Shame is a public reproach for sin. As a necessary means of education, God uses it if faith disappears among the people. Thus He says in Isaiah: "They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 1:4). And in Jeremiah: Marvel at this, O heavens, and tremble, and be terrified, saith the Lord. For my people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have hewn out for themselves broken cisterns, which cannot hold water (Jeremiah 3:12, 13). And again he said: Jerusalem has sinned grievously, and therefore it has become abominable; all who glorified him look upon him with contempt, because they have seen his nakedness (Lamentations. I, 8). But He softens the severity and shame of shame through Solomon, silently educating His love for children with the words: "The chastisement of the Lord, my son, do not despise, and do not be burdened by His chastisement, for whom the Lord loves, He chastens and is pleased with him as a father to his son (Proverbs 3:11-12; Heb. 12:6; Rev. 3:19), because only a sinful man evades reproof (Sir. 32:19). 19). Therefore the Scripture says quite consistently: Let the righteous chastise me: this is mercy; let him rebuke me: this is the best oil, which shall not hurt my head (Psalm 140:5).

Admonition, instruction on the right path, is a reproach that acts on the intellect. And God did not leave this pedagogical moment unused; He says in Jeremiah: To whom shall I speak, and whom shall I exhort, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised (Jeremiah 6:10). Oh, blessed long-suffering! And again in the same prophet: all these nations are not circumcised; but all the house of Israel with an uncircumcised heart (Jeremiah 9:26).

A visit is a powerful reproach. This form of education is used by the Lord in the Gospel: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which smote the prophets, and stoneth those who are sent unto thee" (Matt. 23:37). The power of reproach is expressed by double appeal. For who knows God, how he can persecute God's servants? Therefore, says He, your debt is left empty. For I say unto you, From henceforth ye shall not see me, until ye exclaim, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, v. 38-39. You did not want to accept His love, you will get acquainted with His omnipotence.

Reproach is an extremely angry treatment. The Lord uses reproach, as if a kind of salvific means, in Isaiah in the words: "Alas, a sinful people, a people laden with iniquity, a generation of evildoers, sons of perdition" (Isaiah 1:4). And in the Gospel, through the mouth of John, He says: "Serpents, the offspring of vipers" (Matt. 23:33; 3:7; Lux. 3, 7).

Accusation is the reproach of those who do wrong. This means of education is used by David: the people, whom I did not know, serve me, by the mere rumor of me they obey me; foreigners caress me before me. The foreigners turn pale and tremble in their fortifications (Psalm 17:44-46). And in Jeremiah: "I gave him a bill of divorce, and the treacherous Judas was left without fruit" (Jeremiah 3:8). And again, For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt with me very treacherously, saith the Lord. They lied against the Lord (Jeremiah 3:11-12).

A complaint (against fate) is a skillfully concealed censure, implicitly intended to be directed to the path of salvation. God uses it in Jeremiah: How lonely sits the city, once populous! he became like a widow; great among the nations, the prince over the provinces became a tributary. He weeps bitterly at night (Lamentations of Jer. I, 1, 2).

Mockery is a mocking censure. And this aid is used by the Divine Pedagogue, who says in Jeremiah: "Thou hadst the forehead of a harlot, thou hast cast away shame." Will you not now cry out to me, 'My Father! You were the guide of my youth!" (Jeremiah 3:3-4). And: for many fornications of a lecher of pleasant appearance, skilled in sorcery (Nahum 3:4). Very wisely here He inspires the virgin with decency, calling her a lecher.

Indignation is a just punishment, or a reprimand to the self-willed. The Lord was the educator of this kind in Moses: "But they are depraved before Him, they are not His children because of their vices, but a rebellious and perverse generation. Do you repay this to the Lord, you foolish and foolish people? Is He not your Father? Who assimilated thee (Deuteronomy 32:3-6)? And in Isaiah He says: "Your princes are transgressors of the law and accomplices of thieves; they all love gifts and chase after bribes; the orphans do not defend (Isaiah 1:23).

