ON THE PERSIAN CAPTIVITY: A SHORT WORK
A These things the good Shepherd signified to those who dwelt in Jerusalem, or rather to those who had been left behind there. For he had concern both for those whom he had with him and for those who were positioned far away, and especially for those who resided in Zion. For the blessed man knew how great a grief afflicted their hearts. Indeed, they grieved even more heavily than those who had been led away captive, as they saw with their own eyes the houses of salvation cast down to the ground, and as they saw the cross, the shepherd, and the flock all lost to them in a single moment, as it were. And not only this, but the multitude of corpses in the city and the stench they exhaled tormented them not lightly, especially those they were able to recognize. A witness to what has been said is our noble young Nicodemus, and his almost-Magdalene wife, an excellent and zealous pair, who performed a deed truly worthy of memory and of record. Let those who wish interrogate them, and they will clearly learn what happened at Jerusalem.
B For these, indeed these, zealous and god-loving people, after the departure of the enemies and their return to Persia, went round about the whole city and the surrounding villages, and seeing the remains of the brethren so lying, they prepared for themselves a reward worthy to be remembered forever. And gathering together the remains scattered everywhere, they deposited them in a cave before the city, to the number of sixty-five thousand. If, therefore, anyone who wishes to know desires to learn from those who certainly know, let him question them; and they will clearly teach and tell what we also have seen: in what form and state the blessed ones lay upon the ground, having been accounted worthy to be slaughtered in Jerusalem. One had received a wound from his head down to his heart; another from his shoulders down to his belly; another had five or ten sword wounds in his entrails; another was cut through the middle and divided into two; another again had his belly pierced by a sword, and all his insides poured out; another was chopped into many pieces like a sheep in a butcher's shop.
C And what could be more pitiable than the rest? Some were displayed as a spectacle in the streets, others were slaughtered in the oratories; others had taken refuge in the Holy of Holies for help; one holding the Lord's body, another the cross of Christ. Another was slaughtered as he entered the pool, another while hiding under the altar; and they became victims, under the same vengeance of the threatening God, yet having a diverse judgment and mystery, as I have said. D
A For not all were taken into captivity on account of sin, but that both parties might be proven worthy through patience: some, that they might admonish and console a people acting negligently through their words; others, that the future punishment might be lighter for them; others, that they might avoid it entirely.
Furthermore, regarding the tribulation that followed them, and the sins that were committed, perhaps children were also carried away captive, so that they themselves might not become worse, and those who begat them might learn sobriety through their correction. Perhaps others, too, because they had loved and desired the ways of the impious even while being believers, were for this reason delivered by the Lord according to their desires. B But others became worse from the correction, and denied Christ, and thus reached the end of their life. Yet, in my opinion, even if they had been redeemed from captivity, they were about to commit worse deeds. We say these things not as defining anything or asserting it as certain, but to disclose the sentiment of our mind.
Likewise, also in the case of the slaughter, a great and incomparable difference exists. For he who dies on account of the denial of Christ receives a different reward—since it was within his power both to deny and to exempt himself from that death—from him who, while fighting against the enemies, chances to be killed by them. C Furthermore, according to the distinction of the denials, a different punishment also exists. Some, therefore, denied Christ, overcome by the torture of torments; others by hunger and thirst and other bodily suffering, being more indulgent toward their flesh, were terrified. Others again denied either for the sake of beauty or the glory of this present life. Some were deceived into agreeing with impiety, being infants and lacking the understanding of good and evil. Of all these, the former endure a lighter future punishment than those who follow, and the second suffer fewer stripes than the third. The third judgment, however, is the most miserable of all.
D Regarding the infants, if they had become men before death, and had attained to perception, and had not turned, they too would be liable to punishment. But if they denied while they were ignorant, and departed from life before the birth of prudence and mature judgment, the judgment of these only the Judge knows, as also that of the rest, to whom all punishment remains, unless through earnest and laborious repentance they confess Christ and preach Him before the wicked, and profess themselves to be His servants. For "he who has denied me before men," he is necessitated to make his confession again before men. For the judgment of God is terrible and impartial, and among all—but especially among us—it is incomprehensible, and especially that which is being carried out at present. For who would not be struck with amazement to see some of our number, while the wrath of God is raging, become wealthy from being poor, having emerged from penury into riches? Servants have become masters, and masters have been reduced to servitude. Those who walked about in the squares and forums [and] in the deserts...
have reached the cities. Some who had lived a chaste life fell into the hands of masters, and some sinners A and defiled persons have settled in comfort.
