Do not judge, that you be not judged. Forgive, and it will be forgiven to you, that you may be sons of your Father, perfect and merciful, as your heavenly Father is, for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Let us keep these divine commandments with all vigilance, so that we may also delight in His divine beauty, saturating our souls with His most sweet taste: now indeed as much as those who are weighed down by this earthly tabernacle of the body can attain, but afterward more clearly and purely, when the righteous will shine like the sun, and, once delivered from the necessities of the body, they will be immortal like the angels with the Lord, in the great and glorious revelation of the Lord Himself, our God and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
II. Discourse of our holy Father John, monk and presbyter of the holy Resurrection of Christ our God, also called Mansur, on the withered fig tree and on the parable of the vineyard.
AIt was delivered on Holy Monday.
The self-subsistent Word of God and the Father stirs me to speak: He who did not depart from the Father's bosom, and yet was conceived without limitation in the womb of a Virgin; He who became what I am for my sake; who, being impassible in His divinity, clothed Himself in a body subject to like affections and sufferings; He who sits upon the cherubic chariots and yet rode upon a donkey's colt on earth; the King of glory, who with the Father and the Spirit is glorified by the Seraphim, and yet accepts the babbling of children from their innocent and guileless tongues; who, being God, exists also in the form of a servant because of the form of a servant He assumed; who, being immaterial and invisible as God, took on a body that is visible and palpable; who finally came of His own will to suffer, that He might bestow upon me immunity from suffering. For when He who is merciful by His very nature saw the creature of His own hands, the man whom He had fashioned according to His own image and likeness, deceived by the guile of the serpent, guilty of contempt of the commandment, subject to corruption, and liable to death, He could not bear to be deprived of the one whom He loved, but called him in many ways to a change of life and to repentance. He disciplined him as a thankless slave, and as a son acting foolishly in various and manifold ways; He moved everything to ensure that, having shaken off the yoke of servitude, man might return to his Creator. But it was not in the power of man to convert himself, having once enslaved himself to sin and having of his own free choice become commingled with earthly desire.
A For this reason, the supremely good Lord, seeing that nature had grown weak, takes it upon Himself. For seeing man disobedient to His saving words, commandments, and precepts, what does He say? "I must instruct the ignorant one through my deeds. I must take hold of virtue, so that, having been accustomed to these things, he himself might practice them. I must be revealed, and thus heal the one who is sick. I must turn back the wandering sheep and guide it to the ancient dwelling of Paradise." How then shall I turn him back if I am not seen? How shall I guide one who does not see my footsteps? For this reason He became man, so that through the things He did and suffered, He might instruct him who was ignorant of the manner of practicing virtue; so that, seeing Him who descended from the Father’s bosom to the earth for our sake in a providential manner, we too might rise up from the earth, which is our mother, to Him by our own free choice; so that He might display the exceeding wealth of His love toward us. For no one can show greater love than that one lay down his life for his friends. B How, then, could He who has no soul demonstrate this love?
2. For this reason He assumes flesh, so that He might be seen on earth and move among men. For this reason He assumes a soul, so that He might lay down His own soul for His friends. And by friends, I mean not those who love Him, but those who are desired by Him. For we, indeed, hated Him and turned away, enslaving ourselves to another, but He stood firm, having His love for us unchangeable. C For this reason He ran after us. He came to those who hated Him, pursued those who were fleeing, and having caught up with them, He did not rebuke them with harshness, nor did He lead them back with the rod or with stripes, but as an excellent physician, when insulted, spat upon, and buffeted by one who is delirious, He offered up healings. As a great measure of healing, He brought His own divinity to the nature of humanity as a medicine—a most active, an all-powerful medicine. This made our weak little flesh more powerful than the invisible powers. For just as iron is rendered unapproachable when united with fire, so the grass of our nature, having been united with the fire of the divinity, became unapproachable to the devil. And since the physicians of the arts say that contraries are the cures for contraries, He overthrew contraries by means of contraries: pleasure by labors, and pride by humility. D For not only did He humble Himself, being rich in divinity, by becoming man, but He also humbled Himself among men. For who among men is so humble? For He had not where to lay His head. He had no pack animal, no second cloak, no other tunic. Though reviled, He did not revile in return.
