He wanted to make that terrible threat. The Scripture says: "And the Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts and thoughts of their hearts were evil all the time" (Gen. 6:5). Do you see how at first He showed the extremity of their corruption, and then said: "I will destroy man" (Gen. 6:7)? So it is now: "Behold, there is one people, and all have one language; And this is what they began to do." If they have now, taking advantage of such unity of thought and language, have fallen into such a frenzy, will they not do worse in the course of time? "And they will not depart from this," he says, "what they have planned to do." Nothing will be able to restrain their aspirations, on the contrary, they will endeavour to carry out all their designs, if they are not immediately punished for their audacious undertakings. It was exactly the same with the first man. And there, when God decided to expel (Adam) from the abode of Eden, said to him: "Who told you that you were naked"? And again: "Behold, Adam became as one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now lest he stretch out his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. And the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden" (Gen. 3:11, 22-23). And now he says: "Behold, there is one people, and all have one language; and this is what they have begun to do, and they will not depart from what they have planned to do; let us go down and confuse their language there, so that one may not understand the speech of the other" (Gen. 11:7). See again, what condescension there is in words. "Let us mix," he says, "and let us go down." What do these words mean? Does not the Lord require from anyone assistance in correction, or help in scattering these people? No; on the contrary, as the Scripture has already said above, "The Lord has descended," in order to show us that He clearly saw the excessiveness of their sin, so here also (God) says: Let us come down and confuse. Without a doubt, these words are spoken to those of equal honor: "Let us go down and confuse their language there, so that one may not understand the speech of the other." Such a punishment, he says, I impose on them as some kind of eternal monument, so that it may last all the age, and at no time will they forget about it. This is what the Lord does everywhere. In the beginning, he did the same with his wife: she did not make proper use of the honor given to her; therefore God subjected her to her husband. So it is with Adam: he did not take advantage of the great happiness of paradisiacal life, but through transgression made himself worthy of punishment; therefore God expelled him from paradise and inflicted upon him a constant punishment, saying: "Thorns and thistles shall the earth bring forth for you" (Gen. 3:18). Thus, when these people, who used the same language, used the advantage given to them for evil, God stopped the pursuit of their wickedness by multilingualism. "And let us confuse," he says, "their language, so that one may not understand the speech of the other," so that as the unity of language united them in one place of residence, so the difference of language would cause them to be scattered. Without the same language and way of speaking, how could they live together? "And the Lord scattered them," it is said, "from thence over all the earth; and they ceased to build the city" (Gen. 11:8). Look at the Lord's love for mankind, into what difficulty He has brought them! After this they became like madmen, one demanding this, and the other giving another, so that all their efforts finally became fruitless. That is why "they stopped building the city. Therefore it was given the name Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them "God over all the earth" (Gen. 11:8-9). See how much has been done to preserve the memory of this throughout the ages. First, the division of the tongues, but still more and before that, the very naming of the name, because the name "Peleg," which Eber gave to his son, means "division." Then the name of the place – the place is called a confusion, which means Babylon. Finally, Eber himself remained with the same language, so that this too would serve as a clear sign of division. Do you see by what measures God wanted to preserve this event forever in the memory (of people) and save it from oblivion? From that time on, the father had to tell his son about the reason for the difference in languages, and the son tried to find out from his father why that place was so named. That place is called Babylon because it means confusion, because "there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from thence scattered them." This name of the place, it seems to me, means both that God confused languages and that people were scattered because of this.