In general, these artificial means for awakening fear are the storehouse of salvation. But to mediate salvation is the work of a good being. He rebukes and admonishes, and teaches, and converts as a shepherd his flock. He has mercy on those who receive admonition and diligently turn to His law (Sir. 18:13-14). By this guidance He saved the 600,000 foot men (Exodus 12:37) who went out together. He scourged them for their hardness of heart, caressed, beat, healed them out of mercy and in the form of education. For both mercy and wrath are in His power (Sir. 16:12). It is fine not to sin, but it is good if the sinner is converted; just as it is very good to always be healthy, but it is also wonderful to recover from illness. So also through the mouth of Solomon He commands: "Thou shalt punish him with the rod, and save his soul from hell" (Proverbs 23:14). And again: Thou shalt not leave the young man unpunished; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die (Proverbs 23:13).

Shame and reproach, as the word itself shows, are the scourging of the soul, as a punishment for its sins; they protect it from death, and they bring to their senses those who allow themselves to indulge in licentiousness. In the same way, Plato, in agreement with the Logos, in his shameful reproach acknowledges the most effective improving power and the best means of purification, asserting that "he who is supremely sinful has come to intemperance and immorality because he has not been blamed, whereas for true happiness he must be perfectly pure and moral." But if the earthly authorities do not frighten away from good deeds (Romans 13:3), can God, who is by nature good, be a terror to him who does not commit sins? But if you do evil, fear (Romans 13:4), says the Apostle. Therefore, in some cases, he treats communities strictly, following the example of the Lord. Thus, with complete frankness and seeing the spiritual weakness of his listeners, he writes to the Galatians: "Have I become your enemy, speaking the truth to you" (Gal. 4:16)? Just as those who are not healthy have need of a physician (Lk. V, 31), since they feel well, and the sick need the art of healing: in the same way, for us, who are sick with shameful desires, reprehensible intemperance, and the nourishment of other passions, a Saviour is necessary. But He does not use only "emollient remedies" (Ed. IV, 218), but also sharp. Bitter roots stop the spread of gangrenous abscesses: in the same way, fear is salutary, although bitter. In exactly the same way, we, since we are sick, need a Saviour; since we are in error, we need a guide; since we are blind, we need a guide; for us who thirst there is a need for a living spring, drinking from which quenches thirst forever (John 4:13-14); since we are dead, we need life; since we are sheep, we need a shepherd; since we are children, we need a Teacher. In general, all mankind needs Jesus, so that, left without guidance, we may not turn out to be the most determined sinners and fall into condemnation; but separated from the dung, we may be received into the garner of the Father. For the spade is in the hand of the Lord, with which He separates from the wheat the straw that is subject to fire (Matt. 3:12; Lk. 3:17). We have only to want to, and we can recognize the lofty wisdom of the most holy Shepherd and Teacher, Almighty and Father Word (Logos) from the words in which He figuratively calls Himself the shepherd of the sheep (John 10:11:14); but under this image He draws Himself as the educator of children. For this reason, he turned to the priests and offered them, so to speak, an excellent exemplary letter for the correct

the passage of their ministry. He says in Ezekiel: "And what is lame, I will bind up, and I will heal that which is sick, and I will bring back that which is lost; and I will lead to the pasture, to my holy mountain (Ezekiel 34:14-16). Such are the promises of the Good Shepherd. Yes, shepherd us. O Lord, we are Thy children; shepherd us. Thy sheep; feed us in the fields of Thy justice. Again, Teacher, lead us pastorally to Thy holy mountain, to Thy Church, which aspires to the heights beyond the clouds, to the sky. I will shepherd you, says He, and I will be near to you. (Ezekiel 34:14-16) how close the tunic is to the surface of the body (2 Corinthians 5:2).