When He suffered, He did not threaten; as an innocent lamb He was led to the slaughter, not struggling, nor crying out. A When struck with blows, He willingly offered His cheek to the one who struck Him; when He was called a Samaritan and a demoniac, or was harassed in any other way, He bore these things patiently, so that we too might follow in His footsteps. He carried out all these things as was pleasing to the Father. For being from the Father, the Only-Begotten Son, and of the same substance, He demonstrated the Father's love toward us. For God and Father pursued us with such love that He gave His Only-Begotten Son as a ransom for our redemption—O insurmountable love!—giving the Only-Begotten Son, who reigns with Him, for rebellious slaves, for reviling enemies, and for those who worship the enemy and proclaim him to be God. O depth of the riches of the goodness of God! But the Only-Begotten Son did not stand against it; He did not disregard the Father's counsel. For He Himself was the counsel and the will of the Father. And so, as a participant and sharer in that B nature—for there is one nature of the Father and of the Son, and one will—He carries out the will as His own, and He becomes man, and becomes obedient to the Father unto death, even the death of the cross, healing my disobedience.
3. He comes, therefore, eager to suffer and hastening to drink the cup of death, which was to be the salvation of the whole world. He comes hungering for the salvation of men, but does not find fruit in it; for the fig tree signifies this in the manner of parables. For who is He that eats in the morning? He is the King, the Lord, the Teacher, Who, though hungering in the morning, is not overcome by the desire for food. He does not fail to master His nature, nor, like some incontinent and intemperate person, is He driven irrationally to food at an unfit time. C And how would He teach His disciples to fast and not to be overcome by the passion of desire? It is not so. But just as He spoke when teaching by parables in word, so also by deed He demonstrates the parables. He approached the fig tree having hungered. The fig tree depicted the nature of humanity. The fruit of the fig tree is sweet, but its leaves are rough, useless, and fit for burning. Likewise, the nature of humanity had the most sweet fruit of virtue, which it was commanded by God to bring forth, but on account of the sterility of virtue, it acquired the roughness of leaves. For what is rougher than the cares and anxieties of this life? For indeed, Adam and Eve were once naked, and they were not ashamed; naked in simplicity and D unaffected life. There were no crafts and life's anxieties for them; they did not devise how they might cover their bodily nakedness; they were not ashamed of their poverty, nor of the smoothness of their life, but even if...
A they were naked in body, they were covered by divine grace. There was no bodily covering for them, but they were clothed with the garment of incorruptibility; for as much as they were intimate with God through obedience, so much were they clothed with the garment of incorruptibility. But having disobeyed, they were distanced from the grace that covered them. They were stripped of their ecstasy B toward God and of contemplation; they saw the nakedness of their own body; they desired the pleasures of life; they were introduced to a life of simplicity and poverty; they sewed fig leaves for themselves and made loincloths for themselves; they sought many reasonings and found a life that is harsh, full of care, and sorrowful. *For in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread.* *Cursed is the earth in thy works; it shall bring forth thorns and thistles to thee; and thou shalt go away into the earth.* You had an earthly mindset; into the earth shall be your return. You were compared to senseless beasts; for you did not understand when you were in honor. You were in God, and you did not recognize virtue that bears fruit; but you chose rather the enjoyment of earthly things, having loved the life of irrational animals. You are earth, and into earth you shall go away. Like the irrational animals you shall inherit death. Hence also he is clothed with skins of leather. For being in the middle between life and mortality in the body, he who was previously in the paradise of delight and walking in the royal chamber, later acquired a mortal and heavy body, capable of enduring hardships. Indeed, the leaves of the fig tree are rough, just as the uneven wickedness of our nature is. To this fig tree—that is, to the nature of humanity—the Savior came, hungering and seeking from it the most sweet fruit, that is, the virtue most sweet to God, through which salvation is procured. C But He did not find fruit, but only leaves, the most rough and vile sin, and the evils that grow from it. Therefore, He speaks against it, that no longer shall fruit come from you. For salvation is not from men; virtue is not from human strength. I am the one who works salvation, through My passion granting the resurrection, and I grant the release from this most harsh life. This is precisely what He has done.
