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deprived of heavenly goods. Do not prefer (149) anything of earthly things any longer, nor let any desire for perishable things overcome you, lest you be stripped of the glory with which you were glorified by Christ and, as one not clothed in a wedding garment, you be bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Faith in Christ is the new paradise. Therefore, He foreknew before the foundation of the world all those who believed and were to believe in Him; whom He also called and until the consummation He will not cease calling, and He glorified and will glorify, and He justified and will justify, making them conformed, that is, to the glory of the image of His Son through holy baptism and the grace of the Spirit, mystically making them all sons of God and restoring them as new from old and from mortal to immortal and giving them commandments, as once to Adam. All those, therefore, who keep all His commandments until death, these also show their love for God and ascend to a greater glory according to their progress. But all those who are found to be despisers and negligent and ungrateful toward their benefactor and do not keep the commandments given by Him, fall away from such goods, as Adam from paradise, not because they were not foreknown by God but suffering this from their own folly and wickedness. For this reason indeed God placed in the midst of this paradise the saving remedy, repentance, so that those who through sloth and negligence fall from eternal life may through repentance return to it again with a more brilliant and manifest glory; for if the man-befriending God had not built this, no flesh would have been saved.

(150) Therefore, having left aside all other care, let us take care for repentance with all our strength, so that we may obtain both the present and the future goods by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.

DISCOURSE 3 (151)

On the saying of the Apostle in which he says: "And I knew such a man caught up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to hear." What then are the unspeakable words that Paul heard? And what are the goods "which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and have not entered into the heart of man"? What or how will and is the kingdom of God for us, and what is its working within us?

Since the Master of all things plainly cries out daily through the

gospels, saying some things obscurely, when He speaks in parables, and interpreting others privately to His own disciples, saying thus: "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables," and sometimes He says all things openly and revealed to all of us, as the apostles say to Him: "Behold," they say, "now you are speaking plainly and using no figure of speech," it is necessary to seek and learn which are the things spoken plainly and revealed, and which were spoken in parables by the Lord and God. Therefore, the commandments are clear and plain when the Evangelist says: "The Lord said: love your enemies,

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οὐρανίων στερούμενος ἀγαθῶν. Μή προτιμήσῃς ἔτι (149) τῶν ἐπιγείων τινός μηδέ ἐπιθυμία τις τῶν φθειρομένων κατακρατήσῃ σου, ἵνα γυμνωθῇς τῆς δόξης ἧς ἐδοξάσθης παρά Χριστοῦ καί ὡς μή ἐνδεδυμένος ἔνδυμα γάμου δεθήσῃ χεῖρας καί πόδας καί ἐκβληθήσῃ εἰς τό σκότος τό ἐξώτερον ἐν ᾧ ὑπάρχει ὁ κλαυθμός καί ὁ βρυγμός τῶν ὀδόντων.

Ἡ εἰς Χριστόν πίστις ὁ νέος ἐστί παράδεισος. ∆ιό καί προέγνω πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου πάντας τούς πιστεύσαντας καί πιστεῦσαι ὀφείλοντας εἰς αὐτον· οὕς καί ἐκάλεσε καί μέχρι συντελείας καλῶν οὐ παύσεται, καί ἐδόξασε καί δοξάσει, καί ἐδικαίωσε καί δικαιώσει, συμμόρφους δηλονότι τῆς δόξης τῆς εἰκόνος τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ διά τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος καί τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριτος ἀποδεικνύων αὐτούς, υἱούς Θεοῦ πάντας αὐτούς μυστικῶς ἐργαζόμενος καί καινούς ἀπό παλαιῶν καί ἐκ θνητῶν ἀθανάτους αὐτούς ἀποκαθιστῶν καί διδούς αὐτοῖς ἐντολάς, καθώς ποτε τῷ Ἀδάμ. Ὅσοι τοιγαροῦν μέχρι θανάτου πάσας τάς αὐτοῦ ἐντολάς φυλαξουσιν, οὗτοι καί τήν πρός Θεόν ἀγάπην ἐπιδείκνυνται καί εἰς μείζονα κατά προκοπήν δόξαν ἀνέρχονται. Ὅσοι δέ καταφρονηταί καί ἀμελεῖς καί ἀγνώμονες περί τόν εὐεργέτην ὀφθῶσι καί τάς δοθείσας παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐντολάς οὐ φυλάξουσι, τῶν τοιούτων ἀγαθῶν, ὡς ὁ Ἀδάμ τοῦ παραδείσου, ἐκπίπτουσι, οὐχί παρά τό μή προεγνῶσθαι αὐτούς παρά τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλλ᾿ ἐξ οἰκείας ἀφροσύνης καί πονηρίας τοῦτο πανθάνοντες. ∆ιά δή τοῦτο καί μέσον τοῦ παραδείσου τούτου προέθετο ὁ Θεός τό σωτήριον φάρμακον, τήν μετάνοιαν, ὡς ἄν οἱ ἐκ ῥᾳθυμίας καί ἀμελείας ἐκπίπτοντες τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς διά τῆς μετανοίας πάλιν μετά λαμπροτέρας καί περιφανεστέρας δόξης εἰς αὐτήν ἐπανέρχωνται· εἰ μή γάρ τοῦτο ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεός ᾠκοδόμησεν, οὐκ ἄν ἐσώθη πᾶσα σάρξ.

(150) Τοίνυν καί πᾶσαν ἄλλην μέριμναν καταλιπόντες, τῆς μετανοίας ὅση δύναμις ἐπιμελησώμεθα, ἵνα καί τῶν παρόντων καί τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιτύχωμεν ἀγαθῶν χάριτι καί φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ᾧ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

ΛΟΓΟΣ Γ΄ (151)

Εἰς το ῥητόν τοῦ Ἀποστόλου ἐν ᾧ λέγει· "Καί εἶδον τόν τοιοῦτον εἰς τρίτον οὐρανόν ἁρπαγέντα καί ἀκούσαντα ἄρρητα ῥήματα ἅ οὐκ ἐξόν ἀνθρώπῳ ἀκοῦσαι". Τί οὖν εἰσιν ἅ ἀκήκοεν ὁ Παῦλος ἄρρητα ῥήματα; Τίνα δέ τά ἀγαθά "ἅ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη"; Τίς δέ ἤ πῶς ἔσται καί ἔστιν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ βασιλεία καί τίς ἡ ἐν ἡμῖν ταύτης ἐνέργεια;

Ἐπειδήπερ διαρρήδην ὁ τόν ἁπάντων ∆εσπότης καθ᾿ ἑκάστην διά τῶν

εὐαγγελίων βοᾷ, τά μέν συνεσκιασμένως λέγων, ὅταν ἐν παραβολαῖς διαλέγηται, τά δέ διερμηνεύων κατ᾿ ἰδίαν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, οὕτω λέγων· "Ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῖς δέ λοιποῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς", καί ποτε παρρησίᾳ πάντα καί ἀποκεκαλυμμένα λέγει πρός πάντας ἡμᾶς, ὥς φασι πρός αὐτόν οἱ ἀπόστολοι· "Ἴδε, φασί, παρρησίᾳ λαλεῖς καί παροιμίαν οὐδεμίαν λέγεις", ζητῆσαι χρεών καί μαθεῖν ποῖα τά παρρησίᾳ καί ἀπογεγυμνωμένα, ποῖα δέ ἐν παραβολαῖς ὑπό τοῦ Κυρίου καί Θεοῦ εἰρημένα. Τά μέν οὖν δῆλα τῶν ἐντολῶν καί γυμνά εἰσιν ὅταν ὁ Εὐγγελιστής λέγῃ· "Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος· ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν,