Homily 40 #

On Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent: A Teaching of Saint John Chrysostom on the Fear of God

Listen, my brethren: above all, have the fear of God in your hearts. For if a man acquires the fear of God in his heart, he can be lifted away from all evil.

Be diligent and not slothful in going to the church of God, for it is purification for our souls and bodies. And in church, stand with fear—not speaking with anyone, so that even in silence you do not become a cause of harm. And not only must you stand with fear and trembling, but also with humility, listening attentively to the chanting and the reading of the Divine Scriptures, and gazing upon the most-honorable image of God and upon all the holy icons, remembering your sins and weeping. Be like the publican, not the Pharisee.

Above all, listen to your spiritual father and go to him often, confessing your sins and hiding not a single one—for God is the God of those who repent, but of those who do not repent and who increase their sins, the devil is their god. For if a man repents of his sins but conceals even one, thinking it to be a small fault, he shall receive great condemnation for it.

Just as a bird, if caught in a snare by even a single claw, is altogether lost, so too a man who conceals even one sin will find it heavier than all the rest, and as impossible to move as a mountain.

Furthermore, if your spiritual father gives you some rule of penance, receive it with love and keep it. You want only to confess your sins and be forgiven thereby, but you refuse the instructions and penances of your spiritual fathers. This is like a man who is wounded by an arrow, and the iron tip remains lodged within him. When the physician comes and cuts open the wound to remove the iron, if he does not then apply medicine, he cannot heal it. But if the injured man begins to endure the medicine, it will bring relief—even if it requires some small suffering for the sake of healing, in time he will be cured.

So also do we commit sins, by which the devil has pierced us; and the sin remains in us like iron. But when we come to our spiritual father and confess that sin, the father, like a skilled physician, draws out the sin like iron from our soul. Then he seeks to heal us with penance according to the wound. But if we are too weak to fulfill the whole penance, he lightens it, so that we may at least fulfill something, and not altogether offend God’s commandments or disobey the instruction of our father.

For the Lord says: “He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me.” And if anyone says now: “I fear God, but I do not listen to men,” this is a lie before God.

And concerning the partaking of the Most Pure Mysteries—this is a great matter, brethren. The great Apostle Paul says: “He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself.” Understand, then, how one must partake: first, it is necessary to confess all your sins to your spiritual father, from the beginning even unto the end. Then the spiritual father gives penance according to the sins, and when he has fulfilled the command and begun to strive toward other good works, then he may receive Communion. If not, it is dangerous both for the one who gives and for the one who receives.

And if it is evil for a man to kill another man—which often happens in war, or even apart from war—how much worse is it to receive the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily?

And if a man receives Communion without being corrected by his spiritual father, such a man destroys Christ within himself and will not obtain forgiveness of sins.

Therefore, every Christian ought to partake of the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ three times a year and repent of his sins; or, due to our weakness, at least once a year during Great Lent—and even that is a great purification. But if one does not do even this, and death comes upon him, it would have been better for him never to have been born.

Do not judge a bishop, or a priest, or a deacon, or a monk, or a nun, brethren, and do not look down upon them in anything; rather, love them all the more, for they are our intercessors before God. As the holy Apostle Paul says: “Brethren, obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account.” They must answer for us—not we for them.

And if you wish to go to them and speak with them about spiritual matters, or about the sorrows of this world, they, as sons of freedom from care, are able to comfort us in our afflictions. Or if you are in need of something, bring it to them—for in doing so, you are placing it into the hands of God.

Above all, have friendship with your ruler (the king) with all your heart, and do not even entertain an evil thought against him. For the holy Apostle Paul says: “Every authority and every dominion is ordained by God.” Therefore, “he who resists authority, resists the ordinance of God.”

Honor your parents as you would God, for through them we have come to know the world. A son is truly free when he buries the bones of his parents.

Love your brethren likewise. For the Theologian says: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar.” And the Lord Himself says: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” If someone has a poor brother or relative and gives him what he needs, such almsgiving will be counted as greater than any other before God.

