"And those two angels came to Sodom in the evening" (Gen. 19:1).

1. As a flowering meadow presents to the eye various and varied flowers, so the divine Scripture shows us the virtues of the righteous, not that we may enjoy their fragrance only in passing, as we enjoy the fragrance of flowers, but that we may constantly gather from it for our own benefit. There, as soon as we take the flowers in our hands, they soon wither and lose their pleasantness. But here it is not so: perceiving the virtues of the righteous with our ears and composing them in the depths of our hearts, we can at any time, if we wish, enjoy their fragrance. And so, if such is the fragrance (of the virtues) of the saints depicted in the Divine Scriptures, then let us today experience the fragrance of Lot's virtues, in order to know exactly how communion with the forefather (Abraham) raised this righteous man to the utmost height of virtue, and how (walking) in the footsteps of the forefather, he himself shows his love of strangers in deeds. But in order that our word may be clearer, it is better to listen to the very words of the Scriptures: "And there came," says it, "two angels to Sodom in the evening"? Why does the Scripture begin thus: "And those two angels came into Sodom in the evening"? After (the angels) had been received by the forefather and departed from him, the benevolent and loving Lord, who by His inherent goodness then appeared in the form of a man, remained to converse with the forefather, as you heard yesterday, wishing to teach us all about His extreme long-suffering and about the ardent love of the forefather. Meanwhile, the angels rushed to Sodom. Thus, the divine Scripture, observing the order of the narrative, now says: "And those two angels came to Sodom in the evening" in order to fulfill the command (of God). Notice, then, the accuracy and circumspection of the divine Scriptures, how they signify to us the very time in which (the angels) came; It says (that it was) "in the evening." What is the purpose of the time? And what exactly did they come for in the evening? In order to show us how great was Lot's love of strangers. Just as the forefather sat at noon, (at the door of the tent), watched the passers-by, so to speak, caught them, ran up to meet the travelers and received them with great joy – so the righteous Lot, knowing the extreme corruption of the inhabitants of Sodom, did not omit even the evening time, but waited even until that time, whether he would come across some treasure, and whether it would be possible for him to reap the fruits of the love of strangers. Truly, one must marvel at the greatness of the virtue of this righteous man, how, being among such lawless men, he not only did not become more careless, but showed in himself an even greater virtue, and when all, so to speak, rushed along the rapids, he alone among such a multitude walked the straight path.

However, I do not say this in order to prevent people from withdrawing from the cities and forbidding them to stay in the mountains and deserts; but to show that nothing can hinder him who wishes to observe abstinence and be vigilant. Just as the desert itself cannot benefit the careless and negligent, because the perfection of virtue does not depend on the place, but on the disposition of the soul and morals, so the sober and vigilant (over himself) cannot be harmed in the least by being in the midst of the city. I would even wish that virtuous people, like this blessed (man), lived most among the cities; here they would serve as leaven for others, and would stir them up to imitate themselves. But since this seems difficult, let it be as I said before [i.e., let those who desire to preserve virtue withdraw from the world]. "For the image of this world is passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31), and the present life is short. If now, while still in the field, we do not perform feats of virtue and do not avoid the snares of evil, then later, although we will accuse ourselves, it will be in vain: then repentance will be useless. While we are in the present life, it is still possible, having repented, to receive benefit from it, and having cleansed former sins, to be worthy of mercy from the Lord. If, having omitted the present time (of life), we are suddenly raptured (from it), then, although we will then repent, we will no longer receive any benefit from it. And in order for you to be convinced of this, listen to what the prophet says: "In the tomb, who will praise You?" (Psalm 6:6)? And again: a brother will not deliver, will a person deliver (at all)? Will he not give God a ransom for himself (Psalm 48:8)? There is no one, he says, to deliver a person who has died from his own carelessness, even if there is a brother, or a father, or a mother. And what do I say, brother, father, and mother? And the most righteous ones, who have received great boldness (before God), will not be able to help us if we now give ourselves over to carelessness. If, it is said, Noah, and Job, and Daniel, they shall not deliver their sons and their daughters (Ezek. 14:18). Notice the strength of this threat, and what righteous men (the Scriptures) have set as an example. It was these same righteous men who in their time served as mediators of salvation for others: for example, Noah, when a terrible flood covered the world, saved his wife and sons; in like manner Job was the cause of salvation for others; and Daniel delivered many from death, when the cruel ruler (Nebuchadnezzar), experiencing certain supernatural phenomena, ordered the Chaldeans, the Magi, and the diviners to be put to death (Dan. 5:11).