Let the Samaritans be ashamed. Behold judgment, when there is not yet judgment. Behold, before the resurrection, there is the proof of it. Tell me, I ask you, why did you deny the resurrection? Why do you disbelieve in it? Is Christ not a just judge? Certainly he is. Is there injustice with him, or respect of persons? By no means. What, then, I ask you, is the fairness of a judgment, that I who have lived my whole life in righteousness, faultless and pure, having neither murdered, nor stolen, nor sworn falsely, but having kept his commandments, have fallen into hardships B and shall make an end of my life in these; while men of blood, fornicators, adulterers, the ungodly, the atheless, and perhaps even idolaters live in all comfort, without suffering the slightest affliction in this age? Is this just? By no means. Is this without respect of persons? Not at all, unless there is a certain time and another age in which each will receive according to what he has done. Therefore, the resurrection is necessary, lest God be thought by some to be an unjust judge.
I, indeed, confess myself to be a man who is a sinner, a changeable animal of fleeting nature; C and I believe in the resurrection and worship the Creator. Now, however, I am going to the tomb, and I know that I shall not rise from my bed; I hold the sorrow and the labor of the captives, of the churches, of the priests, as my traveling companions. O the end! In what state, miserable as I am, do I leave things! I am going to the Lord; therefore I have not been reluctant to follow your bidding. D Yet since a testament among the dead is firm; there is no silver and gold with me; but what I, unworthy, have received from the Lord, this I will leave to you, and I shall discourse with you all a little now. Truly I ask this: do not turn away from me in my humility and put me to shame, but rather receive me willingly. For I shall cause you no further trouble. For this is my final exhortation to you: this is my testament to my brethren. This is the end of my discourse and the beginning of my appeal to you. But I ask and beseech you, not to receive it as from a teacher, but as from a brother: not as if a righteous man were speaking, but as a sinner, who have lived the sad days of my life in iniquities, impieties, and negligences. For do not look to the works, but to the speech and the words. Hear the Lord, and be shamed by him as he says: All things whatsoever they shall say to you, the scribes and the Pharisees, do ye: but according to their works do ye not.
Behold now, going before you, I shall make my testament to you: do you, as faithful and grateful people, not...
A treat the things that are said as void and worthless, we entreat and beseech you. For we wish to reprimand those among us who are more slothful. But let us speak first concerning them, and beginning, let us say: B Blessed art Thou, O God, who brought us from non-existence into being; who fashioned us from the earth, and returnest us to the earth, and from it miraculously raisest us up again. Before all things, I implore every soul that hears of our departure to be moved to compassion, and to beseech God that I may pass, without misery, without danger, and without hindrance, the principalities and powers C, and the bitter toll-collectors, and the world-rulers of this air, and having reached the air of freedom, may stand with boldness before Christ, and be deemed worthy of the portion of those who are being saved.
Then, let there be7 every diligence and every care and labor of all, that the Churches of God may be kept unshaken, holding the right faith undefiled, and having God-minded shepherds of their own. For where the shepherd is good, there the flock also rejoices. Where the shepherd is holy, there the sheep exult. Where the shepherd is experienced, there the wolves do not prevail. Where piety flourishes, there the people prosper. For we are tossed about by waves from nowhere else, but because the majority of the shepherds and governors have failed; and those who have been left behind do not possess great care or great diligence; but having become lovers of self, D they are not readily disposed to lay down their lives for the sheep; attempting to illuminate others while being destitute of light themselves; and offering prayers to God in behalf of others, while they bear within a conscience devoid of confidence; so that in them is fulfilled that which was said by the Lord: "Physician, heal thyself." And, "Cast out first the beam from thine own eye, and then thou shalt see the mote in thy brother's eye."
Hearken, O priests, ye who profess to sanctify the people! Ye who stand before the fearful and awesome table! Ye who have attained a dignity greater than that of the Cherubim. He did not dare to touch the coal with his hand, but drew it with tongs; but thou, with thy muddy hands, distributest the mysteries invisible even to the Seraphim. What sort of thing, then, ought that right hand of thine to be? How much purity ought it to bear, higher than heaven, more radiant than the angels, more holy than the Cherubim! And would that it were at least free from the impurity of sin! Do we not shudder, I ask you, touching such glory with our hands, and departing while holding such fire? We steal with our hands, we hold onto filth, we handle things which are not permitted, we seize the belongings of others; we strike our brother with them, we pollute and blacken our soul and spirit with them; yet we stand before the fearful and awesome table, and divide the members of Christ.
A For what? Do you stand in a meat market, O man? Imitate at least those who assist at a royal table; for they are exposed to corruptible and sensible things. But is there anything earthly done here? Ought you not to be altogether lifted up? Altogether on earth, and not in the air? Rather, in heaven! And not only that, but as one standing by the Master’s own throne, so you ought to be affected with horror and trembling. And why do I say, "as at the Master’s throne"? I know that what we say pricks many, but it is necessary that these things be said because of what is being performed. For now it is my intention to admonish, and to strike horror into everyone, regarding this divine and unbloody sacrifice. For perhaps it would be profitable for some to abstain far from it. For if he who eats and drinks the body of the Lord unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself; what then of him who ministers and partakes unworthily? And are we not ashamed, we who outwardly put on vestments, and wash our hands, and adorn our feet with shoes, and beautify our faces and heads, and have a pure and shining attire, while inwardly in our soul we are clothed with the vices of the devil, and have our whole soul darkened and its garment defiled; serving the Lord, therefore, in body and outward pomp, and not in spirit and in truth?
