ran to retrieve their integrity. This is the transformation of the right hand A of the Most High. For a rain of threats, the Ninevites sprouted a harvest of ten thousand blessings; they were melted down like some ancient statues. They were refashioned by repentance; from sinners they became righteous, beloved by the angels, desirable to God. They steadied the city that was tottering, they raised up what was falling, they made firm what was shaking. They turned, and did not turn back; they were changed, and were not destroyed. "For God saw," it says, "their works, that they turned from their evil ways, and He relented concerning the evil which He had spoken of doing to them." Oh, paradoxical events! The Judge reviewed the trial; He annulled the vote that was bringing death, and He cast the vote that brings salvation. The Ninevites repented, and God repented. Repentance tore up the decree of destruction. They tore up B their wickedness, and God tore up the sentence. Oh, all-powerful repentance! It is accomplished on earth, and it causes a change in the things in heaven. In the same way let us also, friends, repent; in this way let us fast; let us join good deeds to our fasting; let us abstain from evil deeds; let us fear the threat of hell; through repentance let us attain salvation from God. To Him be the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY III. On alms, and on the rich man and Lazarus (5).
C A. Great is the benefit of alms. Nothing else is equal to alms. No other virtue has such power to wipe away sins. Therefore, divine Scripture also says: "He who has pity on the poor, lends to God." If you lend gold to a man, he binds you with bonds and written documents. But with God, it is not so. Rather, you give to the martyrs, to the needy, and God calls [you] to repay the loan. He hastens to resolve the security for what you lent the needy, and He does not simply repay, but repays with many blessings, saying: "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." If you lend to a man, D there is no time when he repays the loan, nor does he even want to see your face; but God, having accepted the loan through those who attend the martyrs and through the poor, does not [merely] repay the loan and dismiss [you], but even makes the lenders co-heirs, saying: "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." When did the Lord prepare it? When? When you were offering fruits in the churches and at the martyrs' shrines; when you were observing the memorials of the saints; when you were lending bread to the needy; when you were welcoming beggars into your home; when you were clothing beggars; when you were [visiting] the sick and in pri-
prison—when you were doing these things, I was preparing the kingdom. A
II. But consider the greatness of almsgiving, for no virtue is equal to it. For He did not say: "You kept virginity for my sake." He did not say this. (But) "I was hungry and you gave me to eat." Great is virginity, and fasting, and the other virtues, but they are inferior to almsgiving. The five foolish virgins also kept their virginity, but because they did not have the works of mercy, they remained outside the bridal chamber; for the five prudent ones had mercy along with their virginity; that is why they entered the bridal chamber. B But the five foolish ones preserved only their virginity, thinking that by that very thing they would enter into the kingdom of heaven, and they did not acquire anything else—not almsgiving, nor anything else. That is why the Lord also says to them: "Depart from me, I do not know you." That is why they were also called foolish, because they kept only their virginity and did not perform works of mercy.
III. For just as if someone lights a lamp and does not pour in the oil, it is extinguished; just so, if someone keeps virginity, but does not nourish the poor with the oil of almsgiving, he has gained nothing. Great is the commerce of almsgiving. If you desire to buy a garment or oxen, you take up expenses and silver, and you set out to the market, and burning with heat, sometimes you are hungry and thirsty. C And having endured all these things, you can barely succeed in your purpose; and when you succeed, the seller will not give as you wish, but as he himself pleases. You swear, "I will not buy it for so much"; he swears, "I will not sell it for so much." And between you, the first sin is born, just as Solomon said: "Between selling and buying sin will be generated." For it is necessary that one or both of you commit perjury; which often occurs with not even one word by the buyer or the seller. Sometimes, after so many labors, you are not certain of having what you desire to possess. For often before you reach your house, either that which was bought dies, or is lost, or is found to be worthless, and a double trouble happens to you. D But for the sake of the kingdom of God, you undergo nothing of this kind; you do not endure the labor of a journey, and the exhaustion of the heat, nor the pain of frustrated hope: nothing of these, I say. But while you are sitting at home, a poor man comes who sells Paradise, and he says: "Give bread and receive Paradise; give a piece of a worn-out garment and receive the kingdom of heaven." And I do not tell you for how much, so that you do not hesitate, pleading poverty. For as much as you wish, buy Paradise. Give bread. You haven't bread? Give an obol, give a cup of cold water. Give what you wish, what you have: I receive everything. Only buy Paradise. Imitate that admirable
A widow, who gave a handful of meal and returned the kingdom of heaven. And again, another widow, the one mentioned in the Gospel, having nothing else at all but only two mites, and even these she cast into the treasury, and she purchased Paradise.