2. Therefore we must not think that it will be the same in the age to come, that is, that virtuous men who have boldness before God will be able to free from future punishments those who are close to them, who live here in carelessness. For this reason the Scriptures cite the example of the above-mentioned righteous men, in order to strike fear upon us, and to teach us to place the hope of salvation, after grace from above, in our own good works, but not to rely on the virtues of our ancestors, or on anything else, if we ourselves remain in evil. If we have virtuous ancestors, then we must try to imitate their virtues. And if the opposite should happen and we were descended from vicious ancestors, then we should not fear any harm from this for ourselves, but only exercise ourselves in the feats of virtue; then there will be no harm to us from it. Each one is either crowned or condemned, according to what he himself has done, as Blessed Paul says: "To each one shall receive according to what he has done while living in the body, good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10), and again: "Who shall reward each one according to his works" (Romans 2:6). Knowing all this, and abandoning all carelessness, let us devote all our energies to virtue while we are still in the field, while the spectacle is not yet over; let us take care of our salvation, so that, having accomplished the feat of virtue in this short time, we may receive a reward for it in the endless age. And so the righteous (Lot), although he lived among such a multitude of wicked people, and had not a single imitator of his virtue, but, on the contrary, still saw that everyone mocked and mocked him, yet not only did not weaken in virtue because of this, but he also shone so brightly that he was vouchsafed to receive angels to himself, and when all were utterly lost, He alone with his daughters escaped the execution that befell the city. But let us return to the order of the word. "And there came," it is said, "two angels to Sodom in the evening." This indication of the time shows us with particular force the virtue of the righteous man: even with the onset of evening he did not leave his place in anticipation (of the travelers). He knew what benefit could come to him from here, and therefore, desiring to obtain such riches, he used all his diligence and did not leave [i.e., from the gate of the house where he was waiting for strangers] even after the end of the day. Such is the quality of a fiery and vigilant soul: not only is it not prevented from revealing its virtue by any obstacles, but, on the contrary, the greater the obstacles, the more strongly it is aroused, and the more the flame of jealousy kindles in itself. "Lot saw," it is said, "and arose to meet them" (Gen. 19:1). Let this be heard by people who drive away strangers who come to them with requests and with strong convictions, and reveal manifest inhumanity. Look at this righteous man, how he did not wait to be approached, but, like the forefather (Abraham), not knowing who these passers-by were, but only supposing that they were some kind of travelers, he only saw them, jumped up and was so glad, as if he were looking for prey for himself and had found what he was looking for. "He saw," it is said, "and arose to meet them, and bowed his face to the ground." He thanked God that He had vouchsafed him to receive these travelers. And this is the virtue of his soul: he recognized it as a great blessing of God that he had met these men, and by receiving them he fulfilled the desire of his own heart. Do not tell me that they were angels; But think about the fact that the righteous man did not yet know this, but accepted them as strangers, passing by, and was guided by such a thought in his actions at that time. "And he said, My lords! go into the house of your servant, and spend the night, and wash your feet, and rise up in the morning, and go on your way" (Gen. 19:2). These words are enough to see the virtue preserved in the soul of the righteous man. How can one not be surprised at his deep humility and the ardent zeal that he showed in hospitality! "My lords," he says, "go into the house of your servant." He calls them masters, and calls himself their slave. Let us listen attentively, beloved, to these words, and let us learn to act in this way ourselves. A glorious, eminent householder, who lives in such wealth, calls strangers, strangers, ignoble-looking, passers-by, in no way close to him, masters of travelers: "Go into the house of your servant and spend the night," he says. Evening has come, he says, so listen to me, and relieve yourselves from the day's labor, resting in the house of your servant. Do I promise you anything special, he says? "Wash your feet," which are weary of the journey, "and arise in the morning, and go on your way." Show me this mercy, and do not refuse my request. "But they said," it said, "no, we're sleeping on the street." But the righteous man, seeing that even after his earnest request they refuse, did not grow cold, did not abandon his intention, and did not act as we often do. Usually, when we want to invite someone to our house, we only notice that he, although he refuses slightly, immediately lags behind; And this happens to us because we do not do it with zeal and sincere desire, but for the most part we consider ourselves quite right if we can say that we have done our job.