5. You have heard, beloved, why the scattering of these people and the division of tongues took place. Let us not, I beseech you, imitate them; let us make proper use of what is given to us by God, and, remembering human nature, let us undertake only what is proper for mortal men to undertake. Reflecting on the perishability of the present and on the brevity of our life, let us prepare for ourselves great boldness by doing good deeds, and in these days let us not only show special zeal for fasting, but also give generous alms and offer diligent prayers. Prayer should always be combined with fasting. And that this is true, listen to how Christ says: "This kind is cast out only by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 17:21). And it is also said of the apostles: "They prayed with fasting, and committed them to the Lord, in whom they believed" (Acts 14:23). And again the Apostle says: "Do not depart from one another, except by agreement, for a time, for the exercise of fasting and prayer" (1 Corinthians 7:5). Do you see how fasting needs the assistance of prayer? And prayers are performed with attention, especially during fasting, because then the soul is lighter, not burdened by anything, and is not overwhelmed by the fatal burden of pleasures. Prayer is a great weapon, a great defense, a great treasure, a great harbor, a safe refuge: if only we approach the Lord with a cheerful soul and concentrated thoughts, not giving any access to the enemy of our salvation. Since he knows that at this time, by conversing about what is necessary for us (to salvation), and confessing our sins and showing our wounds to the physician, we can receive complete healing, especially at this time he attacks and makes every effort to bring us down and plunge us into carelessness. Therefore, I beseech you, let us be vigilant, and, knowing the deceit of the devil, let us try especially at this time to drive him away as if we had seen him present and standing before our eyes, let us try to remove from ourselves every thought that troubles your soul, to exert all our strength and to pray fervently, so that not only the tongue pronounces the words, but also the soul ascends (to God) together with the words. If the tongue utters words, and the soul wanders outside, thinking about household chores, dreaming about what happens in the marketplace, then there will be no benefit for us (from prayer), but rather there will be even greater condemnation. If, having come to a person, we show such attention to him that we often do not even see people standing in the vicinity, but concentrate our thoughts, and see only the one to whom we have come, then how much more should we act in this way in relation to God, always and unceasingly remaining in prayer. That is why Paul wrote: "Pray with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18), that is, not only with the tongue and with constant vigilance (bodily), but also with the soul itself: "in the spirit". Your petitions, he says, let them be spiritual; let your mind be awake, let your soul listen to the words. Ask for what is proper to ask of God, so that you may also receive what you ask for. And at the same time, behave attentively, sober and alert in soul, not showing negligence, not rushing your mind here and there, but "work your salvation with fear and trembling," because it is said: "Blessed is the man who always abides in reverence" (Proverbs 28:14). Prayer is a great blessing. If someone who converses with a virtuous person receives no small benefit from him, then what benefits will not he receive who is worthy to converse with God? Prayer is a conversation with God. And in order for you to be convinced of this, listen to what the prophet says: "Let my song be acceptable" to God (Psalm 103:34), that is, let my conversation be pleasing to God. Can He not, even before we ask, give us a petition? But He awaits (our petition) in order to have an opportunity to righteously vouchsafe us with His providence. Therefore, whether we receive what we ask for or not, let us be diligent in prayer and give thanks not only when we receive, but also when we do not receive, because not receiving, when it happens by the will of God, is no less beneficial than receiving. After all, we do not know what is useful to us, to the extent that He knows it. Therefore, whether we receive or do not receive, we must give thanks. And why are you surprised (when I say) that we do not know what is good for us? And Paul, a man so great and lofty, who had been vouchsafed such ineffable (revelations), did not know that he was asking for what was not profitable to him. Seeing himself surrounded by calamities and incessant temptations, he prayed for deliverance from them, and not once, not twice, but many times; "Thrice," he says, "I prayed to the Lord." "Three times", i.e. many times, he prayed, and did not receive. Let us see how he endured it. Did he murmur? Did he fall into despondency? Did he despair? No; But what does he say? "He said, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). God not only did not free him from the troubles that befell him, but also allowed him to remain in them. So be it. But how do we know that he did not grumble about this? Listen to what Paul himself said when he learned that this was pleasing to God. "I will much more gladly boast of my infirmities"; not only, he says, I no longer seek to be freed from these troubles, but I also boast of them with great pleasure. Do you see what a grateful soul she is? Do you see what love for God is? Listen to what else he says: "For we do not know what we ought to pray for" (Romans 8:26), that is, we, as people, cannot know everything in detail. Therefore, we must leave everything to the Creator of our nature, and accept with joy and great joy everything that He determines, and look not at what events seem to you, but at what is pleasing to God. He, knowing better than we do what is useful to you, also knows how to arrange our salvation.

