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.

2. And so that you may know that when we ourselves are negligent, even if the righteous or the prophets are our intercessors, it is of no use to us (their virtue is revealed, of course, even in this case, but it will not benefit us at all because of our own bad life), listen to how the God of all things says to the prophet Jeremiah, who was sanctified from the womb (mother): "Thou shalt not pray for this people, for I will not hear thee" (Jeremiah 7:16). Notice the Lord's love for mankind: He warns the prophet about this, so that he, not being heard in his prayers, will not think that it came from his own fault. Wherefore he reveals to him beforehand the wickedness of the people, and forbids them to pray (for them), so that the prophet himself may know their [the Jews'] utter wickedness, and they too may learn that the prophet will not help them in the least if they themselves do not want to do their own work. Knowing this, beloved, let us, of course, have recourse to the intercession of the saints and ask them to pray for us, but let us not rely only on their intercession, but let us properly fulfill our duties and take care of our correction, so that the intercessions (of the saints) for us do not lose their validity. Likewise, in another place the Lord says to the prophet: "Do you not see what they do", burn fat and make "cakes to the goddess of heaven" (Jeremiah 7:17-18); as if God were saying: Do you pray to Me for such people, who do not lag behind their wickedness, who do not in the least feel the sickness that holds them, and live so carelessly? Do you not see their extreme negligence? Do you not see their great folly? How is it that they have not yet had enough of wickedness, and, like pigs in a swamp, have sunk in their iniquities? If they were disposed to conversion, did they not hear constant admonitions? Do I not call upon them through the prophets, and say, "And after she had done all these things, I said, Return unto me; but did not return" (Jeremiah 3:7)? Is this not the only thing I demand, that they should turn away from wickedness and cease evil? Do I demand an account for past deeds? How soon do I see that people want to repent of them? Do I not cry out every day and say, "Do I desire the death of the wicked? Is it not that he should turn from his ways and live?" (Ezek. 18:23)? Do I not do everything for this purpose, that I may deliver from destruction those who are carried away by error? Do I hesitate when I see their conversion? Did I not say, You will cry out, and He will say, Here I am? (Isaiah 58:9). Do they desire their own salvation as much as I care that all men may be saved and "come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4)? Was it for this reason that I brought you out of non-existence, to destroy you? Did He prepare in vain the kingdom (of heaven) and innumerable, unspeakable blessings? Did not Gehenna also threaten in order to induce everyone to strive for the kingdom (of heaven) by this means? Therefore, blessed prophet, leave them, and do not lift up prayers to Me for them, but take care only to heal their illness, to bring them to their senses of their infirmity, and to restore them to health; then I will do all that depends on Me. I do not delay or delay when I see a well-disposed soul; I demand only one thing – the confession of sins, and after that I no longer subject them to judgment. Is this My demand difficult and burdensome? If I didn't know that they were getting worse precisely because they didn't confess their former sins, then I wouldn't demand that. But I know that the human race is very prone to sin; That is why I wish that they confess their previous sins, so that such a confession would keep them from falling into the same sins again.