3. What do you say, "I have done my job"? You have lost your booty, you have lost your treasure, and it seems that you have done your job? Then you would have done your work, if you had not thrown the treasure out of your hands, if you had not run past your prey, if you had shown the love of strangers not only in words, for the sake of decency. That is not what the righteous man (Lot) did, but how? When he saw that the strangers resisted (his desire) and wanted to remain in the street (and the angels did this in order to reveal the virtue of the righteous man and to show all of us how great was his love of strangers), he was no longer satisfied with asking and persuading them in words, but even using force. Thus Christ said: "Those who use force delight in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 11:12). Of course, where spiritual acquisition is meant, perseverance is appropriate, and effort is praiseworthy. "And he begged them mightily," it is said (Gen. 19:3). It seems to me that he even carried them away by force. Then, when the strangers saw that the righteous man had decided to do so, and would not leave until he had fulfilled his purpose, "and they went to him," as it is written, "and came to his house. He made them refreshments, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate" (Gen. 19:3). Do you see that here, too, the love of strangers is revealed not in the richness of the food, but in the abundance of spiritual zeal? Forcing them to enter his house, he immediately began to perform the work of hospitality: he himself was busy serving them, offering them food, showing every honor and service to those who came, taking them for ordinary travelers. "They had not yet gone to bed, when the inhabitants of the city, the Sodomites from the young to the old, all the people from all the parts of the city, surrounded the house, and called Lot, and said to him, 'Where are the people who have come to you for the night?' bring them out to us; we shall know them" (Gen. 19:4-5). Let us not, beloved, leave these words unheeded; Let us note not only all the fury of them (the Sodomites), which does not deserve any forgiveness, but also how the righteous man, living among such beasts, shone so brightly and showed such a great superiority of virtue, how he could endure their iniquity, how he did not flee from such a city, how he endured any conversation with them. "I'll explain how it happened. The Lord of all, foreseeing the excessive wickedness of the Sodomites, arranged for this righteous man to settle among them, so that he, as the best physician, could restrain the power of their evil diseases. And although the righteous man saw that they were already infected with incurable diseases, and did not want to accept any healing, he still did not abandon them. Such is the quality of the physician: although he sees that the disease does not yield to his skill, yet he does not cease to perform his duty, in order to show the power of his art, if he is able in time to restore (from the disease) the suffering; but if he does not succeed in the least, he will at least have all the more excuse for himself for the fact that on his part he has left nothing that he could have done. So it was here. The righteous man, despite the fact that he lived among such people, remained righteous and retained the love of good; but they lost all forgiveness, because not only did they not forsake evil, but they multiplied it more and more. See "surrounded," it is said, "the house, from the young to the old, all the people from all parts of the city." What a great agreement in evil, what a strong desire for sin, the unspeakable excessiveness of iniquity, the unforgivable intention! "From the young," it is said, "to the old": not only the young men, but also the old in years, and all the people together, strove for these iniquities. They were not ashamed to dare to undertake this shameless and shameful deed, they did not think of the Most High Eye, nor were they ashamed of the righteous man, nor did they spare those whom they recognized as strangers, and who enjoyed his hospitality; but without shame, with their heads uncovered, so to speak [the Orientals always walk with their heads covered; baring their heads means immodesty. Therefore St. Chrysostom, saying that the Sodomites approached the house of Lot "with their heads uncovered," wants to express the extreme degree of their impudence and shamelessness], uttering dissolute speeches, they approached the house, and, calling the righteous man, said to him: "Where are the people? Who came to you for the night? bring them out to us; we will know them." Out of fear of such-and-such, I think, their lawless intentions and impiety, the righteous man sat at the door of his house until evening, in order to prevent any passers-by who did not know this from falling into their net. Combining in himself lofty chastity with love of strangers, the righteous man took care that all those who passed by should be received to him, and wished that no one should hide from him; In this way, He received them (travelers) not as angels, but as ordinary people. But the wicked, not showing (on their part) anything of the kind, boldly decided only on such deeds as surpass all other evil deeds. And so, (the angels) wanted to remain in the street, in order to give the righteous man an opportunity to show his love of strangers to them, and in order to reveal to him from the very deeds of the inhabitants of Sodom how worthily these people deserved the punishment that awaited them, given over to such extraordinary iniquity.

