John Chrysostom, On Repentance

this they could not hear, the word of the Lord. Do you see how He calls poor those who are estranged from 49.327 piety? As poor, then, He pities the sinners, and as rich He demands from those who act righteously, forgiving the one group because of their poverty, but from the other, because of the wealth of their piety, exacting their accounts with great strictness. What He does for the just and sinners, this He also does for the rich and the poor; and just as He raises the sinner through loving-kindness, but makes the just man afraid through severity; so also in worldly matters He arranges His own economy. If He sees potentates exceedingly resplendent in dignities, kings, rulers, all who are preeminent in wealth; to these He speaks with fear, and usefully imposes fear on their power; And now, O kings, understand; be instructed, all you who judge the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling; for He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. Where there is the beginning of power, He imposes the fear of His kingdom; where there is the humiliation of lowliness, He offers the medicine of His loving-kindness. For this God is a great King of kings, and Lord of lords; this same one, again descending from His own dignity, is found according to Holy Scripture to be a father of orphans and a judge of widows, King of kings, Ruler of rulers, Lord of lords. Do you see the great abundance of loving-kindness? Do you see the useful fear of piety and of authority? For where He saw authority sufficient for comfort, He imposed fear for benefit; but where He saw orphanhood weakened by lowliness, and poverty by the feebleness of widowhood, He brought His loving-kindness for comfort. I am the father of orphans. He does two things: He shows loving-kindness, and He chastises power. He calls Himself father of orphans, so that He might comfort those in misfortune, and strike terror into those in power, so they might not mistreat orphans and widows; since death stripped the one of a father, and deprived the other of a husband, and those whom the law of nature destroyed, the rule of loving-kindness renewed; and the same grace gave to the one a judge, and to the orphan a father, the king of the saints. So that, He says, O unjust man, if you mistreat widows, you provoke the provider for widows; if you wrong orphans, you wrong the sons of God. I am the father of orphans, and judge of widows; but who is so daring in impiety, as to wrong the sons of God, and to mistreat the widows provided for by God? Do you see how usefully He prepares the medicines of piety, and frightens some, but pities others, not being divided Himself, but adapting to the dispositions of men? Let us then bring to ourselves, brethren, as a medicine for salvation, repentance; or rather, let us receive from God the repentance that heals us. For we do not bring this to Him, but He Himself has supplied it to us. Do you see His strictness in the law? Do you see His loving-kindness in grace? But when I speak of the strictness in the law, I do not slander judgment, but I proclaim the loving-kindness of the evangelical grace; because the law punished sinners inexorably, but grace with great long-suffering postpones the punishment, in order to bring about correction. Let us then receive repentance, brethren, a medicine for salvation, let us receive a medicine that erases our 49.328 offenses. But repentance is not that which is proclaimed in word, but that which is confirmed by deeds; repentance that from the heart itself erases the filth of impiety. For wash yourselves, He says, become clean; remove the wickednesses from your hearts, from before my eyes. What does the superfluity of the wording mean? For is not "Remove the wickednesses from your hearts" sufficient to signify the whole? Why