Reflecting on this, beloved, and imagining the love of our Lord for mankind, let us not be negligent, but, first of all, let us take care of ourselves, let us cleanse the filth of sin, and only then let us turn to the intercession of the saints. However, if we want to be sober and watchful, then our own prayers for ourselves will bring us the greatest benefit. Our Lord loves mankind, and does not so much listen when others pray to Him for us, as when we ourselves (pray for ourselves). Pay attention to the greatness of His goodness. He sees that we have fallen, that we have been subjected to dishonor, that we have no boldness (before Him); but when we rise up even a little and dare to resort to the riches of His love for mankind, He immediately hears our petitions, stretches out His hand to us, who are prostrated, lifts up the fallen, and cries: "Do they not rise when they fall" (Jeremiah 8:4)? But in order to prove to you from experience that many have been able to obtain what they wanted through their own prayers rather than through the petitions of others, it is necessary to present examples of those who have been vouchsafed this. These examples can also excite us to imitation and competition. Let us listen to how the Canaanite woman, a foreigner, who suffered in spiritual sorrow, when she saw the Physician of souls and the Sun of righteousness shining on those sitting in darkness, how, with what zeal, with what ardent zeal she approached Him, and neither the fact that she was a woman, nor the fact that she was a foreigner, restrained her, but, despising all these obstacles, she approached and said: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, my daughter is cruelly possessed" (Matt. 15:22). But the one who leads the innermost thoughts is silent and does not answer, does not dignify her with a word, and does not show compassion for a woman's infirmity, seeing her come to Him with such a cry. He hesitates, wanting to reveal to everyone the treasure hidden in it. He saw the hidden (in it) preciousness, and did not want it to remain unknown to us; therefore he hesitates and does not deign her to answer, so that the great firmness of this woman may become a lesson for all subsequent births. And see how ineffable is the goodness of God. "But He," says the Scripture, "answered her not" (Matt. 15:23). And the disciples, thinking to be more compassionate and loving to mankind than Him, do not dare to say directly: fulfill her request, have mercy on her, have mercy on her; But what do they say? "Let her go, for she cries after us" (Matt. 15:23), as if to say: deliver us from this doc, deliver us from her cries. What about the Lord? Do you think, He says, that I am silent for no reason, and have not honored her with an answer? Listen: "I am sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24). Do you not know that this woman is a foreigner? Do you not know that I also commanded you not to go into the way of the Gentiles? Why do you want to show her such compassion without testing? Look at the providential wisdom of God: and then, as He has already deigned to answer (the woman's cries), He smotes her with His answer even more than with silence, and as it were inflicts a mortal blow on her, wishing little by little to force her to speak out in such a way that the disciples who did not know her would see the faith hidden in her. She did not lose heart, nor did she weaken in zeal, even when she saw that the disciples had not succeeded in doing more than her, and she did not say to herself, "If they also could not bow down (the Lord) by their intercession for me, why should I use vain efforts?" On the contrary, as if burning in fire, with a soul aflame and a torn heart, she approaches, bowing down and saying: "Lord, help me" (Matt. 15:25). But even after that He does not bow down to the woman's prayer, but gives an answer even harsher than before: "It is not good," He says, "to take the bread of the children and throw it to the dogs" (Matt. 15:26). Think, beloved, and marvel at the strength of this soul and its extraordinary faith: when it heard the name of the dog, it was not offended, it did not retreat, but with great kindness said: "Yes, Lord! but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters" (Matt. 15:27). I confess that I am a dog; vouchsafe me, like a dog, at least a grain of the meal. Do you see the faith and good humor of the woman? She took upon herself what was said (by the Lord), and immediately received what she wanted, and moreover she received it with great praise. What did Christ say to her? "Oh, woman! great is thy faith; be it done to you according to your desire" (Matt. 15:28). "O woman" – this saying expresses surprise and contains great praise. Great faith, he says, thou hast shown; and you will have what you desire. See how abundant is the mercy of the Lord, and marvel at His wisdom. Could we not at first think that He was not compassionate when He rejected her in this way, and at first He did not even deign to answer this woman, and then with His first and second answers, as it were, He only drove away from Himself and rejected her who came to Him with such zeal? But by the end (of the deed) judge of the goodness of God. He wanted to glorify that woman, so he was so slow to fulfill her request. For if He had immediately listened to her, we would not have known all the virtue of this woman; and since He hesitated a little, we saw both the Lord's ineffable love for mankind and her wondrous faith.