Do you wish that I should also uncover another most pitiable calamity and fall of us priests, the mere hearing of which causes fear and trembling? Let those who are suffering hear, and be corrected. For it is better to abstain from the sacred service, than, while being present at it, to cast wandering eyes upon beautiful faces and shapely countenances. B Tremble, O man; hide yourself in the depths of the earth, lest fire descending consume you. For if Moses, when he wished to approach the earthly bush, was forbidden until he should remove his footwear, by how much more ought we, C who behold, handle, and partake of Him who is invisible to the angels, to remove the dead works of the soul that are full of stench? For the bush is a mystical figure of this table; but the footwear is a figure of sins. Reverencing this fearful sacred matter, David said, trembling: "I will wash my hands in innocence, and I will compass thine altar, O Lord."
Awaken, O man. Why do you say to those who approach: "The body and blood of the Lamb of God, which is given to you for the remission of sins"? What do you say? You endeavor to cleanse another, and have no care for yourself? You say: "For the remission of sins," and you, by the very imparting of the mysteries, make for yourself a greater burden of sins? Consider that fearful table of the mystical supper, and you will find that all things were figuratively predicted for us therein. Let us see, I implore you, each one of us, how we stand at this, lest perhaps we too, like Judas, betray Christ to the intelligible Jews. D For when, while tarrying with Him in the fearful service and sacrifice, we give place to Satan in our heart, we have betrayed Him no less. But what does that fearful basin also admonish, and
A the girding of the towel? It teaches, clearly, the modesty and humility of teachers and shepherds. And what is signified by the act, beginning from the last unto the first, of washing their feet? Let those who seek seats of honor hear how Christ glorified the last; wherefore He also said: *The last shall be first, and the first last*. And while we do not trouble ourselves to be recorded as either first or last in the book of life, in the vain glory of men we run mad, and for its sake we devour one another.
Who is first? Who is last? Do you wish me to tell you who is first before Christ? Hear immediately whom He pronounces blessed: *Blessed*, He says, *are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven*. Did He say, "Blessed are those who are first in body, or first in dignity, or in diadems"? Not at all. For *all the glory of man is as the flower of the grass*. All power is like a midday shadow, even if some are puffed up at present. Where are the kings who have been from the beginning? For I turn my address to them; and they, too, are human, and of our same nature. Where are those many leaders? Where are the powerful? Where are the authorities? If they acted for the good, and preserved the souls entrusted to them, they surely exist in the heavenly realms; but if they neglected the flock, they surely dwell in the nether regions. *Be instructed, all you who judge the earth; serve the Lord in fear; serve Him in truth, and rejoice in Him with trembling*. For He appointed you on earth to hold His place. Be instructed by His philanthropy, and do not put off the petitions of those in need.
For he who presides over a people and acts as its head, truly finds perdition more easily than he gains salvation. For the groans of the oppressed do not allow his own prayers to ascend to God; but like an iron wall, they repel them and render them of no effect. Great is the danger to souls; great is the burden of these; fearful is their judgment, and perilous to the many. D Measure from yourselves, and so listen quickly to those in need, just as you hasten to be heard by God. Take up the affliction of those who beseech you, and execute just vengeance with speed. Do you not know that after the help from on high, all who are oppressed look to you? See, pay heed; do not receive gifts against those very people who are being wronged, which are able in truth to separate you from the face of God; be a pattern to all men, a good pattern, a pattern and example of every good work: a pattern of gentleness, and above all, of release from anger. Having before your eyes the future, impartial tribunal, and the incorrupt Judge, do not by means of gifts devour the sweat, or rather the blood, of widows and orphans. For *fire*, says Solomon, *shall eat up the houses of those who receive gifts*. Do not sell justice for gifts, lest you be judged as having sold Christ.
You have truly been brought into a great arena, where destruction—and the ruin of the soul—is easier than salvation. For if to judge one’s own private offense is a great danger, how much more so is it to judge on behalf of the people? Be vigilant, for you also have in the heavens a King of kings, a Judge of judges, a Lord of lords. A *In what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and in what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.* We are admonished concerning you: *Do not trust in princes, in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.* And rightly so. For he who saves a soul is like God the Creator; therefore, he who destroys a soul is like the devil, the destroyer. See that the devil does not lead you into pride, you who are clothed in purple and a diadem. For do not glory in that name, but tremble and fear.
Have you not heard the one who says: *The mighty shall be mightily tormented?* The Lord set you over the people for salvation, not for destruction; that you might have mercy on the needy, not that you might plunder the possessions of the needy. Assume a life pure from the stain of sin, you who are in authority, lest, when it is necessary for you to admonish others, you be put to shame. Reprove the restless; have mercy on the weak; pardon those who offend; take note of those who do not amend; welcome strangers; minister to the destitute. Do not say: "I am a king." Do not say: "I am a prince, or a head." When will you humble yourself as much as the Lord, who did not deem it beneath Himself to wash the feet of His servants?
