DISCOURSE 58. Jacob's encouragement through the appearance of a host of angels and his continued fear of Esau; the prayer to God of the fathers for help, and at the same time the sending of gifts to Esau; a new encouragement through Borov with Jacob, and the change of his name to Israel. Why did God and the Angels appear to the righteous in the form of people? Manifestations of humility and pleasure on the part of Jacob before Esau. An exhortation to meekness and humility in relation to those who are at war.

DISCOURSE 59. The moderation of James in acquiring a plot of land and the denunciation of the contemporaries of the saint in covetousness; the harm of wealth to children. The dishonor of Dina and the ruinousness of youthful passions, which require restraint through legal marriage. The fear of Jacob and the removal to Bethel to perform the sacrifice. An exhortation to take care of the cleanliness of young men.

DISCOURSE 60. The safety of Jacob, as one who has acquired help from above, and a new Theophany for him in Luza. Humanoid expressions about God should not be understood literally. Jacob's journey from Bethel to Hebron and the events of that time. The admonition of the listeners is to be vigilant, to preserve the purity of conscience and to mortify the flesh.

DISCOURSE 61. The anger and envy of Joseph of his brothers and the love of his father for him. Envy is a great evil. Joseph is a prototype of the future. The sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelites, at the highest discretion, served to glorify the sufferer. Great is the power of virtue and the impotence of vice.

DISCOURSE 62. The marriage of Judah with the Canaanite woman Sheba; the marriage of Er, and then of Abnan, with Tamar; the birth of twins to the latter from Judas: Zara - the prototype of the Church, Perez - the law. Joseph's slavery in Egypt and his prosperity in slavery. The temptation of Joseph through the wife of an Egyptian, the great victory of chastity and imprisonment. The exhortation is to imitate the virtues of the wondrous Joseph.

DISCOURSE 63. Divine help to Joseph in prison and interpretation of the dreams of the cupbearer and baker. Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams by divine revelation. No accidents can be an obstacle to the fulfillment of divine intentions. Therefore, let us not lose heart in sorrows, but let us feed on hope in God.

DISCOURSE 64. Joseph's actions as ruler of Egypt, and the birth of two sons. The arrival of his brothers in Egypt; Joseph's deliberate strict treatment of them and awakening their consciousness of sin. The second journey of the sons of Jacob together with Benjamin and the test of the brothers' love for Benjamin. Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and returns them to their father. Exhortation to love enemies.

DISCOURSE 65. The life-giving effect on Jacob of the news that Joseph was alive, his determination to go to Egypt; the sacrifice at the well of the oath, and the consoling Theophany to Jacob. Introduction of Joseph's brothers and father to Pharaoh. The actions of the latter in Egypt during the famine; the liberation of the priestly land from taxes to Pharaoh and the exhortation to show honor to God's servants and patiently endure the temptations sent by God.

DISCOURSE 66. Why did Jacob want to be buried in the land of his fathers? True wickedness is death not in a foreign land, but in sins. The adoration of Jacob at the end of his rod and the blessing of the sons of Joseph. An exhortation to leave to children as an inheritance a treasure that consists not in wealth, but in virtue and the blessing of God. Good is wealth without sin.

DISCOURSE 67. Explanation of Jacob's prophetic blessing to his sons in order of their birth. The mysterious meaning of the blessing of Judas. Death and burial of Jacob. Why in ancient times there was a strong lamentation for the dead! Joseph's forgiveness and testament to his brothers. Conclusion with moral exhortation.

DISCOURSE 42

"And the men arose, and from thence went to Sodom [and Gomorrah]" (Gen. 18:16).

1. In yesterday's reading, beloved, we saw the great hospitality of the righteous man; Today, continuing further, we learn again about the power of love and compassion of the forefather. Every virtue reached the highest perfection in this righteous man; he was not only loving, not only loving strangers and compassionate, but he also manifested in himself all the other virtues in abundance. Do you need to set an example of patience? You will find that he has reached the utmost height here. Or (an example of) humility? Again you will see that here he does not lag behind anyone, but rather surpasses everyone. Is it necessary to show faith? And in this respect he was again more famous than anyone else. His soul in living images represents various types of virtue. What excuse will we find for ourselves, when one (this) person has all the virtues in him, and we are so empty in ourselves that we do not care about any of them? For we are poor in good works, not because we cannot, but because we do not want (to do good); and a clear proof of this is the fact that many people like us by nature shine with virtues. And the very fact that the forefather, who lived both before grace and before the law, by himself, with the help of natural reason alone, attained such a degree of virtue, deprives us of all excuse. True, perhaps someone will say that this man enjoyed special care from God, and that the Lord of all things showed a wondrous providence for him? Indeed; And I admit it. But if on his part he had not previously done what depended on him, then he could not have enjoyed such care from the Lord. Therefore, do not look at this alone [i.e., that Abraham saw such a wondrous providence of God over him], but in every circumstance of his life, pay attention to how the forefather himself previously manifested his own virtue in everything, and then was vouchsafed favor and help from God. I have drawn your attention to this more than once. Thus, during his resettlement from his native land, without receiving any seeds of piety from his ancestors, he himself showed in himself a great love for God. And then, as soon as he had migrated from Chaldea, and had immediately received the command to go from his own land to a strange land, he did not hesitate, nor did he delay (until another time), but immediately fulfilled the commandment, and, not even knowing where his pilgrimage would end, he sought the unknown as to the known, honoring the command of God above all things. You see how from the very beginning he himself was the first to do on his part what was due, and then there followed each time an abundant recompense of blessings from God. In the same way, beloved, if we wish to enjoy favor from above, let us be jealous of our forefather, and let us not deviate from virtue, but, assimilating each of the virtues to ourselves, let us strive in it with such zeal that the eye from above may incline to the reward of reward. And the One who leads our innermost thoughts, as soon as He sees that we manifest a sound mind in ourselves, and diligently strive in virtue, immediately and from Himself gives help, making our labors easier, strengthening the weakness of our nature, and giving us generous rewards. You won't find anything like this at the Olympic competitions. There the wrestling teacher stands, remaining only a spectator of the wrestlers, and can do nothing else, but only waits on whose side the victory will be. Not so – our Lord: He Himself helps us, and stretches out His hand, and fights with us, and as if He Himself, overcoming the enemy on all sides, delivers him into our hands, does and arranges everything so that we can stand in the struggle, and gain victory, and He – to put on our head the unfading crown. "A beautiful wreath," it is said, "for thy head, and an ornament for thy neck" (Proverbs 1:9). The crown of victory in the Olympic contests consisted in nothing else but laurel leaves, applause, and popular cries, and all this, with the onset of evening, withered and perished. And the crown for virtue and labor for its sake is not sensual, it is not destroyed, like everything else in this world; it is a crown unchanging, immortal, abiding in all ages. Labor is only for a short time, and the reward for labor has no end, does not yield to the force of time, does not fade. And in order to convince you of this, look: how many years and how many generations have passed since the time when the forefather (Abraham) lived, and, nevertheless, his crowns for virtue shine as if only yesterday, or today, began to shine, and until the end of the world he will serve for the edification of all pious people.