4. But let us look further at the greatness of the virtue of the righteous man: "He went out," it is said, "to them, and shut the door behind him" (Gen. 19:6). See how the righteous man fears, and (how he) trembles for the safety of strangers. It was not without reason that he closed the door behind him, but because he knew the fury and audacity of the Sodomites and suspected their evil intention. Then He said to them: "My brethren, do not do evil" (Gen. 19:7). O long-suffering of the righteous! Oh, the depth of humility! To treat such people with such meekness is true virtue. Without a doubt, wishing to heal the sick, or to bring the demonic to reason, no one does it with anger and cruelty. Behold, then, how he calls brethren those who would commit such a crime, wishing to shame them, to awaken their consciences, and to divert them from their abominable intention: "My brethren," he says, "do not do evil." Do not conceive, he says, anything of the sort, do not undertake this shameful deed, do not pervert nature itself, do not invent an unnatural mixture. And if you already want to satisfy the attraction of your violent passions, then I will provide you with a means to do so that your crime will be somewhat easier: "Behold, I have two daughters who have not known a man" (Gen. 19:8). They have not yet experienced, he says, marital cohabitation, remain inviolable, in the most flourishing age, shine with beauty. I am ready to give them to all of you; Do with them what you want. Having taken them, he says, you will fulfill your lewdness with them and satisfy your impure desire; "Only do nothing to these people, for they have come under the roof of my house." I compelled them, he said, to come under my roof; Therefore, so that the iniquity done to them may not be imputed to me, so that I may not become the author of an insult to them, let them be free from your hands, and in their place I give you my two daughters. What virtue is in a righteous man! It surpasses all love of strangers! Who can worthily praise such love (for neighbors) of this righteous man, who decided not to spare even his daughters, in order only to show respect to strangers and save them from the iniquity of the Sodomites? And so, he even gives away his daughters in order to deliver strangers (I repeat again), unknown to him in no way, from the violence of the wicked. And we, who often see our brethren falling into the very depths of wickedness, and, so to speak, into the jaws of the devil, do not wish to take part in them, not even by word, nor to advise them anything, nor to admonish them verbally, and thus to deliver them from evil and guide them to virtue. What excuse can we have, when this righteous man, in his care for strangers, did not even spare his daughters, and we are so merciless to our (brothers), and often pronounce these cold and full of foolish words: "What have I to do with him? I don't care, I don't care about him." What do you say, man? As if you had nothing to do with him?

He is your brother, he has the same nature as you; you live under the authority of the Lord alone, and often partake of one and the same meal, I mean spiritual and terrible, and you say: I have nothing in common with him, and without mercy you flee from him, do you not want to give your hand to the fallen? The law commanded the Jews not to leave without help fallen cattle, even those belonging to their enemies. But thou, when thou seest thy brother wounded by the devil, and fallen not to the ground, but to the depths of sin, thou dost not draw him out of it by thy own instruction, and thou dost not give him any suggestions on thy part, and thou dost not care to take others with thee, if possible, to take with thee to thy aid, that thy own limb may be delivered from the jaws of the beast, and that thy own dignity may be restored unto him, that thou thyself may be restored to thy proper dignity. when you happen to fall into the snare of the evil demon (which God forbid!), you could have people who are ready to help you and free you from the hands of the devil. For example, Paul, wishing to stir up the Galatians to take care of their members, says: "Watching each one himself, lest he be tempted" (Galatians 6:1). It is as if he were saying: if you pass by your brother without compassion and mercy, then perhaps when you yourself fall, another will pass by you in the same way. If you do not wish to be left unattended when you should fall, then do not despise the fallen yourself, but show them all love, and consider it the greatest good to be able to save your brother. There can be so much virtue in nothing as in this matter. For if you think that the one whom you despise and neglect is honored by your Lord so much that He did not deny him even to pour out His blood, as Paul says: "Because of your knowledge a weak brother will perish, for whom Christ died" (1 Corinthians 8:11), then how can you not hide yourself (from shame) in the ground? If Christ even poured out His blood for him, what special will you do when you show your favor to him, raise up the fallen man by verbal exhortation, and raise his soul, drowned, or perhaps already drowned, from the depths of evil, help it to see the light of virtue and not rush again to the darkness of sin?

