HOMILY 7 #

On Cheesefare Saturday, a Teaching of John Chrysostom on Spiritual Profit

The Lord said: If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not those who do evil, neither will your trespasses be forgiven (Matt. 6:14–15). By these words, the Lord God, as a loving Father, teaches us so that we may be saved. He loves us deeply, even more than a mother loves her infant.

Let us consider, brothers, how often we sin and commit countless wrongs, yet He is patient and merciful. If, on any given day, we sin before God, let us recognize His longsuffering. O man, if I were to say to you: Give food and clothing to the poor, you would answer: I need them for myself. If I say: Fast and keep watch, you would reply: My body is weak. If I say: Do not hold on to anger, do not repay evil with evil, do not seek out the sins of others, what excuse can you offer? None of this requires hardship to the body, giving away possessions, traveling far, or even giving alms. Simply pray to God for those who do evil, so that the Lord God may forgive your own sins.

If you do not forgive the sins of those who do wrong, you cannot be saved. Just as love is the root of all virtue, so enmity is the root of all evil. From the beginning, the Lord declared after Adam’s sin: I will put enmity between thee and the woman (Gen. 3:15). Yet many show love for the devil by following his will while bearing enmity toward their fellow men.

Brothers, if we pray to God but do not put away malice, we deceive ourselves. How can we pray, saying: Our Father, who art in heaven… forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (Matt. 6:9,12)? O man, if you say you do not forgive your brother’s sins, you are lying to God. For the Lord Himself said: If ye forgive, I also will forgive you (Matt. 6:14). You set the measure of God’s mercy upon yourself, saying: Forgive us, O Lord, as we forgive others. Hear the words of the prophet: If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? (Ps. 130:3).

O man, see how you bind yourself with your own words. If you do not forgive those who do evil, you will not receive forgiveness from God for your sins, and you cannot be saved. Consider how Peter once asked Jesus: Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? The Lord answered: I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven (Matt. 18:21–22). If a person sins against you seventy times seven in one day and says, I repent, forgive him (cf. Luke 17:4). For he that forgiveth shall be forgiven, and he that is merciful shall obtain mercy (cf. Matt. 5:7).

Believers, let us not hold on to malice for many days, for judgment is severe. If you quickly grant forgiveness when someone repents, you will quickly receive forgiveness from God. But if you remain angry for many days, it leads to the ruin of your soul. Even if someone suffers for the sake of the Lord, yet holds on to anger, he is unacceptable to God because of his wicked heart. Even if a person works miracles but does not let go of anger, all is in vain. If someone dies in such wickedness, he will be condemned even more than the Jews and heretics, for he has transgressed God’s commandment.

The wrathful and envious are worse than warriors, resembling a serpent: they bear enmity without realizing it, walking, rising, and lying down while harboring venom in their hearts. Such a person cannot receive forgiveness, nor will he ever attain virtue. Neither virginity, fasting, tears, prayers, almsgiving, nor offerings are acceptable to the Lord if a person is filled with anger. If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, go first and be reconciled with thy brother; then come and offer thy gift (Matt. 5:23–24).

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