John Chrysostom, On the Letter to the Philippians

he was saved. 5. And Peter also was such a one from being shown mercy. For hear Christ saying to him: Peter, Peter, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat, and I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. And John was such a one by mercy, and simply all the apostles. For hear Christ intimating this and saying: You did not choose me, but I chose you. For we are all in need of the mercy of God; for the mercy of God, he says, is upon all flesh. But if these were in need of the mercy of God, what could one say about the rest? For whence, tell me, does he make his sun to rise on the evil and on the good? And what? If for only one year he withheld the rain, would he not have destroyed all? and what, if he caused a flood? and what, if he rained fire? and what, if he sent flies? But why do I say these things? if he made darkness, as he once did, would he not have destroyed all? if he shook the earth, would not all have perished? What is man, that you are mindful of him? It is timely to say now: if he only threatens the earth, all would become one tomb. As a drop of water from a bucket, he says, so are the nations before him; they will be counted as spittle, as the turn of a scale. As it is easy for us to move the balance-beam, so it is for him to destroy all things, and to make them again. He, therefore, who has so much power over us, and seeing us sinning every day, and not punishing us, does he not sustain us by mercy? Since even the beasts both exist and are saved by mercy; For you will save men, he says, and beasts, O Lord. He looked upon the earth, and filled it with living things. Why? For your sake. And why did he make you? was it not through goodness? Nothing is better than oil; it is the cause of light both there and here. And your light, says the pro 62.212 phet, will rise early, if you show mercy to your neighbor; and reasonably so. Just as this oil provides light to those who sail, so almsgiving grants to us there a great and wondrous light. And Paul had much to say about this mercy. For hear him saying at one time, Only that we should remember the poor; and at another, If it is worthwhile for me to go also. And everywhere you see him concerned about this from top to bottom. And again, And let our people also learn to maintain good works; and again, For these things are good and profitable to men. And hear another saying, Almsgiving delivers from death; and another, But if you should take away mercy, Lord, Lord, who shall stand? and, If you should enter, he says, into judgment with your servant; and another, A great thing is man, and a precious thing is a merciful man. For this is man, to be merciful; or rather, this is God, to show mercy. Do you see how great is the strength of God's mercy? This made all things, this created the world, this made the angels, through goodness alone. For this reason he also threatened Gehenna, that we might obtain the kingdom; and we obtain the kingdom through mercy. For why, tell me, did God, being alone, make so many? was it not through goodness? was it not through love for mankind? If you ask, why this and that, everywhere you will find his goodness. Therefore let us have mercy on our neighbors, that we ourselves may be shown mercy. We do not gather this mercy for them more than for ourselves on that day. When the flame of the fire is fierce, this mercy is an extinguisher of the fire, and for us a cause of light. Thus we shall be delivered from the fire of Gehenna through this; since from whence will he be moved with compassion and have mercy? From love mercy comes. Nothing so provokes God as being unmerciful. Someone was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents, and being moved with compassion he forgave him; and one hundred denarii were owed to that man by his fellow servant, and he choked him; for this reason the master delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay what was owed. Hearing these things, let us be merciful