5. And so, I beseech you, let us imitate this righteous man, and even if it were necessary to endure something unpleasant for the salvation of our neighbor, let us not give it up either. Such patience will serve as a pledge of salvation for us and will give us great boldness (before God). Look, beloved, at this righteous man, how he confronted a whole people, who revealed such unanimity in evil, and what extraordinary courage he showed with great meekness. True, he could not tame their indomitable frenzy. And after his words to them, filled with amazing meekness, when in words, as if with his own hands, he had already given them his daughters, what did they say to him? "Come hither" (Gen. 19:9). Oh, immeasurable intoxication! Oh, utter madness! Such is this evil and indomitable lust: as soon as it gets the better of reason, it leaves no sense of decency in it, but envelops everything in the darkness and gloom of the night. "Come," they say, "here: here is a stranger, and he wants to judge? now we will do worse to you than to them." See with what meekness the righteous man speaks to them, and what impudence they allow themselves! As if driven into a frenzy by the devil himself, and as if led by him, they thus rise up against the righteous and say: "Here is a stranger, and wants to judge?" And thou hast also become a judge over us? Oh, utter unscrupulousness! One should be ashamed, moved by the suggestion of the righteous; And they, like madmen who try to strike the doctor himself, say to the righteous man: "We will do worse to you than to them." If you do not want to be silent, they say, then know that your intercession for them will serve nothing more than that they will escape the danger, and you will be exposed to it. "And they approached Lot very much." See what courage the righteous man shows and how he strengthens himself to resist such a multitude. "And they came," it said, "to break down the door." Since, going out to them and foreseeing their fury, he closed the door behind him, these obscene, lawless people, not tolerating the admonition from the righteous man, "approached" him, and even tried to break down the door. But now, when the virtue of the righteous man has already been revealed in practice, and his care for the imaginary strangers, and the unanimous striving of all this people for evil, now, at last, the newcomers are revealing themselves. Seeing that the righteous man on his part has done everything (what he could have done), they show their own power and give him help when the fury of the Sodomites subjected him to violence. "Those men stretched out their hands," it is said, "and brought Lot into their house, and shut the door; and the people who were at the entrance to the house were struck blind, from the least to the greatest, so that they were exhausted, seeking the entrance" (Gen. 19:10-11). Do you see how the righteous also receive an immediate reward for his hospitality, and the wicked are subjected to a worthy punishment? "They brought Lot into their house," it is said, "and they locked the door; and the people who were at the entrance to the house were struck blind, from the least to the greatest, so that they were exhausted, seeking the entrance." Since the eye of their mind has been damaged, they are also subject to bodily blindness, so that they may know that there is no benefit from the bodily eyes, as soon as the eyes of the mind are damaged. And since they all showed unanimity in evil, and neither the young men nor the elders restrained themselves from evil intent, all, as it is said, were both stricken with blindness, and at the same time were deprived of bodily strength. They have weakened in the most important part (of their being) – the soul; therefore they are deprived of bodily strength. And those who had previously tried to break down the door and with many threats appealed to the righteous man, they suddenly became weakened, not even seeing the door that was before their eyes. Then the righteous man breathed freely, seeing who were those who came to him and how great their power was. "They said to Lot," it is said, "these men, who have you yet here? is thy son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whoever is in thy city" (Gen. 19:12)? This is how they reward the righteous for love of strangers, and how they want to grant him the salvation of all those who are close to him. If, they say, you have anyone in this city, if you take part in someone, if you know someone who is free from the iniquity of these people, then "bring out of this place" and out of this land, bring out all your relatives, "for we will destroy this place" (Gen. 19:13). Then they show him the reason for this, explaining everything to the righteous man with precision: "For there is a great cry against the inhabitants of it to the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it." This is the same as what God said to His forefather (Abraham): "The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great" (Gen. 18:20). And here it is said, "Great is the cry against the inhabitants thereof to the Lord."