4. We have thought it necessary to set forth all this narration in order that you may know that we have time to get what we want, not so much through the intercession of others, as by ourselves, if only we approach with diligence and increased attention. This woman, having even the disciples (of the Lord) as intercessors for herself, could not receive any success until she herself by her patience attracted to herself the love of the Lord. Likewise, the well-known parable of the friend who came at the wrong time at night and asked for three loaves of bread inspires the same thing. Here it is said: "If he does not arise and give him because of his friendship with him, then because of his perseverance, he will rise up and give him as much as he asks" (Luke 11:8). And so, knowing the ineffable love of mankind of our Lord, let us turn to Him, revealing and, as it were, presenting before our own eyes each of our sins separately, at the same time asking forgiveness for former sins, so that, in the future, showing greater diligence (in good works), we may be worthy of His greater favor. Then let us return, if you will, to the order of our reading. "Lot," says the Scripture, "went out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cave, and his two daughters with him" (Gen. 19:30). The righteous man, still in great fear on the occasion of the plague that befell the inhabitants of Sodom, goes far away and settles "in grief," as it is said, with his daughters. He thus remained in perfect desert and solitude with only his two daughters, settling on a mountain. "And she said," says the Scriptures, "the eldest of the youngest, 'Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth that will come to us according to the custom of all the earth; therefore let us give our father wine to drink, and let us sleep with him, and let us raise up a seed from our father" (Gen. 19:31-32). With reverence and great fear, beloved, let us listen to the stories of the Divine Scriptures. Nothing is written in it without purpose and in vain, but everything is for our benefit and for our good, although we do not understand anything else, because we cannot know everything exactly, and although we try as much as we can to expound the reasons for some (of the stories of the Scriptures), yet even then there remains in it much that is hidden, treasures hidden from us and unsearchable. See, therefore, how the Scriptures, while speaking of all things with clarity and giving us to understand the intention of the daughters of the righteous, provide a sufficient justification both for them and for the righteous man, that no one should condemn either the righteous man or his daughters on the occasion of such an event, as if such incest had arisen from intemperance. How does the Scripture justify the daughters of the righteous? "She said," she said, "the eldest of the youngest, 'Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth who will come to us according to the custom of all the earth.' Pay attention to the goal, and you will free them from all condemnation. They thought that everything in the world had completely perished and that there was no one left of the people; moreover, they also saw the old age of the father. Therefore they say, lest our race should cease away, and we should not be left without a name (and the ancients were most anxious to continue our race through the succession of generations), so that we, they say, should not be utterly destroyed, since our father is already inclined to old age, and we have no one to mingle with, to spread our race and leave a seed after us, – "Therefore," says one another, so that this does not happen, "let us give our father wine to drink"; since our father himself will never tolerate even hearing about this [i.e. about the intention of the daughters, which is revealed from the following words of the Holy Scriptures], let us use deception by means of wine. "And they gave their father wine to drink that night; and the eldest came in, and slept with her father: but he did not know when she lay down or when she arose" (Gen. 19:33). Do you see how the Divine Scripture justifies even the righteous, and moreover, not once, but also at another time? First, by the fact that his daughters deceived him with wine, it shows that otherwise they could not have persuaded their father to do so; and then, what happened, as I think, was arranged from above in such a way that, on account of deep sleep and darkness from wine, he did not know what had happened at all. Thus he was not condemned. Only those sins subject us to condemnation and punishment that we commit consciously and voluntarily; and of the righteous man, as you see, the Scriptures testify that he did not know at all what had happened. But here again another question arises – regarding intoxication. And everything must be examined, so that no pretext (for slander) is left for the foolish and shameless. What shall we say about this also? That he was intoxicated not so much from intemperance as from spiritual sorrow.