B Would you like me to show you the voices of both a king and a patriarch? David indeed used to say: *I am a worm, and not a man; the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.* And Abraham: *I am dust and ashes.* Similarly also, John the Baptist used to say: *I am not worthy to unloose the latchet of the shoe of Christ.* Let us hear the humility of the saints, and let us emulate it. Wherefore, O man, do you think loftily? Is it by that name, because you are king, because you possess treasures, an army, servants? Because you excel in form, are wealthy in substance, noble in wisdom, or powerful in prudence? Who gave you these things? Who bestowed them? Was it not Christ? Were they born with us? Will they depart with us? Did we create them ourselves? By no means. But even if we received them, it was not for our own use, but for the relief of the poverty of the needy. Yet we behave as if we were immortal, and able to remain in riches forever.
C But even now, I beseech everyone—rulers and subjects, servants and masters, the noble and the ignoble—let us turn back, if you please, from the error of our ways; let us turn back from our former habits. For now is the time for conversion, as never before. Behold the time of repentance for the sake of the impending captivity. Behold the time of confession for the sake of the chastisement of our brothers. D
A Behold the time of prayer; wherefore let us attend with diligence to what is said, and let us not only listen, but also put it into practice. I entreat you, let us apply our minds; for when a royal decree is read, everyone runs, everyone is anxious and supportive; everyone seeks to learn. Truly, what do I say, when a royal decree is read? Even when listening to cithara players, flute players, and mimes, we stand by with great eagerness, so that we may be spectators of obscene laughter and contemplate the plays of unseemly things. If, therefore, we are so fervent and eager at the spectacles of the devil, what punishments shall we incur, we who stand in the churches with such negligence, sloth, and listlessness; and, as if from fire, are in such haste to recoil from our prayers? And what is graver, that when we enter the churches to have our sins blotted out, we sometimes depart having added to our wounds? And how shall I make clear what has been said? Not by condemning others, but by exposing my own defects.
Tell me, I pray, when we enter the churches and houses of prayer, for what reason do we go there? You will certainly say: To pour forth prayers; to blot out transgressions. To which I say: Why then, having entered for one purpose, do we perform the contrary? What are you doing, man? You have entered to give yourself to prayer, and do you gaze intently at faces and beauty that are not your own? To blot out sins: and by adding more to the former, are you not ashamed to make the house of God a workshop and tavern for sin? That you might contemplate the mysteries of the heavenly King, and instead you carefully attend to the works of the devil? That you might shed tears with your eyes and lift them up to the heavens, and yet, letting these things pass, you signal lasciviously to women therein? That you might receive the Dominical body in your mouth and enjoy the mysteries, and then pollute this by conversing with them?
B O wicked exchange! O the hardness that has taken hold of us! We do not even lift our minds to God during the time of prayer, but are occupied with our own transgressions even then. Let me say yet another thing more grievous than this. Often, when bringing forth our brothers, or when offering entreaties and supplications to God on account of the threats, we are occupied there too with the things mentioned above. And, simply put, we have enslaved our whole life to the devil. We sleep in sins, we awake in sins; in sins we proceed, in sins we depart; in sins we walk about in churches, in houses, in the marketplace, and among the tombs. And what is more senseless, that while we serve the devil thus, and at every time, in every place, and in every undertaking provoke God to anger, we nevertheless say, and as if wondering at some new thing, we say: Whence these threats? Whence the scourges? Whence the captivities? Whence such great wrath of God upon us?
D O great and, in thought, even greater hardness of heart! When we lay our brothers in the tomb, we do not come to our senses even at that very sight. Look into the sepulcher, you fools, and come to your senses. Look at the coffin and the urn, you high-minded, and do not be puffed up. Behold the bones, you deep thinkers, and do not be exalted.
A But if you are wise, and possess much discernment, teach me and explain to me, from those decomposed bones, who is the king, and who is the private citizen; who is the tyrant, and who is the weakling; who is the rich man, and who is the pauper; who is the wise man, and who is the fool; who is the youth, and who is the old man; which is the beautiful maiden, and which is the crone; which is she who blooms with beauty, and which is she withered by time. Can you tell? Are you able to point it out? By no means. Did they not all become dust, all ash? Are they not all full of worms and stench? Does not the same cup await us all? Is it not entirely the same path? Do not be led astray, you fools; let us not deceive ourselves, my friends. For all things pass away and perish; and just as a bird B from our hands, so do they suddenly fly off. Solomon, knowing this, said: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." David also, reflecting on this, cried out: "In the image man walks about, and in vain he is disquieted."