ἐσώθη. εʹ. Καὶ Πέτρος δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλεηθῆναι τοιοῦτος ἦν. Ἄκουε γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγοντος· Πέτρε, Πέτρε, ἠθέλησεν ὁ Σατανᾶς σινιάσαι ὑμᾶς, ὡς τὸν σῖτον, καὶ ἐδεήθην περὶ σοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐκλείπῃ ἡ πίστις σου. Καὶ Ἰωάννης ἐλέῳ τοιοῦτος ἦν, καὶ πάντες δὲ ἁπλῶς οἱ ἀπόστολοι. Ἄκουε γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦτο αἰνιττομένου καὶ λέγοντος· Οὐχ ὑμεῖς με ἐξελέξασθε, ἀλλ' ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην ὑμᾶς. Πάντες γὰρ δεόμεθα τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ Θεοῦ· Ἔλεος γὰρ Θεοῦ, φησὶν, ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα. Εἰ δὲ οὗτοι ἐδέοντο τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ Θεοῦ, τί ἄν τις εἴποι περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν; Πόθεν γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθούς; Τί δέ; εἰ μόνον ἐνιαυτὸν ὑετὸν ἐπέσχεν, οὐκ ἂν ἅπαντας ἀπώλεσε; τί δὲ, εἰ ἐπομβρίαν εἰργάσατο; τί δὲ, εἰ πῦρ ἔβρεξε; τί δὲ, εἰ μυίας ἔπεμψεν; Ἀλλὰ τί ταῦτα λέγω; εἰ σκότος ἐποίησεν, οἷόν ποτε, οὐκ ἂν ἅπαντας ἀπώλεσεν; εἰ τὴν γῆν ἐτίναξεν, οὐκ ἂν ἅπαντες ἀπώλοντο; Τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι μιμνήσκῃ αὐτοῦ; Εὔκαιρον εἰπεῖν νῦν· ἂν ἀπειλήσῃ τῇ γῇ μόνον, πάντες εἷς ἐγένοντο τάφος. Ὡς σταγὼν ὕδατος ἀπὸ κάδου, φησὶν, οὕτω τὰ ἔθνη ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ· ὡς σίελος λογισθήσονται, ὡς ῥοπὴ ζυγοῦ. Ὡς εὔκολον ἡμῖν τὴν τρυτάνην κινῆσαι, οὕτως αὐτῷ πάντα ἀπολέσαι, καὶ ποιῆσαι πάλιν. Ὁ τοίνυν τοσαύτην ἔχων ἐξουσίαν ἡμῶν, καὶ ὁρῶν ἡμᾶς καθ' ἑκάστην ἁμαρτάνοντας, καὶ μὴ κολάζων, οὐχὶ ἐλέῳ διαβαστάζει; Ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ κτήνη ἐλέῳ ἔστι τε καὶ σώζεται· Ἀνθρώπους γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ κτήνη σώσεις, Κύριε. Εἶδεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἔπλησεν αὐτὴν ζώων. ∆ιὰ τί; ∆ιὰ σέ. Σὲ δὲ διὰ τί ἐποίησεν; ἆρα οὐ δι' ἀγαθότητα; Οὐδὲν ἐλαίου κρεῖττον· φωτός ἐστιν αἴτιον καὶ ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐνταῦθα. Καὶ ἀνατελεῖ, φησὶν ὁ προ 62.212 φήτης, πρώϊμον τὸ φῶς σου, ἐὰν ποιήσῃς ἔλεον εἰς τὸν πλησίον· καὶ εἰκότως. Ὥσπερ τὸ ἔλαιον τοῦτο τὸ φῶς παρέχει τοῖς θαλαττεύουσιν, οὕτως ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη ἐκεῖ φῶς μέγα ἡμῖν χαρίζεται καὶ θαυμάσιον. Καὶ πολὺς τοῦ ἐλέου τούτου ὁ λόγος τῷ Παύλῳ ἦν. Ἄκουε γὰρ αὐτοῦ ποτὲ μὲν λέγοντος, Μόνον τῶν πτωχῶν ἵνα μνημονεύωμεν· ἄλλοτε δὲ, Ἐὰν ᾖ ἄξιον τοῦ κἀμὲ πορεύεσθαι. Καὶ πανταχοῦ ἄνω καὶ κάτω περὶ τούτου ὁρᾷς αὐτὸν μεριμνῶντα. Καὶ πάλιν, Μανθανέτωσαν δὲ καὶ οἱ ἡμέτεροι καλῶν ἔργων προΐστασθαι· καὶ πάλιν, Ταῦτα γάρ ἐστι καλὰ καὶ ὠφέλιμα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Ἄκουε δὲ καὶ ἄλλου τινὸς λέγοντος, Ἐλεημοσύνη ἐκ θανάτου ῥύεται· καὶ ἄλλου, Ἐὰν δὲ τὸν ἔλεον ἀνέλῃς, Κύριε, Κύριε, τίς ὑποστήσεται; καὶ, Ἐὰν εἰσέλθῃς, φησὶν, εἰς κρίσιν μετὰ τοῦ δούλου σου· καὶ ἄλλος, Μέγα τι ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τίμιον ἀνὴρ ἐλεήμων. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἄνθρωπος, ἐλεήμων· μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦτο ὁ Θεὸς, τὸ ἐλεεῖν. Ὁρᾷς ὅση τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ ἰσχύς; τοῦτο πάντα ἐποίησε, τοῦτο τὸν κόσμον εἰργάσατο, τοῦτο ἀγγέλους ἐποίησε, δι' ἀγαθότητα μόνον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ γέενναν ἠπείλησεν, ἵνα βασιλείας τύχωμεν· βασιλείας δὲ τυγχάνομεν δι' ἔλεον. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ, εἰπὲ, μόνος ὢν ὁ Θεὸς τοσούτους ἐποίησεν; οὐ δι' ἀγαθότητα; οὐ διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν; Ἂν ἐρωτήσῃς, διὰ τί τόδε καὶ τόδε, πανταχοῦ τὴν ἀγαθότητα εὑρήσεις. Οὐκοῦν ἐλεήσωμεν τοὺς πλησίον, ἵνα ἐλεηθῶμεν αὐτοί. Οὐκ ἐκείνοις μᾶλλον, ἢ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς συνάγομεν τὸν ἔλεον τοῦτον ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ. Ὅταν σφοδρὰ ᾖ τοῦ πυρὸς ἡ φλὸξ, τὸ ἔλεος τοῦτο τοῦ μὲν πυρός ἐστι σβεστικὸν, ἡμῖν δὲ φωτὸς αἴτιον. Οὕτω τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς γεέννης διὰ τούτου ἀπαλλαγησόμεθα· ἐπεὶ πόθεν σπλαγχνισθήσεται καὶ ἐλεήσει; Ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης ὁ ἔλεος γίνεται. Οὐδὲν οὕτω παροξύνει τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς τὸ ἀνελεήμονα εἶναι. Προσηνέχθη αὐτῷ τις ὀφείλων μυρία τάλαντα, καὶ σπλαγχνισθεὶς συνεχώρησε· καὶ ἐκείνῳ ὠφείλετο παρὰ τοῦ συνδούλου ἑκατὸν δηνάρια, καὶ ἦγχεν αὐτόν· διὰ τοῦτο παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος τοῖς βασανισταῖς, ἕως οὗ ἀποδῷ τὸ ὀφειλόμενον. Ταῦτα ἀκούοντες, ἐλεήμονες ὦμεν