6. Their iniquity is too great; and since their illness is incurable, and the wound does not receive any damage, so "the Lord has sent us to destroy it." This very thing was expressed by Blessed David in the words: "Thou makest spirits by Thy angels, and a blazing fire by Thy servants" (Psalm 103:4). We have come, they say, to destroy the whole country (for the sin of the inhabitants the land itself is punished); Therefore, get out of here. The righteous man, hearing this, and learning the reason why these apparently ordinary people came, but in essence angels and servants of God of all things, "Lot went out, and spoke with his sons-in-law, who were taking his daughters in marriage" (Gen. 19:14). But before he said to those wicked ones, Behold, I have two daughters, who know no husband; How then is it said here, "With their sons-in-law, who took his daughters in marriage"? Do not think that these words contradict what the righteous man said before. It was the custom of the ancients to perform the betrothal for a long time (before marriage), and often the betrothed lived with the betrothed in the house of their parents, which is still the case in many places. And since the betrothal had already been performed here, the Scripture calls those who are betrothed sons-in-law, and says, "Who took his daughters in marriage," because in intention and in mutual agreement they had already taken his daughters in marriage. "Arise, come out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But his sons-in-law thought he was joking." See how they were in the same sinful leaven. For this reason God, wishing to free the righteous man from kinship with them as soon as possible, did not allow his daughters to marry them; On the contrary, He determined to destroy them together with the wicked, so that the righteous would avoid kinship with them, departing (from the city) with his daughters. Hearing this terrible threat from the righteous man, they laughed at him, and thought that his words were a joke. But the righteous man did what he was commanded, and since they were already betrothed to his daughters, he wanted to save them from execution; but they did not understand this either, but remained in their thoughts, and only later became convinced in practice with what harm they rejected the advice of the righteous man. "When," it is said, "the dawn had risen, the angels began to hasten Lot, saying, 'Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are with you, lest you perish for the iniquities of the city. And he tarried" (Gen. 19:15-16). Do not delay, they say; the time of their destruction is already coming; Save thyself, and thy wife, and thy two daughters; and those who would not listen to your advice will perish a little later with the rest. Do not delay, lest you also perish with the wicked. And Lot, and his wife, and his daughters, were troubled when they heard this. "They were troubled," it is said, that is, they were afraid, they were greatly frightened, they were troubled by such a threat. Then the angels, caring for the righteous man, "took him," it is said, "by his hand" (Gen. 19:16). Now the Scripture no longer speaks of them as of ordinary people, but, since they wanted to bring execution (on the city), he directly calls them angels, and says: "By the mercy of the Lord to him, they took him by the hand, and his wife, and his two daughters." By the touch of their hands they encouraged them, strengthened their spirits, so that fear would not weaken their strength. That is why the Scripture explained: "according to the mercy of the Lord to him." Since, it says, the Lord recognized Lot as worthy of salvation, the angels, wishing to strengthen their spirits, took them by the hand, and leading them out (out of the city), "said, Save your soul, do not look back, and do not stop anywhere in this country; flee to the mountain, lest thou perish" (Gen. 19:17). Since, they say, we have delivered you from these wicked ones, do not look back, and do not desire to see what will befall them, but hasten and go further, that you may avoid the punishment that is brought upon them. The righteous man, fearing that he may not be able to reach the place appointed by the angels and ascend the mountain, says: "No, Lord! Behold, Thy servant hath found favor in Thy eyes, and great is Thy mercy, which Thou hast done to me, that Thou hast saved my life. but I cannot flee to the mountain, lest misfortune overtake me and I die; behold, it is nearer to flee to this city, it is small; I will run thither, for he is small, and my life will be preserved. To please you" (Gen. 19:18-20). You have decided, he says, to grant me salvation; but I lack the strength not to climb to the top of the mountain. Therefore, show me even