For truly, truly, you are disquieted in vain, O man; in vain you run; in vain you toil, struggling, tumultuous, bearing the surging tide of thoughts, gathering up the things of the world that will perish shortly after; things of a kind that will avail you nothing on the day of judgment. For even if we should gather all the treasures, we depart from this life naked, just as we entered. Naked indeed, miserable, gloomy, dark, broken, burdened, bowed C down, fearful, trembling, downcast, in pain, anxious, with faces turned toward the earth; and having prepared no good defense for ourselves. This is our path as sinners, who live our lives in cares and die in pains. Thus we are buried, thus we rise, and thus we offer our defense—or rather, thus we are put to shame before that bitter, that universal, that terrible, and to many dark, court of justice, that takes no account of persons, that incorrupt, inexplicable trial, and execution—where angels tremble, where thrones are placed, where the books are opened, and where the unquenchable, dark river of fire exists.
For just as lead or pitch melted by fire, so too D that fire is devoid of light. Where the savage worm is, and the sleepless one; where the lightless darkness is; where the dismal tartarus is, which shares in no heat; where there is constant wailing; where there is immortal gnashing of teeth; where there are eternal tears; where there are groans that shall have no end; where there is mourning greater than thought; where the voices of those being tormented are miserable and most sad: "Spare, spare, let us go, let us go; have mercy, have mercy; save us, save us; Judge, Judge." Where there is no laughter, but mourning; where there is no joy, but groaning; where there is no gladness, but pain; where there is no luxury, but a judge; where there is no wealth, but darkness; where it is not permitted to dance, but to draw sighs. These things are terrible to hear; but they are more terrible and more bitter to behold; and in the end, it is more painful and more miserable to suffer them.
A For what is it to see the whole creation suddenly rising, and being gathered together, and being judged, and giving an account for words, for deeds, for evil thoughts? And we must even give an account for our baptism, for the unworthy reception of the mysteries, for the priesthood, for neglected service, for those things which, at night and in the darkness, we provoked God to anger. Great, brothers, is the fear then; great the trembling; great the day; great the distress that will then occur, such as neither has been nor will be until that day, when night shall overtake it, when the voice shall come: "Behold the Judge, O sinners; O righteous, arise to meet Him." Then the angels run before, the trumpets sound, the stars fall, the sun is darkened, the heavens are rolled up like a parchment, the moon is destroyed, the stars fall like leaves, B the mountains shall melt like wax, the springs shall dry up, the whole earth shall be shaken, the abysses shall tremble, the subterranean regions shall be moved, and those of earth and heaven likewise. Things above and things below will be full of distress. The Powers of the King run before, the Seraphim cry out, the six-winged ones are shaken, the Cherubim are in awe, the tombs are opened, the bodies rise, the souls are gathered together; punishments are ready, and pleasures have passed away.
Let no one doubt the resurrection; let no one despise what is said. For they will truly come to pass, and they will truly happen. Let us hear the Lord saying: "And the Powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and all the earth" shall not be troubled? The Powers of the heavens shall be shaken, they who have never sinned, they who illuminate our hearts, they who always chant praises to God; and how then shall we stand at that time? C Great is the fear, unspeakable the trembling, inexplicable the distress, immeasurable is the shame then for those who are like me, when their fornication, their adulteries, their lies, their perjuries shall be led forth and publicly noted before D the heavenly and the earthly, before angels and men; how then shall they be ashamed? How shall they melt away? Great is that winter then; great the storm, grievous the calamity, distress beyond thought, wailing inenarrable.
Do you wish that we examine more accurately what pertains to that fearful day? For it is truly profitable to remember it every hour, by night and by day. What then does Daniel say? "I beheld in the vision of the night, until thrones were set, and the Ancient of days sat. His throne was a flame of fire, His wheels burning fire; a river of fire flowed before Him. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The judgment sat, and the books were opened. I, Daniel, saw, and my spirit was horrified, and the vision of my head troubled me."
O, the wonder!
The prophet shuddered only at the sight of the punishment; what then are we to suffer, when we come into the very things themselves, and the torments, standing naked, and burdened only with the load of our sins?A Then the tongues of the blasphemers shall be scorched by fire; then the bodies of the fornicators shall be burned; then the mouths of the revilers shall be crushed, and there shall be none to show mercy. Then the unmerciful shall be punished without mercy. Then the faces of those who pride themselves in superfluous adornment shall be blackened with soot. Then the eyes of those who look about with wantonness shall be darkened. Who shall show mercy? Who shall provide salvation? Where then are parents? Where are brothers? Where is the father? Where is the mother? Where is the friend? Where is the magnificence of kings? But why do I speak of father and mother? Not even the angels themselves, nor the martyrs, nor the apostles, shall be heard when they intercede at that time.