5. Therefore, let no one dare to condemn the righteous man, or his daughters. And would it not be utter folly and foolishness to condemn those whom the Divine Scripture exempts from all condemnation, and even offers such an excuse for them, to condemn us, burdened with an immeasurable weight of sins, without listening to the words of the Apostle Paul, who says: "Who will accuse the elect of God? Does God justify them (Romans 8:33)? And that this happened not simply and not without reason, but that the excessive sorrow of the soul, through the use of wine, brought him to complete insensibility, listen to what (the Scriptures) says further: "The next day the eldest said to the younger, Behold, I slept yesterday with my father; let us give him wine to drink this night also; and thou shalt come in, sleep with him, and we shall raise up a seed from our father" (Gen. 19:34). Do you see with what right thought they did this? "And they gave their father wine to drink that night also; And the youngest came in, and slept with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose" (Gen. 19:35). See, beloved, how this whole incident was the work of divine providence, just as it was with the first-created man. As then, during his sleep, God, having taken a part of his rib, did it completely insensible to him, and, having created a woman from this rib, brought her to Adam, – so it was done this time. And if the taking of the rib was insensible (for Adam), because God brought a frenzy upon him, how much more could it be in the present case. And what the Divine Scripture inspires there, saying: "And the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep" (Gen. 2:21), also means here with the words: "And he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. And the two daughters of Lotov became pregnant," he says, "by their father. And the eldest gave birth to a son, and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. And the youngest also bore a son, and called his name Ben-Ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day" (Gen. 19:36-38). Do you see that what happened was not the result of intemperance? And they gave names to those born that indicated the event itself, and in the names of the children, as if on some monuments, they inscribed the memory of what had happened, and at the same time they foreshadowed that from them and from those born of them would come nations, and numerous descendants. One, as it is said, will be the father of the Moabites, and the other the father of the Ammonites.

6. However, at that time it was still the initial and primitive time (of mankind), and since everyone wanted to preserve the memory of themselves through the continuation of their lineage, the daughters of the righteous also took so much care to do so. But now, when, by the grace of God, the state of faith has been exalted and, in the words of Blessed Paul, "the image of this world is already passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31), we must leave a memory for ourselves by good works, so that even after our departure from here the superiority of our virtuous life will be a reminder and edification for those who look at us. Those who are virtuous and observe chastity not only in this life can be of very great benefit to those who look at them, but also after it. To convince yourself of this, look at how many centuries have passed until the present time, and whenever we want to arouse in someone a zeal for chastity, we present as an example the good-looking, beautiful, young Joseph, who in his prime showed such firmness in the preservation of chastity, and thus try to induce our hearers to imitate this righteous man. Is it possible, tell me, to be sufficiently amazed at this blessed (man)

And as if a dove escaped destruction from a hawk, so the righteous man escaped from the hands of that woman. It seems to me not so much surprising that the three youths in the Babylonian furnace were victorious over the fire, and that their bodies did not suffer in the least, as it is wondrous and extraordinary that this righteous man, cast into a furnace more terrible than that of Babylon – I speak of the lewdness of the Egyptian woman – remained untouched and came out of it, preserving the pure garment of chastity. However, do not be surprised, beloved; since he, on his part, used all his strength for this, he also had help from above, which helped him, quenched that flame, and in the midst of the furnace gave him dew from the Holy Spirit. Do you see how virtuous people, both being here and after their repose from here, are examples for us for our benefit? Now we have cited this righteous man (Joseph) as an example, so that everyone would follow him. And so, let us all compete with him, let us rise above sensual deceptions, and, knowing that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Ephesians 6:12), let us arm ourselves in this way. Imagining that we, clothed with a body, are forced to struggle with incorporeal forces, let us protect ourselves with spiritual weapons. Since we are clothed with flesh, but have a battle with invisible powers, the Lover of mankind the Lord has prepared for us an invisible weapon, so that by the power of this weapon we may be able to overcome the nature of our opponents. Thus, trusting in the power of this weapon, let us also use everything that is necessary on our part: then we will be able, protecting ourselves with this spiritual armor, to strike the devil in the very face. He cannot endure the lightning emanating from such a weapon, and even if he strives to resist it, his sight is immediately blinded. The grace of the Spirit is sent down in abundance where chastity, honesty, and other virtues are combined; wherefore Paul also said: "Strive to have peace with all, and holiness" (Rom. 12:18; Heb. 12:14). And so, I exhort you, let us cleanse our conscience and mind, so that, freed from every impure thought, we may attract the grace of the Spirit upon ourselves, overcome the wiles of the devil and be worthy of the enjoyment of eternal, ineffable blessings, which may we all be vouchsafed, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

DISCOURSE 45