He wants to save my flesh, clothing it with the garment of immortality, and anointing my skin. Then you will call, and the Lord will hear; cry out, and He will say, "Behold, I am (Isa. ^8, 9\ Lord, Thou hast heard rather than I expected. And when ye pass, saith He, ye shall not slip (Isaiah 43:2), that is, we shall not perish when we pass into eternity, for He will sustain us; He himself says this; He wants it himself. I have not come to use services, but to serve (Matt. 20:28; Mk. 10:45). That is why He is depicted in the Gospel as having labored (John 4:6), enduring labors for us, promising to give His own life for the redemption of many (Matt. 20:28). Only such a shepherd He recognizes as good (John 10:11). Therefore, He is a generous lover, sacrificing His own life for us. He brought salvation and love for mankind to people, wanting to be a man and calling himself the brother of people, although he could be their Lord. He is so good that He even died for us. But His justice also cried out: "If you come to Me with a sincere disposition, I also will be disposed towards you; but if you come to me with deceitful feelings, I also will be evasive towards you, says the Lord of hosts." Reproaches addressed to sinners are here called "crooked paths"; - the direct and natural feeling is symbolically indicated in the name of Jesus by an iota; His goodness to those who believe in Him by hearing about Him is unchangeable and unshakable: "For I have called you, saith the Lord, and you have not listened, and have rejected all My counsel, and have not received My chastisement" (Prov. I, 24-25). Thus, the shame that comes from the Lord is very useful. In this sense He also says through the mouth of David: "Not to be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, unsettled in heart and unfaithful to God in spirit." They did not keep the covenant of God and denied to walk in His law (Psalm 77:8, 10). This is the cause of anger; as a result of which the Judge comes, bringing with Him punishment to those who do not want to choose a good way of life. Therefore He bursts out against them with reproaches, somewhat stronger, in order to see if they could not be diverted from their path and protected from death. Through David, therefore, He clearly declares this motive of His threat: They did not believe in His miracles. And he destroyed their days in vanity, and their years in confusion. When He killed them, they sought Him and turned to Him, and from early morning they ran to God, and remembered that God is their refuge and the Most High God is their Deliverer (Psalm 77:32-33). Thus He knows, that they turned to Him out of fear of Him, having previously despised His goodness. For the good, if it appears constantly in the form of goodness, is for the most part little appreciated; but if God adds to His exhortation the intimidation of His justice, then they serve Him. There are two types of fear. One is combined with reverence. Such is the fear of the citizens of the good of their rulers; such is the fear we have of God, and of prudent children of their fathers. For an unridden horse is stubborn, it is said, but a son, left to his own will, becomes impudent (Sir. 30:8). Another kind of fear is combined with hatred. Such is the fear that slaves have for their stern masters; such was the fear that the Jews had of God, considering Him to be the ruler and not the Father. And there is a great difference, I think, between forced service to God and voluntary service to Him, which is based on free choice; the distance between the two is equal to the whole heaven.

But He, the Merciful, it is said, forgave sin, and did not destroy them; He turned away His wrath many times, and did not stir up all His wrath (Psalm 77:38). Pay attention to how the just element of the Pedagogue is revealed in censure, and the benevolent element in mercy! That is why David, or rather through Him, the Holy Spirit sings: "Justice and righteousness are the foundation of Thy throne; mercy and truth go before Thy face (Psalm 88:15). Here we are informed about the same revelations of the Divine life, about that which is characteristic of God to judge and do good. In both of these revelations of the divine life God's omnipotence is expressed: as a just Judge, He distinguishes opposites; but, being just. This judge is also good, being the true God, who is all and in whom all things are, God and precisely the one God. And just as an ugly person cannot consider a mirror to be a bad thing because he sees in it his true image; And just as a physician cannot yet be considered sick for an evil person, because he acknowledges in him a feverish state (he is not to blame for the fever, but only establishes the fact of it), so he who reproaches us is not yet a malevolent person to a sick soul: for He does not put sins into the soul, but only points out its inherent faults, in order to divert it from such inclinations.

God, therefore, is good in himself; but He is just because of us; and He is just because He is good. And His justice is revealed to us by His Logos, who came down from above, from where the Father is. Because before anything was created. God already existed, and He was good; therefore He wanted to become both the Creator of the world and the Father. It was precisely this love and His relationship to the world imbued with it that became the beginning of His justice, Who kindled His sun and sent His Son. And this Son was the first to announce the justice descending from heaven, saying: "And who is the Son no one knoweth except the Father, and who is the Father knoweth no man except the Son" (Luke 10:22). This knowledge of Them is the symbol of eternal justice. This justice then descended to earth among men in the form of letter and flesh, in the person of the Logos and in the form of the law, forcing mankind to a salutary change of disposition, because that justice was good. But you do not obey God: therefore consider yourself that you are drawing the Judge closer to you.