Let no man, brothers, deceive himself. For where God has closed the way against a man, who hereafter shall open it? Where then are the great ones? They are confounded. Where are the judges? They have been condemned. Where then are the servants who were beaten without restraint? Where are the maidservants who were burdened here by our labors? Then they shall be in good things, whereas their masters shall be in torments. Where is the superfluous adornment of the body? Where are the garments dyed in exquisite colors? Where is the testing of gold? Where is the clinking of silver? Where is the valuation of pearls? Where is the adornment of the hands? Where are the delicacies? Where is the varied wine? Where are the horses? Where are the golden bridles? Where are those who run by one’s side? Where are the servants who push back the crowd? Where are the proud houses? Where, in that formidable hour, are those who detract from the faith in the resurrection and the punishment, and who behave as if they were immortal? Where are those who heap up treasures and are not touched by compassion for their brothers? Where are the silken garments? Where is the fine linen? Where the precious shoes? Where the ointments? Where the vain perfumings, by whose expense beauty is procured for the young—and this while we see some in need of a crust of bread, and longing for the very scent of wine, and yet we show them no mercy?
C What then shall those splendid beds, now adorned with such ambition, profit you? Where then are those who reproach the poor and turn away from them? Whither shall they be sent, who despise those established in necessity? Where are the wise men and the orators? Where are those who drink wine amid drums and dances? Where, I ask, and how shall they lament, who indulge themselves in continuous laughter? Where are those who mock the devout? Where are those who are free from care and say, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die"? Where are those who despise the fear of God, and take no care for their own defense before that tribunal, but say instead, "God is most merciful, and will grant us salvation freely"?
D Alas, brothers, how then shall they lament, because they say and do exactly the things that were spoken of? How then shall they wail, and there be none to show them mercy? How many sighs shall they draw, and there be no one who is touched by pity for them, or who shall rescue them from their evils? How shall they then lament themselves, saying, "Woe, woe, we have mocked ourselves! Truly we have deceived ourselves. We have wandered in an error most grievous and eternal. We were taught, and we did not attend. We were admonished, and we scorned it. They testified to us, and we did not believe. Hearing the Scriptures, we interpreted them wrongly. Just is the judgment of God. Rightly indeed are we punished,"
A indeed we receive back for what we have committed.
Woe! Woe! For the sake of the temporary, filthy pleasure of the flesh, we are being tormented eternally! Because we wretches did not exert ourselves for a short time, we have excluded ourselves from salvation. For the sake of temporary glory, we have fallen short of that which is truly glory. For the sake of the body and impure pleasure, we have been deprived of the delights of Paradise. For the sake of vain riches, we have missed out on the riches of the Kingdom. In the vain age we have enjoyed ourselves; but in this one, those who did not enjoy themselves are rejoicing. Now those who fasted are delighting themselves. Now those who kept their body chaste and spotless and undefiled are entering the heavenly bridal chamber, dancing. Now those who wept are rejoicing; those who despised earthly things are receiving heavenly ones. All are rejoicing, but we alone, the miserable ones, have been justly condemned to torment for our deserts; and now we cry out, and there is no one to have mercy; we groan, and there is no one to save; we gnash our teeth, and there is no one to rescue; we weep, and there is no one to console.
That we, therefore, may not, together with those foolish and wretched ones, say such things in the age to come while repenting in vain, come, let us anticipate our own end. Let us forestall death, so that we may not be forestalled. Let us run to Christ while He is sitting at the door, receiving those who repent. Let us groan; let us repent; let us awake, I beseech you, from the sleep of our iniquities. Let us lift up our hands toward Him who is able to save, and let us say: "Lord, save us, we are perishing." B Let us only make haste before the sun sets; before the door is shut; before the gathering is dissolved; before the night of the Resurrection comes, and no one is able to work.
Let us not be deceived: there is no confession in Hades, no revocation, no repentance. Such are the doctrines of the heretics. Do we not see condemned men, so long as they are held in prison, if they can appease the judge through the ambitious pleas of their kin or through the abundant largesse of money, that it is well and good? But once they have received the sentence, there is no remedy. Let us, therefore, brothers, be ashamed at how much we provoke the Lord to anger. He confers benefits, protects, feeds, gives life; but we provoke Him to anger, we disobey, we exasperate Him. How long, brothers, how long shall there be pleasures? How long shall we not be sober? How long shall we be slothful? The prophets grew weary of admonishing; the apostles became exhausted of exhorting; the divine preachers are now heard among us as if they were speaking trifles. God is weary of chastening—if I may put it so. For He does not desire, nor does He wish to chasten in such a way; He does not like to strike, but that we might turn back. Let us, therefore, also obey Him; for we are always obeying the devil, and we diligently perform his desires.
Let us, therefore, show to the philanthropic God a repentance that is accompanied by care, and a meditation upon the day of judgment, and an abhorrence of sin in our hearts, and a changed mind, and a contrite heart. Let us be renewed again C by repentance, since D
we have grown old through sin. Let us change our life, that we may reconcile God. But how this is to come about, I am going to say: A Let each one examine his own conscience; let him ponder his own burden and his own evils. Let the thief, considering the threat hanging over him and the punishment to come, cease from stealing; let the fornicator take note, and make a covenant with God that he will cease from such filth. And if he should fall again, let him rise again, and let him wage war against the devil, and not yield to him even unto death. Let the liar no longer remain in his former habit, considering what is said: *Thou shalt destroy all them that speak lying*. Let the murderer repent: *For the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man*. Let the drunkard consider the hunger of prisoners, and the harm born of wine, and let him bring himself to temperance. Let the adulterer not despair of himself, but let him cut off the sin, and he shall obtain forgiveness.