2. Therefore, having in the person of the patriarch such an example of virtue, let us imitate him. Finally, although it is too late, let us remember our dignity, and in imitation of our forefather, let us think about our salvation, let us make every effort so that not only our body may be healthy, but that the soul may also be healed of its various ailments. And it is even more convenient for us to heal the ailments of the soul than the diseases of the body, if only we wish to be temperate and watchful. Thus, if we are disturbed by some passion, but we imagine the future day of the Last Judgment with a pious mind, and have in mind not the present pleasures, but the torments that follow them, then the passion will immediately depart from our soul and leave it. Let us not be careless, but, knowing that we have podvig and struggle ahead of us, and that we must be ready for battle, let us constantly keep our spirit strong and vigorous, so that, with help from above, we may erase the head of the evil beast, i.e. I mean the slander against our salvation. The Lord Himself promised us this, saying: "Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19). And so, I beseech you, let us be vigilant, so that, walking in virtue in the footsteps of this forefather, we may be worthy of crowns like him, rest in his bosom, and, having escaped eternal fire, be worthy of future unspeakable blessings. And in order to give you more zeal and to stir you up to imitate this righteous man, let us begin again a conversation to your love about the events of his life, which follow in order. And so, after that generous hospitality, valuable not for the quality or quantity of food, but for zeal, the Lord, having received with favor the hospitality of the righteous man, immediately rewarded him for his love of strangers. Meanwhile, the forefather learned who was the One who had come and what His power was, and when the pilgrims intended to rush from there to destroy Sodom, He followed them, "seeing them off," as it is said (Gen. 18:16). See now how loving the Lord is to mankind, what condescension He gives to the righteous, showing him honor and at the same time desiring to reveal all the virtue hidden in his soul. And the men arose, and from thence went to Sodom [and Gomorrah], v. 16. This is said about the angels, because here, in the tabernacle of Abraham, both the angels and their Lord appeared together. But then the angels, as ministers, were sent to destroy those cities, and the Lord remained to converse with the righteous man, as a friend converses with a friend, about what He intended to do. And so, when the angels had departed, he "said" (it is said in the Scriptures), "The Lord, will I hide from Abraham what I will do" (Gen. 18:17). What a great condescension of God, and how this honor bestowed upon the righteous surpasses every word! See how He converses with the righteous just as a man converses with a man like himself, showing us by this what honor God vouchsafes to virtuous people. And lest you think that so great an honor to the righteous is the work of God's goodness alone, see how the divine Scriptures teach us that the righteous man himself deserves such an honor, in complete obedience to the commandments of God. Precisely, the Lord, having said: "Shall I hide from Abraham what I want to do?" does not immediately, however, speak of what was to be; otherwise He should have added and said that He intends to set Sodom on fire. However, it is also necessary to pay attention to the following (for it is not necessary to ignore a single word, not a single feature in all that is contained in the Divine Scriptures): how much honor, do you think, is there in these very words: "Abraham my servant"? What love, what goodwill! It is in these words that all the advantage and all the honor of the righteous man are revealed. Then (as I have already mentioned), having said, "I will not conceal it," he does not immediately add, and says what will happen, and what? In order for us to know that it is not without reason and not in vain that He shows such great care for the forefather, the Lord says: "From Abraham will surely come a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed, for I have chosen him to command his sons and his household after him, to walk in the way of the Lord, doing righteousness and justice; and the Lord will do to Abraham what He said concerning him" (Gen. 18:18-19). Oh, how great is the Lord's love for mankind! Since after this He intended to speak about the destruction of Sodom, He first encourages the forefather, announcing to him the greatest blessing, i.e., that from him "will come a great nation," and at the same time shows him that he will receive such a reward for his God-loving heart. Consider, then, what is the virtue of the forefather, when God Himself says: "For I have chosen him, that he should command his sons, and his household after him, to walk in the way of the Lord." This is the great reward for virtue! Not only does the forefather receive a reward because he himself struggled in virtue, but he is also honored with a generous reward for having commanded the same virtues to his descendants. In this way, he also became a teacher for all in the future, because he who is the first to initiate and begin a work will also be the author of what will later come from this work.