6. Therefore, let the only thing on our part be to remain constantly in prayer and not to grumble about the slow fulfillment (of our requests), but to show great patience. God delays in fulfilling our petitions, not because He rejects them, but because He wants to teach us diligence (to pray) and constantly draw us to Himself. In the same way, a child-loving father, being and often begging his son, does not fulfill his request, not because he does not want to give, but in order to induce his son to the most zealous forgiveness. Knowing this, let us never despair, and let us not cease to approach (God) and offer up fervent prayers to Him. Indeed, if the woman's earnest request had an effect on that cruel, inhuman, and God-fearing judge, and compelled him to protect her (Luke 18:2ff.)

If the blessed David, king and prophet, although burdened with numerous works, and clothed in purple and diadem, nevertheless said of himself: "At midnight I rose up to praise Thee for Thy righteous judgments" (Psalm 118:62), then what shall we say, who, although we lead a private and free life, nevertheless do not do what he did? Since during the day he had many cares, affairs, and troubles, and he could not find a time convenient for prayer, the time of rest which others spend in sleep, lying on soft beds and tossing and turning to and fro, he, the king, bound by such cares, used (prayer), conversed alone with God, and offering up sincere and fervent supplications, received that what he wanted. With the help of these prayers, he happily waged wars, erected trophies, won victory after victory, because he had an invincible weapon – a higher power that can withstand the struggle not only with people, but also with demonic hordes. And so, it is to him that we, private people, will imitate the king, leading an easy and calm life to him who, clothed with purple and a crown, surpassed the monks in a (strict) life. Listen, indeed, to how he says in another place: "My tears were bread to me day and night" (Psalm 41:4). Do you see how his soul was in constant contrition? For me, he says, bread, bread, feasting was nothing else but my tears night and day. And again: "I am weary with my groaning: every night I wash my bed" (Psalm 6:7).

About midnight, Paul and Silas, it is said, prayed and sang praises to God (Acts 16:25). David, clothed with royal dignity and a diadem, spent his whole life in tears and prayer; The apostle, caught up to the third heaven, vouchsafed (the revelation) of the ineffable mysteries, being in chains, at midnight offered up prayers and praises to the Lord. And the king, rising at midnight, confessed, and the apostles also at midnight made fervent prayers and praises. Let us also imitate them, let us protect our lives with unceasing prayers, and let nothing be an obstacle to us to this, for indeed nothing can hinder us, if only we ourselves are vigilant. Do we need a place or time for this? Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray. Listen, indeed, to the same teacher of the universe, when he says: "In every place men prayed, lifting up clean hands without anger or doubt" (1 Timothy 2:8). If your heart is free from impure passions, then wherever you are, whether in the marketplace, at home, on the way, in court, at sea, in a hotel, or in a workshop, everywhere you can pray to God and receive what you ask for. Knowing this, I beseech you, together with fasting, let us show our zeal for prayer, and in it let us find ourselves a helper, so that, having been vouchsafed the grace of God, we may spend our present life pleasing to Him, and in the future we may be vouchsafed His love for mankind, through the grace and mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATION 31

"And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Aran his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and went with them out of your of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they stopped there" (Gen. 11:31).

1. I thank you very much for the fact that yesterday you joyfully accepted the instruction on prayer, and (today) with such zeal you flock to hearing. This also makes us more zealous and prompts us to offer you the most abundant spiritual feast. In the same way, the farmer, when he sees that his field grows in abundance the seeds thrown into it, and presents a rich harvest, does not cease to use all his efforts every day, to take proper care, and to see day and night that his labors are not wasted by anything. In the same way, seeing that this spiritual field of yours is so green and that this spiritual seed has taken root in the depths of your soul, I rejoice and rejoice, but at the same time I am greatly troubled, knowing the cunning of the enemy and the slander of our salvation. Just as the robbers of the sea, when they see a ship full of many goods and carrying untold riches, then they especially use all the cunning to sink all the cargo and deprive the swimmers of everything and make them poor, so the devil, when he sees that (a man) has accumulated much spiritual wealth, that (he) has ardent diligence, a vigorous mind, and wealth increases every day, he is tormented and gnashes his teeth, and, like a robber, walks up and down, inventing a thousand tricks to somehow approach us, to expose and rob us, and to steal all our spiritual wealth. Therefore, I beseech you, let us be vigilant, and to the extent that our spiritual acquisition will increase, let us also try to strengthen our vigilance, to block the devil's access (to us) from everywhere, and, having attracted the favor of God to ourselves by a good life, let us place ourselves above the arrows of the devil. He is a cunning creature and uses many kinds of snares: when (the devil) cannot directly lead us to evil and trap us by deception, he does not do violence, does not coerce, no, but only deceives, and as soon as he sees that we are careless, he puts a stumbling block on us – so, when he does not have time to openly damage our salvation by sins, then often by the very virtues that we commit, secretly deceiving us, he destroys all our wealth. What do these words of mine mean? It is necessary to express this more clearly, so that we, having learned his wiles, may avoid harm from them.