τοῦτο οὐκ ἠδύναντο ἀκούειν λόγον Κυρίου. Ὁρᾷς ὅπως πτωχοὺς καλεῖ τοὺς ἀπεσχοινισμένους τῆς 49.327 εὐσεβείας, Ὡς πτωχοὺς τοίνυν τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας ἐλεεῖ, καὶ ὡς πλουσίους τοὺς δικαιοπραγοῦντας ἀπαιτεῖ, τοῖς μὲν διὰ τὴν πενίαν χαριζόμενος, τοῖς δὲ διὰ τὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας πλοῦτον μετὰ πολλῆς ἀκριβείας τοὺς λόγους εἰσπραττόμενος. Ὃ δὲ ποιεῖ ἐπὶ δικαίων καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν, τοῦτο ποιεῖ καὶ ἐπὶ πλουσίων καὶ πενήτων· καὶ ὥσπερ τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα ἐγείρει διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν, τὸν δὲ δίκαιον φοβεῖ διὰ τῆς ἀποτομίας· οὕτω καὶ ἐν τοῖς κοσμικοῖς πράγμασιν διατίθησι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ οἰκονομίαν. Ἐὰν ἴδῃ δυναστὰς ἀξιώμασιν ὑπερλάμποντας, βασιλεῖς, ἄρχοντας, πάντας τοὺς ἐν πλούτῳ διαπρέποντας· τούτοις διαλέγεται μετὰ φόβου, καὶ ἐπιτίθησι χρησίμως τῇ δυναστείᾳ τὸν φόβον· Καὶ νῦν, βασιλεῖς, σύνετε, παιδεύθητε πάντες οἱ κρίνοντες τὴν γῆν· δουλεύσατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν φόβῳ, καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ· ὅτι Βασιλεύς ἐστι τῶν βασιλευόντων, καὶ Κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων. Ὅπου ἀρχὴ δυναστείας, ἐπιτίθησι τὸν φόβον τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας· ὅπου ταπείνωσις εὐτελείας, προσφέρει τὸ φάρμακον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ φιλανθρωπίας. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς οὗτος μέγας βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων, καὶ Κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων· οὗτος αὐτὸς, πάλιν ὑποβαίνων τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀξίας, εὑρίσκεται κατὰ τὴν ἁγίαν Γραφὴν πατὴρ ὀρφανῶν καὶ κριτὴς τῶν χηρῶν, βασιλέων βασιλεὺς, ἀρχόντων ἄρχων, κυριευόντων Κύριος. Ὁρᾷς πολλὴν ἀφθονίαν φιλανθρωπίας; ὁρᾷς χρήσιμον τὸν φόβον τῆς εὐσεβείας καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας; Ὅπου μὲν γὰρ εἶδεν ἀρκοῦσαν τὴν ἐξουσίαν εἰς παραμυθίαν, ἐπέθηκε τὸν φόβον εἰς ὠφέλειαν· ὅπου δὲ εἶδε παραλελυμένην τῇ εὐτελείᾳ τὴν ὀρφανίαν, καὶ τὴν πτωχείαν τῇ ἀτονίᾳ τῆς χηρείας, προσήγαγε τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν εἰς παραμυθίαν. Ἐγὼ πατὴρ τῶν ὀρφανῶν. ∆ύο ποιεῖ, καὶ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν δείκνυσι, καὶ τὴν δυναστείαν κολάζει. Καλεῖ ἑαυτὸν πατέρα τῶν ὀρφανῶν, ἵνα καὶ τοὺς ἐν συμφορᾷ παραμυθήσηται, καὶ τοὺς ἐν δυναστείᾳ καταπλήξῃ, ὥστε μὴ ἐπηρεάζειν ὀρφανοῖς τε καὶ χήραις· ἐπειδὴ ὁ θάνατος ἐγύμνωσε τὸν μὲν τοῦ πατρὸς, τὴν δὲ ἐστέρησε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, καὶ οὓς διέφθειρεν ὁ τῆς φύσεως νόμος, ἀνεκαίνισεν ὁ τῆς φιλανθρωπίας ὅρος· καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ χάρις τῇ μὲν ἔδωκε τὸν κριτὴν, τῷ δὲ ὀρφανῷ πατέρα, τὸν βασιλέα τῶν ἁγίων. Ὥστε, φησὶν, ὦ ἄδικε, ἐὰν χήραις ἐπηρεάζῃς, τὸν τῶν χηρῶν προνοητὴν παροξύνεις· ἐὰν ὀρφανοὺς ἀδικῇς, υἱοὺς ἀδικεῖς Θεοῦ. Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ πατὴρ τῶν ὀρφανῶν, καὶ κριτὴς τῶν χηρῶν· τίς δὲ οὕτω τολμηρὸς πρὸς ἀσέβειαν, ὥστε υἱοὺς ἀδικεῖν Θεοῦ, καὶ ταῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοουμέναις χήραις ἐπηρεάζειν; Ὁρᾷς πῶς χρησίμως κατασκευάζει τὰ φάρμακα τῆς εὐσεβείας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν φοβεῖ, τοὺς δὲ ἐλεεῖ, οὐκ αὐτὸς μεριζόμενος, πρὸς δὲ τὰς γνώμας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἁρμοζόμενος; Προσάγωμεν τοίνυν ἑαυτοῖς, ἀδελφοὶ, φάρμακον εἰς σωτηρίαν τὴν μετάνοιαν· μᾶλλον δὲ δεξώμεθα παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν μετάνοιαν ἰατρεύουσαν ἡμᾶς. Οὐ γὰρ ἡμεῖς αὐτῷ ταύτην προσάγομεν, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἡμῖν ταύτην ἐχορήγησεν. Ὁρᾷς αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τὴν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ; ὁρᾷς τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐν τῇ χάριτι; Ὅταν δὲ εἴπω τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τὴν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ, οὐ διαβάλλω κρίσιν, ἀλλὰ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς χάριτος κηρύττω τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν· ὅτι ὁ μὲν νόμος ἀπαραιτήτως ἐκόλαζε τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας, ἡ δὲ χάρις μετὰ πολλῆς μακροθυμίας ὑπερτίθεται τὴν τιμωρίαν, ἵνα ἐπαγάγῃ τὴν διόρθωσιν. ∆εξώμεθα τοίνυν μετάνοιαν, ἀδελφοὶ, φάρμακον εἰς σωτηρίαν, δεξώμεθα φάρμακον ἐξαλεῖφον ἡμῶν 49.328 τὰ πταίσματα. Μετάνοια δέ ἐστιν, οὐχ ἡ λόγῳ κηρυττομένη, ἀλλ' ἡ πράγμασι βεβαιουμένη· μετάνοια ἡ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς καρδίας ἐξαλείφουσα τὸν ῥύπον τῆς ἀσεβείας. Λούσασθε γὰρ, φησὶ, καθαροὶ γίνεσθε· ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν καρδιῶν ὑμῶν, ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου. Τί βούλεται τὸ περιττὸν τῆς λέξεως; τὸ γὰρ Ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν καρδιῶν ὑμῶν, οὐχ ἱκανὸν μηνῦσαι τὸ πᾶν; ∆ιὰ τί