Homily 17 #

On Monday of the Second Week of the Fast: A Sermon of Saint Cyril the Monk on the Fear of God

Beloved brethren and sisters, have ever before your eyes the fear of God, and remember the hour of death and those dreadful torments prepared for sinners. Let us fear the kinship of fire, for it is eternal; and the fire itself, for it is unquenchable. Let us fear Tartarus, for it shall never be tempered by warmth; and the darkness, for light shall never be therein. Let us fear the worm, for it never sleepeth, being immortal; and the angels who stand over the torments, for they are stern and without mercy. For to all who do not fulfill the will of God, the condemnation shall be grievous.

Brethren, either let us cease from doing evil, fearing the torments that bring ruin to the soul, or, if we desire the heavenly kingdom, let us strive to live virtuously in this fleeting world. For all that is of this world is temporal and perishable: riches and the glory of man are taken away by death. But there, all things are incorruptible, neither having an end nor a reckoning of years nor a change of times. Let us therefore fear, brethren, the eternal torments prepared for the devil—unquenchable fire and the venomous worm. For if here, in the warmth of a bath, we cannot endure the scalding spray of water upon our flesh, how then shall we endure the burning and dreadful fire, and the torment of boiling pitch? If here we cannot endure the sting of a gnat or the bite of a fly, how then, brethren, shall we endure the ever-wakeful and dreadful worm?

But let us, beloved, strive to escape the eternal torments through good works, through purity, through almsgiving, and through sincere love. For hypocrisy is when one is ashamed of the rich, yet perverteth justice for a bribe against the orphan, and bringeth affliction upon the poor. Have ye, therefore, true and unfeigned love toward all; cast away all enmity and wrath, and flee drunkenness, for in much drinking every evil is accomplished. Let us cast away, through repentance, envy, fornication, guile, and all other wickedness, that we may become heirs of the Kingdom of God.

O beloved ones! We see how swiftly this life cometh to an end: for many lay themselves down upon their beds in the evening, but arise not in the morning, having departed from this life. What then can a man do for his salvation in that hour? He can neither repent nor receive the Body and Blood of the Son of God. In whatsoever state death shall overtake us, in that shall God judge us—whether in virtue or in wickedness. Therefore, brethren, let us take heed unto ourselves and judge not the sins of others. For if we judge not, neither shall we ourselves be judged. For each of us shall give answer before God for his own deeds, and none shall there help another—neither shall a father aid his son, nor a son his father, nor a brother his brother. But every man shall be saved or lost according to his own works.

To our God be glory, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.