IV. He who sells Paradise does not ask for money, but for a merciful soul and a ready heart. Give to the poor man, and acquire God as your debtor. He who takes pity on the poor man lends to God. And when, he says, does He who has been lent to pay back? When? When, leaving behind your properties, your houses, your gold, your clothing, and all other things, you depart naked and have abandoned everything; then He who has been lent to, pays back with thanksgiving. Send your wealth there before you, and then you too depart. Do not wait for gold, do not keep it. Life is uncertain; you do not know when you will depart this life. For as a thief in the night, so death comes. At an hour you do not know and do not expect, it arrives; and your wealth remains here, while there you will desire a B drop of water so that you may moisten your lips, while meanwhile others here divide your life between them.
V. Just so did that rich man, who exists in the fire, also desire a drop of water, and he entreated Abraham, saying: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that with the tip of his finger he might moisten my lips, for I am tormented in this flame." This rich man, when he was upon the earth, used to dress in purple, and fine linen, and silk; and he used to go forth conveyed by a chariot. His horses were white-spotted, adorned with gold and silver, and their legs were bound with gold. C Boys were running before and after, wearing gold collars, bracelets, and necklaces; and, to speak briefly, he used to go forth in great pomp. And at his banquet, immense gold was in service, and silver in unspeakable abundance, wine most precious, pheasants, geese, purple-hens, partridges, doves, fowl, hares, lambs, kids, and a multitude of cooks making a clamor. Others were fanning so that not a single speck of dust might settle upon his head; others holding silver basins, and clean linen clothes, were ready, wiping the tips of his fingers while he lay at table. And look at the inhumanity and the shame.
VI. All were laboring—such bloodshed and clamor, just to satisfy the belly of that one rich man. And after the D filling of it with the luxurious foods, there were prepared for him ivory beds, pillows filled with goose feathers, and clean, delicate linen sheets. And as he was unable to sleep because of the heaviness of his head, some were massaging his feet, others were attending to the house, guarding the doors and the windows lest any noise, or any shouts, or
A any noise whatsoever might wake him. Such was the spectacle of that rich man.
VII. Now there was a certain poor man named Lazarus, and he had been cast at the gate of the rich man, full of sores, and longing to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; and no one gave to him. For the rich man saw him, and turned away his face, loathed him, spat, passed by, or rather looked aside. The wretch did not say: "This is a man just like me. The same hand created both of us; he is my fellow tribesman and of the same nature." He did not incline his mind, he was not softened to mercy. He did not pity the man cast in such great infirmity at his gate. For the dogs, coming and seeing him lying thus, and the pus streaming from his limbs, showing great compassion, as if approaching with a kind of sponge, kept licking the pus from his limbs with their tongues, licking around them as if some excellent physicians treating his wounds, keeping their mouths intently focused as a sign of good will, and taking diligent care lest by chance the venom of their teeth might reach and injure any part of the righteous man. O the cruelty of the rich man! The dogs displayed the art of medicine for the sufferer; they, having no knowledge of God, nor awaiting a resurrection, pressed themselves to the healing of the poor man. Yet the rich man, who knew that he would stand before that terrible tribunal, did not pity the poor man.
VIII. Have you seen the display and luxury of this rich man here? Have you seen the condition and the austerity of the poor man, who had no place? The one glorious, the other ignoble; the one living in pleasures, the other prostrate in infirmity; the one abounding in such great riches, yet he had no memory of God; the other, lying in such great infirmity, did not speak a word against God. Come, therefore, let us see the end of both in that eternity.
IX. It happened, he says, that the rich man died and was carried off into eternal punishment. But Lazarus also died, and was carried by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And while the rich man was in the fire, he saw Lazarus resting in the bosom of Abraham, and he recognized him. And he cried out, saying: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger and cool my lips, for I am tormented in this flame." Where are the riches? Where is the gold? Where is the silver? Where is the silver-paneled ceiling? Where is the pomp of servants? Where is the poured-out wine? And now you seek and desire a drop of water? "Have mercy on me, Father Abraham?" O wretched rich man! When Lazarus was lying at your gate, you did not want to recognize him; and now you desire Lazarus to help you? Have mercy on me? But indeed, your plea will prove useless. The time of mercy has passed. For there...