To those who have already overcome his intrigues with great difficulty, he inspires them to think highly of their virtues and to seek glory from men, in order thereby to deprive them of their true glory. In fact, whoever performs spiritual feats and seeks human glory (for them) already receives a reward for himself here and no longer has a debtor in God. Having received praise from those from whom he sought glory, he had already deprived himself of the praise promised by the Lord, since he preferred temporary glory from people like him to praise from the Creator of the universe. And the Lord Himself, first of all, taught about prayer, almsgiving, and fasting: when you fast, He says, "anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may appear fasting, not before men, but before your Father who is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:17-18). And again: "When you give alms, do not blow the trumpet," he says, "before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that people may glorify them. Verily I say unto you, they already receive their reward" (Matt. 6:2). You see how he who seeks this glory is deprived of the glory there, and how, on the contrary, he who does virtue according to this commandment and tries to hide it from people will clearly receive a reward from the Lord on that terrible day. "Thy father," it is said, "he that seeth in secret shall reward thee openly"; that is, do not think that no man has praised you, and that you are secretly doing virtue; no, reflect on the fact that, a little later, the Lord's generosity will be so great that He will glorify, crown, and reward you for your deeds of virtue, not secretly, not secretly, but before the entire human race, from Adam to the end of the world. What excuse will those deserve, who, although they have taken up the labor of virtue, yet, because of temporary, insignificant, and vain glory from people like themselves, have deprived themselves of the glory of heaven?

2. Therefore, let us, I beseech you, be careful, and if we succeed in accomplishing any spiritual deed, let us try in every way to hide it from everyone in the recesses of our souls, so that we may receive praise from the vigilant eye (of God), and so that because of human glory and because of often flattering praises, we may not become unworthy of glory from the Lord. Equally pernicious and harmful to our salvation is the accomplishment of spiritual deeds for the sake of human glory, as well as the high opinion of the virtues we have performed. Therefore, it is necessary to be vigilant and careful, and constantly use the aids of the Divine Scriptures, so as not to give oneself up to these pernicious passions [i.e., love of glory and arrogance]. Let someone perform innumerable feats and do every virtue; but if he begins to think highly of himself, he will be the most miserable and unhappy person. We know this from what happened to the Pharisee, who so boasted before the publican, and suddenly became inferior to the publican; who, having scattered all the riches of his virtues with his tongue, stripped himself naked and deprived himself of everything, and suffered a strange and unusual shipwreck: having already entered the very harbor, he drowned all his cargo. Truly, to suffer this from a prayer performed incorrectly means the same as to suffer a shipwreck in the pier itself. That is why Christ gave such a commandment to His disciples: "When ye have done all that is commanded you, say, We are worthless servants" (Luke 17:10), in order to protect them and remove them from this pernicious passion.