greater mercy and make my work easier: lest the plague that is brought upon me (on this city) overtake me, and I will not suffer the same fate as them, leave this neighboring city for me. Though this city is poor and small, yet having been saved in it, I can live there in safety. "And he said unto him, Behold, I will do this also to please thee: I will not overthrow the city of which thou speakest" (Gen. 19:21). "I have received," says (the angel), "thy supplication, and I will fulfill it; I will grant you what you ask, and for you I will spare that city. "Make haste," and dwell there, and be saved (Gen. 19:22). I won't do nothing until you get there, "for I can't," he says, "do any work until you get there." I am anxious, he says, for your salvation, and I will await your arrival there, and then I will bring the plague upon them (the Sodomites). "The sun rose on the earth, and Lot came to Zoar" (Gen. 19:23). About the rising of the sun he hurried into the city, and then, as soon as he entered it, the lawless were executed: "And the Lord poured out," it is said, "upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and overthrew these cities, and all the surrounding country, and all the inhabitants of these cities, and the growth of the earth" (Gen. 19:24-25). Do not let such a combination of words seem strange to you, beloved; such is the quality of Scripture, and (it) often uses words so indifferently, as can be seen in the present case. It is said, "The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven," to show that the Lord Himself brought about this plague, and that He not only "overthrew these cities, and all the countryside, and all the inhabitants," but that He destroyed "also the growth of the earth." Since the people who inhabit this land have brought forth many fruits of iniquity, I, saith (the Lord), make the fruits of the earth unfit for use, so that the destruction of the fruits of this land may serve as a permanent monument for future generations, and so that its barrenness may remind everyone of the iniquity of the people who dwelt here. Do you see what virtue means, and what vice means, and how the righteous man was saved, and they received a punishment worthy of their iniquity?

The righteous man saved his daughters by his virtue, and did not allow the destruction of the city [i.e. Zoar, in which Lot asked for shelter]; but they (the wicked), on the contrary, by their extreme iniquity, not only destroyed themselves and were destroyed, but also made their land barren for the future. "And the woman looked back," it is said, "and became a pillar of salt" (Gen. 19:26). She heard how the angels commanded the righteous man not to look back, but to flee with all haste, but she did not obey and did not keep this commandment, and therefore she receives punishment for her negligence.

7. But we, hearing this (narration), will have great care for our salvation; let us avoid imitating the iniquity of the Sodomites, on the contrary, let us be jealous of the strangeness of this righteous man and his other virtues, in order to turn away from ourselves the wrath moved from above. It is impossible, of course, impossible, that with zeal he devoted to virtue should not thereby acquire for himself a great treasure. In this way, these righteous men – the forefather (Abraham) and Lot – were vouchsafed to receive grace from above, and, thinking that they were receiving people to themselves, they were vouchsafed to receive angels and even the Lord of angels. We also, if we will, can receive Him now – He Himself said: "He who receives you receives Me" (Matt. 10:40). And so, let us receive strangers, never in spite of their apparent ignorance. If we show hospitality with such a disposition of soul, then perhaps one day we will be worthy to receive, in the guise of people, such strangers who will discover in themselves the dignity of angels. Only let us not investigate and be curious about them, lest we lose the treasures. Blessed Paul, pointing to these righteous men and teaching us how they were vouchsafed to receive such strangers, says: "Do not forget the love of strangers, for through it some, not knowing, have shown hospitality to the angels" (Hebrews 13:2). It is especially great and wonderful about them that they rendered a service to the pilgrims by "not knowing" them. Therefore, with faith and reverence, let us do this work, so that we may also receive the treasure (of eternal blessings), which we may all be vouchsafed to enjoy, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Him the Father, with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATION 44

"And Abraham arose early in the morning, and went to the place where he stood before the face of the Lord" (Gen. 19:27).