And treat your servants with discipline and instruction in good behavior, without abuse or beatings, understanding that they too are God’s creation and were given to us by God for service. Therefore, you must care for their souls, restrain them from evil, bring them to repentance, and compel them to go to the Church of God. For you are the stewards in your own households.

If someone in your household is not baptized, or dies without repentance, you will have to give account for their soul before God.

Choose for yourself such friends and counselors who do not praise everything you say, but strive to answer with righteous judgment. For those who flatter you with pleasing words are not true friends, but deceivers of this world and destroyers of souls.

Above all, do not have pride in your heart or in your mind. You have heard that even from the beginning an angel became proud, and God did not spare him, but cast him into darkness, the abyss, and unquenchable fire.

Do not say that pride belongs only to the wealthy and those who live in prosperity. For just as wine has two effects—it brings joy to the wise, but sin, injury, and ruin to fools—so too with wealth: there is a kind of wealth gathered righteously, and another gathered through greed. A lover of gold is not the master of his possessions, but merely their guardian—a slave to wealth, not to God. A lover of silver would sooner cut the flesh from his bones than part with the gold buried in the earth or sealed away in his storehouse to give to the poor.

The Lord has shown us an example—not to think proudly or trust in the abundance of riches. Abraham was rich, yet not greedy. He did not love golden palaces, but sat under a tree, surrounded by branches, and there found salvation.

Abraham was not idle, but walked along the road, and whenever he saw someone poor, hungry, thirsty, or naked, he fed and clothed him. And when the Lord came to him, Abraham sacrificed a calf for His sake. Then the Lord blessed Abraham and Sarah his wife, and promised them a son, Isaac.

Do not boast of your lineage, saying you are of noble birth, but rather boast in yourself and in your deeds. If you say, “My father was a nobleman, my brothers were martyrs for Christ, and my mother was of noble blood,” remember what is written: “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” And again, the Lord said: “The sheep shall be on His right hand, but the goats on the left.” For the goat gives no good fruit—no good milk, no wool—while the sheep does all good things.

One righteous man can heal many; one good person can guide many; but one wicked person can corrupt many. Just as a maiden is called pure so long as she keeps her virginity—but if she is defiled and falls into sin, she is no longer called a virgin—so too a Christian: if he casts aside the words of the Gospel and begins to do pagan deeds, he is no longer truly a Christian, but only bears the name.

For the Lord said: “I will put enmity between the devil and mankind,” yet many men do the will of the devil. But Christians ought rather to cry out to God with fervent prayer, that He may drive away the evil enemy.

It is of no benefit for a man to be good in stature, but rather to be good in soul before God. For an oak tree is tall and beautiful in form, but it bears no fruit; while a berry bush lies low to the ground but bears fruit, and is precious to all. Which is better, the bee or the peacock? Which one produces fruit of value? If you confess your deeds to a friend who rebukes you, but will not confess your sins to God who heals you—what sense is there in that?

Scripture says: “Be not ashamed to confess thy sins to thy spiritual father, for by this are sins cleansed.” If you revere God, He will be at your right hand; but if you do not revere Him, the devil will be at your right hand.

The Lord says: “I have given thee two eyes, two hands, and two feet, that thou mayest walk in My commandments. But if ye will not obey My commandments, and instead do the works of the devil, then shall the sickle reap you unto punishment, unto evil death; and after death, eternal torment in unquenchable fire.”

It is fearful and terrible, brethren, to hear this—but even more terrible will it be to witness it ourselves.

Therefore, fear those dreadful torments, brethren, and always pray to the Lord God here and now, making pure repentance, and do not return to your former sins. Live a pure and virtuous life, forsaking evil habits and customs, and embracing what is good.

Above all, brethren, do not forget the orphans and the poor—give to them as much as you are able. Clothe the naked, love one another, for you know that “love is of God.” To our God be glory.