B Yesterday we attacked our neighbor with insults; today let us accompany him with auspicious prayers. Yesterday we were slandering; today let us finish with slandering. Yesterday we were insulting; today let us repent for that reason. Yesterday, mindful of injuries, we cherished rancor; today let us forgive. Yesterday we were hoarding treasures; today let us scatter them. Yesterday we were puffed up with pride; today let us be humble-minded. Yesterday we were making profit through unjust usury; today let us distribute our goods to the poor. I beseech you, let us not continue to be what we are, lest the threats also remain upon us. Let us change what we are, and the wrath will cease.
Do not say: "I am a sinner, a lawbreaker, a murderer, a sorcerer, a robber, and He will not receive me." Man, say nothing of the sort. For why? Did God come for the sake of the righteous? By no means; but for the sake of us who are prodigals, lawless, blasphemous, unclean, gluttonous, fornicators, liars. For our sake He descended from heaven; for our sake He dwelt in a womb; for our sake He was spat upon; C for our sake He was beaten with rods; for our sake He was nailed to the cross. Therefore, let us be cleansed, and let us also offer to Him for all these things confession and a conversion of heart, lest He reproach us at the time of judgment, saying: "O sinners and wretched ones, why did you despise Me? Did I not become man for your sake? Did I not say, *I came not to call the righteous, but sinners*? Why have you not repented? Why did you endure anything for My sake? What do you offer Me, that I may receive you?"
What then, brothers, are we going to have then? Fasting; vigils; martyrdom; chastity; humility; an animosity-free spirit; mercy; love; long-suffering? Truly we are destitute of all these, nor have we done any of these things to offer to Him. But do you wish me to say what is going to accompany us when we depart? Do not let me cause you grief by speaking; for I shall tell the truth. It is possible to see what is present here among us, and what departs with us, and what will then be publicly shamed: injustices, hatred of brothers, envies, disturbances, fornications, drunkenness, avarice, perjury, slander, taunts...
false testimonies, heresies, dissensions. These are the stores of our evil; this is our iron chain. Therefore, I entreat, let us labor here for a little while, that we might not be punished there for a long time; let us struggle for a season, that we may not be tormented eternally. The time is short, but the judgment is long. The end is near, and the fear is great, and there is no one who looses the bond, and he who hastens conquers. A
Woe to the slothful, for he will seek the time he spent poorly. Woe to the negligent, for he will seek a drop of water in the flames. Woe to him who disbelieves in the judgment, for he will be convinced by the very reality of his torments. Woe to him who does not repent, for he goes to a strict judge. Woe to him who does not run, for he will lodge in deserts. Woe to him who despairs, for he is delivered over to harsh, unyielding angels. For whoever loses gold will find more, but he who has lost time will find no other opportunity for repentance.
Let us not spare the body, and lose the soul, but rather let us wear it down; for, *Blessed are they who mourn, who hunger, who thirst, who labor*, because they are destined to be delivered from eternal toils and punishments. The body is clay; and the hour will come, and the day, fearful and inevitable, when earth will go to earth, and dust will again become dust. B
Let us be watchful, I implore you; let us resume our journey, let us hasten; the final hour will truly come, it will surely come; let us not deceive ourselves. Let us imagine even that we are living in luxury; let us imagine even that we are wealthy for fifty or even a hundred years. Then, after this, what? Sickness. And after this, what? Frailty. And after this, what? That fearful hour, expected by all, and shuddered at, and [yet] neglected. Great, my brethren, is the fear that then arises. It is a great thing to see a soul stripped of its body by angels, and held to account by demons. Great is the hour of that necessity and of that separation, when our eyes shall be changed; when the voice shall be constrained by the constriction; when the tongue shall refuse its speech. Then we turn our eyes hither and thither repeatedly; the spirit is troubled; the soul grows dizzy, it twists its mind this way and that; it seeks for one to deliver it; and perhaps it begs of those who are standing by; and perhaps we even try to flee from the bed. We do not recognize the friends, brothers, or parents standing by us; or perhaps, if we do recognize them, we are unable to speak to them. C
We hear those who are mourning over us, yet we cannot console them. We see our children suffering and weeping, and we depart, carrying with us the pain of their orphancy. But why do I speak of children? It seems to me that when that hour seizes one, no one is concerned for children, or friends, or brothers, or wife; nor does any other care or sorrow possess him, except that of his own transgressions, and how he will encounter the judge, and what he will answer; and at what D
A hour the sentence shall go forth against him, and what place he is to occupy. Is it the outer darkness? Is there any hope of mercy left for us then? He suddenly reflects, and harsh angels, sent by the Lord of souls, stand by.