1. Yesterday's discourse [in the previous discourse on the Book of Genesis nothing was said about the Samaritan woman; it must be thought that between the 43rd and 44th discourse on the Book of Genesis, St. Chrysostom delivered a special discourse on the Samaritan] about the Samaritan woman sufficiently showed us both the ineffable long-suffering of the Lord, and His special care for her, and her gratitude. You have seen how she, having come to draw sensual water, was watered by divine streams from a spiritual source, and thus returned home, having fulfilled in herself the saying of the Lord: "The water which I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life" (John 4:14). Herself filled with this divine and spiritual source, she did not restrain the streams within herself, but from her abundance, so to speak, poured out the grace of the gift given to her on the inhabitants of the city, and the woman, a Samaritan, a foreigner, suddenly became a preacher. You have seen how important spiritual gratitude is, you have also seen the Lord's love for mankind, how He despises no one, but at least in a woman, even in a poor person, in whom He only finds a vigilant and flaming soul, He immediately communicates His grace to him. Therefore, I urge you, let us also imitate this woman and receive the promptings of the Spirit with full attention, because the teaching we expound does not belong to us, and our tongue does not speak of itself what we say, but through us the love of the Lord works for your benefit and for the building up of the Church of God. Therefore, beloved, do not look at me who speaks, and at my poverty, but since I offer the words of the Lord, then, directing your mind to Him who sent me, thus receive my words with attention. For even in human affairs, when a king clothed with a diadem sends a letter, even if the one who brought it in himself was of no importance, there was a man of no importance, and sometimes one who could not count any of his ancestors, who was himself unknown and of unknown origin, yet those who receive a letter do not pay attention to it, but, for the sake of the royal letter, and he is given great honor, and the letter from him is received with great fear and reverence. If, therefore, he who brings a letter from a man, and a simple charter at that, is thus received from all, how much more justly should you receive with full attention the utterances of the Spirit which are delivered to you through us, in order to receive you a reward for the good disposition of your heart. And the Lord of all, as soon as He sees the readiness of your soul, He will send down upon us the most abundant gifts for your edification, and He will give you greater understanding, so that you may understand the instructions. The grace of the Spirit is abundant and, being poured out on all, does not suffer any diminution in itself, but is even more multiplied in the very division between many, and the more those who partake of grace, the more abundant its gifts become. And so, if you wish, let us turn today to the order of our previous conversations and see where we have stopped at the word, and from where it is necessary to begin it today. To what have we first brought the word and where did we stop the teaching? We talked with you about Lot and the burning of Sodom, and we stopped talking about how this righteous man was saved in Zoar. "The sun rose on the earth," says the Scriptures, "and Lot came to Zoar," and then the wrath of God overtook the inhabitants of Sodom and destroyed that land, and the wife of the righteous man, forgetting what the angels had said to her and looking back, turned into a pillar of salt and for future generations became forever a monument to her carelessness. Today, continuing further, it is necessary for us to converse with your love about what you can again see the compassion and love of the forefather (Abraham) and God's favor towards him. When, at sunrise, the righteous Lot was saving himself in Zoar, and the inhabitants of Sodom were being executed, the forefather, at the same time regretting their destruction, which they had suffered for their own iniquities, and being very concerned about the righteous (Lot), went out early in the morning to see what had happened. "And Abraham arose," says the Scripture, "early in the morning, and went to the place where he stood before the face of the Lord, and looked to Sodom and Gomorrah and all the country round about, and saw, Behold, smoke rises up from the earth like smoke from a furnace" (Gen. 19:27-28). From the place where he had a conversation with the Lord and interceded for the inhabitants of Sodom, he saw the traces of this terrible plague and wanted to know something about Lot. Such is the characteristic of holy men that they are always loving and compassionate. And the Divine Scripture, in order to show us how the grace of the Spirit immediately communicated to him the knowledge of what he wished to know, and freed the righteous man from the care which he had for Lot, says: "When God was destroying the cities round about, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of destruction" (Gen. 19:29). What does it mean: "God remembered Abraham"? Of course, the intercession which he expressed in the words: "Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked?" (Gen. 18:23). How is it, someone will ask, that the righteous man (Lot) is saved through the intercession of the forefather, and not because of his own righteousness? Yes, and at the intercession of the forefather. When we ourselves deserve, then the intercession of the righteous is of great benefit to us. On the contrary, if we ourselves are negligent and place all the hope of our salvation in them alone (the righteous), then it will not be better for us, not because the righteous are powerless, but because we destroy ourselves by our own negligence.