(To the believer), it is said, "Praise is not from men, but from God" (Romans 2:29). And the more we progress in virtue, the more we will try to humble ourselves and be modest. Though we ascend to the very summit of virtues, if we conscientiously compare our good works with the blessings of God, we will clearly see that our virtues are not equal to even the smallest part of what God has done for you. It is by this [that is, humility and modesty] that each of the saints was glorified. And in order that you may be convinced of this, listen to the teacher of the universe, this heavenly soul, how he, after performing such virtues, after such a testimony about him from above – "for the vessel", it is said, "he is My chosen one" (Acts 9:15) – does not forget about his sins, but constantly carries them in his mind, as he does not allow himself to forget even about what he was completely sure of, He has already received forgiveness in baptism, but he cries out and says: "I am the least of the Apostles, and am not worthy to be called an Apostle" (1 Corinthians 15:9). Then, in order that we might know the full depth of his humility, he added: "Because he persecuted the church of God." What are you doing, Paul? The Lord, in His mercy, forgave and atoned for all your sins, and do you still remember them? Thus, he says, I know and am convinced that the Lord has delivered me (from sins): but when I think about my deeds and look at the abyss of God's love for mankind, then I am fully convinced; that (only) by His grace and love for mankind I am what I am. Having said: "He is not worthy to be called an Apostle, because he persecuted the church of God," he added: "But by the grace of God is that which is" (1 Corinthians 15:10). That is, although I showed so much anger on my part, His ineffable goodness and mercy granted me forgiveness. Do you see a soul that is contrite and constantly remembers its sins committed before baptism? It is this (the Apostle) that we will also begin to imitate, and, remembering daily the sins we committed after baptism, let us constantly keep them in mind and never allow ourselves to forget about them. This will be a rather strong bridle for us to humble and tame us. And what do I say about Paul, so great and lofty a man? Do you want to see how the Old Testament (the righteous) were glorified most of all by this, i.e., by the fact that after accomplishing innumerable feats and having already ineffable boldness (before God), they humbled themselves? Listen to how the patriarch, after the conversation with God, after the promise given to him, said of himself: "I am dust and ashes" (Gen. 18:27).

3. But since I have mentioned the patriarch, let us, if you wish, offer your love today's reading, so that, having explained it, we may see the extraordinary greatness of the virtue of this righteous man. "And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Aran his grandson, and Sarah his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and went out with them from your of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they stopped there. And the days of Terah's life [in the land of Haran] were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran" (Gen. 11:31-32). Let us, I beseech you, listen attentively to these words, so that we may comprehend the meaning of what is written. Here, at the very beginning, there is already bewilderment in these words. This blessed prophet, that is, Moses, said that "Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Aran his grandson, and Sarah his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and went with them out of your of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they stopped there." And Blessed Stephen, in his speech to the Jews, says: "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham in Mesopotamia, before he was carried away to Haran: and from there, after the death of his father, He carried him away" (Acts 7:2,4). What then? Does the Divine Scripture contradict itself? Let it not be; but we must conclude from this that since the son (Abraham) was God-loving, God, appearing to him, commanded him to move from Mesopotamia. And when Terah his father, though he was an unbeliever, out of love for his son, decided to go with him, and came to Haran, dwelt there, and died. It was then that the patriarch, by God's command, moved to the land of Canaan. And sure enough, God did not bring him out of Haran until after the death of Terah. Then, after the death of Terah, "and the Lord said to Abram, 'Go out of your land, from your kindred, and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and magnify your name, and you will be a blessing. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:1-3). Let us carefully consider each of these words in order to see the God-loving soul of the Patriarch.

Let us not pass these words without attention, but let us consider what a heavy command is given. "Go," he says, "from your land, from your kindred, and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you." Leave behind, he says, the known and certain, and the almost unknown and unseen. See how from the very beginning the righteous man was taught to prefer the invisible to the visible and the future to what was already in his hands. He was not commanded to do anything unimportant; (commanded) to leave the land where he had lived so long, to leave all his kinship and all his father's house, and to go whither he did not know or know. (God) did not say to which country He wanted to resettle him, but by the vagueness of His command He tested the piety of the patriarch: "Go," he says, "to the land which I will show you." Think, beloved, what a lofty spirit, possessing no passion or habit, was needed to fulfill this command. In fact, if even now, when the pious faith has already spread, many hold on to habit so firmly that they would rather endure everything than leave, even if necessary, the place in which they had hitherto lived, and this happens not only to ordinary people, but also to those who have withdrawn from the noise of life and have chosen the monastic life, then it was all the more natural for this righteous man to be grieved by such a command and to delay its fulfillment. "Go," he says, "leave your relatives and your father's house, and "go to the land which I will show you." Who would not be embarrassed by such words? Without declaring to him either a place or a country, (God) tests the soul of the righteous with such uncertainty.