A is no mercy there. For judgment is without mercy to one who has not shown mercy (Jas II, 13). Why do you desire mercy, which you did not acquire while on earth? "Have mercy on me, Father Abraham, and send Lazarus, so that he may cool my lips with his little finger, for I am tormented in this flame." With what finger, O rich man? The one you did not even deign to feed at your table? At that time, you did not want to look at his hands, but loathed them; and now you beg him to touch your tongue? "Have mercy on me, Father Abraham." How do you call him father, when you have not done the deeds of a son? He is a father to those who live in the light. There is no harmony between light and darkness. Do not call him father. For according to your unmerciful ways, you are a son of darkness and of Gehenna. But how do you call him father, when you have not shown mercy to his son, Lazarus?
B X. But this great patriarch did not overwhelm him with sorrow; he did not add pain; he did not strike him with words; he did not deny our common human nature. But with a gentle voice and a cheerful countenance, he answered, saying: "Child, you received your good things on earth, and Lazarus the bad things. Therefore he finds rest here, and you are tormented" (Luc. XVI, 25). "Moreover, there is a great chasm between you and us, and no one can cross it from us to you" (Luc. XVI, 26).
XI. Have you seen the end of the rich man? Have you seen the fleeting nature of luxury? Do not delay in giving what is yours to the poor. Never put it off until tomorrow. For you do not know what tomorrow will bring (Prov. XXVII, 1). Why do you heap up riches which, after a short time, you leave behind against your will, and depart sorrowing, and desire there a drop of water, while others here distribute your C wealth and remember your name no more? For often your heirs even dig up your bones, cursing you. Send your wealth ahead to the endless age that is to come. That carrier there grants you the transport for free. Here, if you want to move your wealth from one city to another, you must hire beasts of burden, mercenary camels, mules, and guards armed with swords along the road, lest some wicked men attack and plunder your wealth. But if you wish to transport your wealth into that world, you endure no labor, spend no fee, suffer no harm, nor do you go out of your house. But you sit in the city in great quiet, and the poor man comes D to your door, seeking to transport your wealth into the endless age there. And you do not give him, by your own will, even one obol? Reflect, O man, if you wish to possess immortal riches. Give into the hands of the poor, and you will find there one with whom you may lodge. Do not fear, because the poor are without assessment; their vessel is rich and be-
...preparing hospitality for you there. Do not fear that the poor are destitute; there is a rich and generous guarantor. For he who has mercy on the poor lends to God.
XII. Let us fear that day, the day on which the master of the house calls the laborers for the harvesting of the wheat, and will gather the wheat into the barns, but will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. The master of the house is the Lord, and the laborers are the angels, who gather the world for judgment in that hour and day. And they will gather the righteous into the eternal tabernacles which the Lord, having been taken up, prepared, but the sinners into the eternal fire. Let us strive, therefore, to be found as good grain through almsgiving, that we may enter into the eternal tabernacles. With whom, B together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, and worship to the ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY IV.
On the ten thousand talents and the hundred denarii, and on not bearing grudges.
Bless me, father.The blessed apostle Paul, that vessel of election who had Christ speaking within himself, writing to those in Rome, said: "The night has advanced, the day of salvation has drawn near. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light, that we may walk honorably as in the day." Therefore, we too, brothers, let us show a certain zeal; let us send up assiduous prayers to the Master; let us be poured out in tears; let us unceasingly condemn the evils we have committed; let us lay open our wounds to Him as to the physician of our souls, and show Him the sores of the soul, and seek from Him the remedy. Let us bridle and uproot the passions that disturb our reason; let us not permit the desire for riches to lord it over us, nor let us harbor a memory of injuries or enmity toward our neighbor. For nothing moves the wrath of God and His rejection so much as a man who is mindful of injuries and continually keeps hatred against his neighbor. For the ruinousness of this sin is so great that it even turns away the mercy of God. And that you may learn this, I wish to remind you of the parable that is read in the holy Gospel, concerning the servant who obtained the remission of the ten thousand talents after he had fallen down as a suppliant and begged the Lord. His lord, moved by mercy, granted him pardon and remitted the debt. Did you see the kindness of the Lord? That servant, falling down, was pleading as a suppliant that a delay be given to him: "Have patience with me," he said, "and I will pay you everything." But the kind, indulgent, and merciful Lord, moved by the prayers of the servant, granted him as much as he neither asked nor could have imagined. For thus God is always accustomed to surpass and forestall our petitions. C D