4. Then, having performed the parable in deed, He entered into the temple, intending to visit the paternal house; and He finds the wicked husbandmen, the high priests, who were indeed sitting upon the seat of Moses, showing themselves to be wolves, wearing the clothing of sheep outwardly, who were likened to an unfruitful fig tree, who did not have the most sweet fruit, but the roughness of leaves. For see the roughness of their words: *By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?* D See of what sort [index: entries preserved]
A is the sterility of your unbelief. When you ought rather to have said: "Excellent, good master, who didst raise Lazarus dead four days; who didst teach the lame to walk swiftly; who didst grant the power of sight to the blind; who didst heal the broken-hearted, and didst drive away every disease and every infirmity; who didst put demons to flight; who dost teach the way of salvation"—you say, *In what authority doest thou these things?* O ungrateful ones! And if he were to say to you, "Do you believe?" Since you did not believe John, but went out to him as to a torrential river, and confessed your sins as if to be baptized in pretense and appearance only, yet did not believe: if I say to you, "Do you believe?" O perverse and unbelieving generation! You are the wicked laborers who devour the vineyard B of the Lord Sabaoth. Which of the prophets did you not kill? The Father sent to you My servants the prophets, demanding the fruit of the vineyard. I transplanted the vineyard from Egypt through Moses, which I planted in a fertile land, having cast out the nations, and I portioned it out with the measuring line of inheritance; the roots of which I planted with the Law and the word of the prophets, and it filled the earth; so that its shoots reached even to the sea, and its branches filled the rivers of the nations. But you broke down its wall and hedge, the aid, namely, which the Law provided; and, as one destitute of guards, demons who travel the way of the world vintage it. The boar from the forest has ravaged it, and the solitary wild beast has grazed upon it. Of this excellent vine which I planted, fruitful and true, when my servants the prophets sought the fruit, him you indeed sawed in half, another you thrust into a pit of mire, another you stoned. Lo, I myself, the Son and heir, am present: reverence the prerogative of the Son, honor the dignity of the C paternal nature, of which I am a sharer. I indeed am in the Father, and the Father is in me; and though I have come for your sake out of my piety and mercy toward the vineyard: though I have descended to the earth, nevertheless I dwell in the bosom of my Father. Render to me the fruit of my vineyard. But you, truly, like wicked laborers, will fulfill the work of your fathers. They were killers of the prophets; you, moreover, will be slayers of God. Your malice will be more abundant. I am the heir, the cornerstone, who, although rejected by you, shall yet crush you myself. Furthermore, by me I shall join the two peoples, the earthly with the heavenly, although they are most distant. One Church of angels and men shall be formed through me: through me you, who are enemies, shall be reconciled to my Father. For I shall establish peace, and I shall set forth the pledges of peace, my very blood, which is to be poured out for the salvation D of the world.
5. While hinting at these things through parables, he did not persuade them. For they closed their eyes lest they should see, and with their ears they heard heavily. Therefore the light of the Gospel did not shine upon them. O ill-advised
A of the strange obduracy of the unholy priests! They condemned themselves, not knowing what they were saying. For they themselves passed sentence against themselves. Being asked what he would do to those husbandmen, they answered truly, though unwillingly: "He will miserably destroy those wicked men." B It is indeed just that the wicked should suffer from an evil [condition] that comes from their own choice. But he will give the vineyard to other husbandmen, who will give the fruit in its season. As priests and possessing the dignity of the priesthood, and yet (41) not knowing the truth, they prophesy. For the vineyard, which is the people of the Lord, has been given to husbandmen who have rendered to the Master a prolific and abundant fruit. "For into all the earth their sound has gone out, and to the ends of the world their words." How beautiful are the feet of those who preach peace, of those who preach good things! These, going as sheep into the midst of wolves, transformed the wolves into sheep; namely, the Gentiles who formerly persecuted them, they made Christ’s sheep, and acquired for the Lord a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
3. Come then, brethren, as many of us as have received the name of the faith, who have been deemed worthy to be called the people of Christ, let us not nullify our calling, nor let us befoul the faith by absurd deeds C (43). It is not enough to hear and be a believer only, but let us display our faith by deeds. For there were two sons, he says, to one father, and he said to the one: "Go, work in my vineyard." The one promised, but did not fulfill the promise. Then he says to the other, "Go." But he refused in word, yet in deed he accomplished what was commanded. And the former is blamed, but the latter is commended. Let us, therefore, call to mind the renunciation and the commitment that took place at our baptism. We renounced the devil and his angels and all his service (44); let us observe the renunciation, and not turn back like a dog to its own vomit. The works of the devil are adulteries, fornications, impurities, envies, strife, contentions, hypocrisies, slanders, deceits, D wrath, grudges, condemnations, blasphemies, incantations, idle talk. These are the signs of unbelief, mercilessness, affections, antipathies, love of pleasure, stinginess, revels, drunkenness. And the devil’s pomp: arrogance, vainglory, conceit, boastfulness, pride, exhibitionism, and the adorning of the body. Having renounced fellowship with all these, just as we committed ourselves to Christ, let us emulate the virtues contrary to these: chastity, self-control, poverty, patience, peace, love, compassion, almsgiving, the sharing with those in need, a modest appearance and garment and gait, true speech, humility, and above all, the reproach of Christ, so that we may share