What, then, when we see them, being unprepared, how are we to be troubled, how are we to be torn apart and flee? We shall try to do so, but in vain. Then, fixing our piteous eyes upon them, with a sorrowful countenance, beseeching, supplicating, straining to fall on our knees, we shall say: "Have mercy on us, most kind angels. Do not drag me, destitute of every fruit and unclean, before the Judge. Do not cast me out, bare of every good work, from the body. Have mercy, imitating the Lord’s loving-kindness. Allow a short time to repent, to groan, to perform almsgivings. I beseech you, miserable as I am, be entreated, I implore you. Grant my plea, I beg, because I have wasted and consumed my own life in evil."
Hearing these things from us then, the angels say to us: "O miserable soul, where were you all your days? Why were you negligent? How is it that you now wish to repent? Your sun has finally set. Your time is finished. The time for the cutting down of that which is without fruit has arrived. God has commanded; who can turn the cup away from you? O wretched one, depart in shame; be separated in pain. Come, receive the sentence you have learned in the eternal fire, for your lack of order and for the account of those things which you have committed. There is no hope remaining for you from this point on. There is no salvation, there is no repentance, there is no recall, there is no mercy, there is no compassion. You have no consolation, there is no waiting, you have no loving-kindness; there is no longer any loving-kindness for you; there is no longer any tender mercy for you, you who are being punished, but only eternal torment."
C Hearing these things, and believing them to be true and not myths, let us strive to be prepared before that hour. "It is ingrained by habit," you say, "I cannot repent." Do you not see nursing infants, how little by little we wean them? Let us not deceive ourselves, brothers. There is a judgment, an eternal torment, and an unquenchable fire, and the worm that does not sleep, and Tartarus, and gnashing of teeth, and wailing, just as the Lord warned in the Gospels; and He does not lie, God forbid. "For," He says, "heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." D These fearful words of His, brothers, and that dread—that very hour of which we have spoken—let us keep in constant memory: in the evening, and in the morning, and at midday; in the marketplace, in church, in an assembly, in bed, in the bath; at the table especially, praising God, so that we may not indulge in delicacies beyond measure. May we never let forgetfulness of it take us. For the divine Scripture says: "Remember your last things, and you will never sin."
Indeed, for a moment, I will change the word of the Wise Man and say: "Remember, O man, our brothers who live in captivity, and forever you shall not sin."
A And I beseech you, let us not, as if composed of cruelty, forget them; but in every time and place let us remember them, just as we carry about in ourselves the memory of death, so too let us carry the memory of those others. If we are passing our time in houses of prayer, there let us most especially remember them with tears. And if again we happen to be reclining at table, even there let us remember the captivity, saying: "How are our brothers currently being subdued by famine, while we eat and make merry?" And if we be sleeping in our bed with our spouse, let us take up the thought of them, being struck with wonder, and saying: "How do those who are nobler than us, at this very hour, lie upon the bare earth in the deserts with the wild beasts?"
Are we not ashamed, brothers, nor do we shudder at the judgment to come, that we come into the church clothed in silk and fine linen, while we overlook our brothers lying naked and wretched before the doors of the church? Let those who deck themselves out and adorn themselves hear, and let them cease.
What are you doing, O woman, with things inappropriate for the time? Does not your conscience strike you grievously that, in such dread of the threatening of God, you adorn your neck, your hands, your feet, and your waist with gold and pearls, while you see your brothers—perhaps even those of nobler lineage and excelling in birth—bound in iron, and neck-collars, and stocks, and burdened and weighed down? B Do we not feel shame? Do we not shy away from such things?
But why do those who suffer from such madness speak immediately: "For this reason," he says, "God has given to me, so that I might enjoy them, and find pleasure in them." You are deceived, O man. Christ redeemed you; He gave you wealth so that you might redeem your brothers, so that you might have compassion on them, and through that compassion, truly save yourself. Quickly strip off the superfluous and useless, or rather, the harmful and ruinous. Be quick to hunger. Break your bread to the hungry. Save those who are anxious. If you see a naked man, clothe him, considering that you yourself shall go naked before the Judge. If you see a stranger, welcome Christ in him, who for your sake was a stranger upon the earth. If you find a debtor who is in straits, kneeling, beseeching, and begging for a release, be pricked with compunction; tear up every bond, whether he is bound by right or by wrong. C If you see one who is sick, quickly take care of him; have regard for the fact that you yourself are healthy. If a captive meets your eyes, weeping, falling down, wretched, tempest-tossed, moving from place to place seeking some help out of charity, scourged for Christ's sake, worn out, and being sold like a beast—let us impart not only money, but if possible, our very own bodies. For it is a good thing to purchase Christ who is being sold. For all judgment has been entrusted to Him, and He is about to grant the kingdom to us, as God.
Do we not hear what happened to that rich man? Because he neglected Lazarus, he underwent what he underwent. But now, today, among us many...