in the sufferings he endured, becoming likewise partakers of his glory, offering unto God and the Father a living sacrifice, without spot, in the Church of the firstborn, where the dwelling place is of those who rejoice. B
7. But now, I turn my discourse to thee, beloved bride of Christ: love worthily Him who has loved thee. Open to Him the whole inner chamber of thy heart, that Christ may dwell entirely within thee with the Father and the Spirit. Cast out from it all that is earthly, that He may find an entrance within. For a house cannot at the same time contain both earth and the spirit of the air. As much as you admit the dust within, so much do you drive away the spirit of the air; and as much as you house earthly things in your heart, you will evict the Holy Spirit. Whence come adulteries? Whence comes whoredom? Whence come quarrels, contentions, envy, murder, and the whole swarm of vices? Is it not from the desire for earthly things? Cast away all vainglory, the parent of unbelief. For you cannot believe in me, says Christ, if you receive glory from men. Banish from your heart every 45 conceit, pride, and haughtiness. For everyone who is proud in heart is unclean before the Lord. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Deny all arrogance and self-satisfaction, that you may be subject to the law of God alone; and He Himself will lead you to the harbor of His will. Let it be far from you to admit another bridegroom into the bridal chamber of your heart. For your bridegroom Christ is a jealous God; He, I say, the most sweet, who alone is lovable, all sweetness, all desire. Open your heart to Him alone and cry out to Him: I am wounded in heart; Your longing has carried me out of myself; Your love, O Lord, has transported my mind. I am bound by Your love. Enter into Your chamber; I long to kiss Your footsteps. For I am not worthy to say: Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth. C Dwell in me and walk in me, just as You have promised without falsehood, and make me a temple of the All-Holy Spirit. Take possession of my heart, O Lord, and inherit it, and make Your abode with me, together with the Father and the Spirit. Stretch out and extend in me Your cords, namely, the operations of the Holy Spirit. For You are my God, and I will sing glory to You, with Your Father who has no beginning, and together with Your good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. D
III. A sermon of John, the humble monk and presbyter of Damascus, on Holy Friday, and on the Cross.
A 1. Our struggle of fasting is now brought to its completion; and it has ended in the Cross. For where else ought the end of victory to reach, if not to be terminated at the trophy of Christ? For the Cross is the trophy of Christ; once fixed, it puts demons to flight forever. B For where are the idols now, and the slaughter of senseless animals? Where are the temples and the fire of impiety? All have been extinguished by one holy blood, and have fallen. And the Cross is a power of great might, an invisible dart, a remedy lacking material substance, a wound-healing blow, a glorious shame; so that even if I speak a myriad of other things about Christ, even if by recounting a myriad of miracles I strike the hearer with awe, I do not take pride in those things as much as I take pride in the Cross. What is it I say? Jesus came forth from a Virgin; it is a great miracle to transcend marriage and to renew nature; yet if the Cross had not been, the first virgin of paradise would not have been saved by her deeds. But now, in the time of the Cross, a woman is saved first, healing the ancient evil with new gifts. A dead man rose in Galilee, but he died again; but I, having risen through the Cross, can no longer fall toward death. Jesus sailed upon the sea, God in a boat; the wood served for a daily need; but I have received the eternal wood, the good thing, using which like a helm, I push away the spiritual waves of wickedness. Five thousand were fed, and again seven thousand, under the one sign of the Cross. C Where then are the leftovers of the food? How can I, who was not present, receive the remains of those who were? For there were twelve baskets of fragments that remained over; the grace is exactly commensurate. Christ is crucified, and we are always fed; and when satisfied, we seek again, and having taken again, we desire, and the remainder is more. For grace suffers no loss. Let the day be praised that gave birth to the light, for which the remaining days were called to joy. How, you ask? Hear: Today Adam was fashioned, on the sixth day; today he was endowed with the divine form; today a small world was constituted within the world; today man, the governor, seized the fair helms of the inhabited world, holding authority over all living creatures; today he received commandments of free will; today he fell from paradise; today he was brought in again. D O multi-faceted day! O day of many sorrows and of no sorrow! O day that brought pain in the morning, but joy in the evening! Or rather, not so much one that wounded, as one that healed.
2. I confess to you that I am gloomy, reflecting upon the ancient calamities, hearing of Adam having fallen from his paternal home, a man who was a citizen of paradise, without