John Chrysostom, To the People of Antioch

of scorpions and vipers it is possible to say, that on account of sin it is fearsome to us. 5. And not only in our body, nor in different ways of life, nor in irrational creatures, but also in trees it is possible to see this diversity; and one might see the most worthless of all things having superiority over the greater, and not all things existing in all things, so that all things might be necessary for us, and we might see the varied wisdom of the Master. Do not, therefore, accuse God on account of the corruption of the body, but on this account rather worship Him, and marvel at Him for His wisdom and His providence; for His wisdom, because He was able to display so much harmony in such a corruptible body; and for His providence, because for the benefit of the soul He made it corruptible, in order to restrain its pride, and to cast down its arrogance. Why then, he says, did God not make it so from the beginning? Answering you through the deeds themselves, and all but saying through the outcome itself, that "I called you to a greater honor, but you made yourself unworthy of the gift, having fallen from paradise; but still I will not overlook you, but I will correct your sin, and I will lead you up to heaven." For indeed for this reason I have allowed you for so long a time to rot and be corrupted, so that in the length of time the teaching of humility might become permanent for you, and you might never take up your former way of thinking. For all these things, then, let us give thanks to the God who loves mankind, and let us repay him for His providence a repayment that in turn benefits us, and for the commandment about which I often speak to you, let us show great diligence. For I will not stop until you succeed, since what is sought by us is not this, either to speak a few times or many times, but to speak until we persuade you. To the Jews, therefore, God said through the prophet: "If you fast for judgments and battles, why do you fast for me?" but to you he will say through us: "If you fast for oaths and perjuries, why do you fast?" For how shall we see the holy Pascha? how shall we receive the holy sacrifice? how shall we partake of the wondrous mysteries through the tongue by which we have trampled on the law of God, through the tongue by which we have defiled the soul? For if someone would not endure to receive a royal purple robe with defiled hands, how shall we receive the Lord's body with a tongue that has become unclean? For the oath is of the Evil One, but the sacrifice is of the Master. What fellowship then has light with darkness, or what accord has Christ with Belial? That you have been eager, then, to be freed from this transgression, I know clearly, but since each person on his own would not easily achieve it, let us form brotherhoods and companies, and just as the poor do at banquets, when each of them cannot be the entire host, they all come together and contribute to the feast, let us do this also; since by ourselves we are lazy, having formed companies let us exhort one another to contribute counsel, and instruction, and exhortation, and rebuke, and reminder, and threat, so that from the diligence of each one, we may all suc 49.127 ceed. For since we see the things of our neighbors more keenly than our own, let us watch others, and let us entrust our own watch to them, and let us engage in this good contest, so that having thus overcome this wicked habit, we may with confidence come to 49.128 this holy feast, and may partake of the holy sacrifice with good hope, and a good conscience, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

σκορπίων καὶ ἐχιδνῶν ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἡμῖν ἐστι φοβερά. εʹ. Οὐκ ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος δὲ τοῦ ἡμετέρου μόνον, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τῶν βίων τῶν διαφόρων, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλόγων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ δένδρων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν τὴν ποικιλίαν ταύτην· καὶ τὸ πάντων εὐτελέστερον ἴδοι τις ἂν κατὰ τοῦ μείζονος ἔχον ὑπεροχὴν, καὶ οὐ πάντα ἐν ἅπασιν ὄντα, ἵνα πάντα ἡμῖν ἀναγκαῖα ᾖ, καὶ τοῦ ∆εσπότου τὴν ποικίλην σοφίαν ἴδωμεν. Μὴ τοίνυν κατηγόρει τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τὴν φθορὰν τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο μᾶλλον αὐτὸν προσκύνει, καὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς κηδεμονίας αὐτὸν θαύμαζε· τῆς σοφίας μὲν, ὅτι ἴσχυσεν ἐν οὕτω φθαρτῷ σώματι τοσαύτην ἐπιδείξασθαι ἁρμονίαν· τῆς κηδεμονίας δὲ, ὅτι διὰ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ὠφέλειαν φθαρτὸν αὐτὸ ἐποίησεν, ἵνα αὐτῆς καταστείλῃ τὸ φύσημα, καὶ τὴν ἀπόνοιαν καθέλῃ. Τί οὖν οὐκ ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐτὸ τοιοῦτον ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς, φησίν; Ἀπολογούμενός σοι διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν, καὶ μονονουχὶ λέγων διὰ τῆς ἐκβάσεως αὐτῆς, ὅτι Ἐγὼ μέν σε ἐπὶ μείζονα ἐκάλουν τιμὴν, σὺ δὲ σαυτὸν ἀνάξιον κατέστησας τῆς δωρεᾶς, ἐκπεσὼν τοῦ παραδείσου· πλὴν ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οὕτω περιόψομαί σε, ἀλλὰ διορθώσομαί σου τὸ ἁμάρτημα, καὶ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν σε ἀνάξω. Καὶ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτό σε ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον χρόνον ἀφῆκα σήπεσθαι καὶ διαφθείρεσθαι, ἵνα ἐν τῷ πλήθει τοῦ χρόνου μόνιμός σοι γένηται τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης ἡ διδασκαλία, καὶ μηδέποτε τὴν προτέραν ἔννοιαν ἀναλάβῃς. Ὑπὲρ δὴ τούτων ἁπάντων εὐχαριστήσωμεν τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ, καὶ τῆς κηδεμονίας αὐτὸν ἀμειψώμεθα ἀμοιβὴν ἡμᾶς ὠφελοῦσαν πάλιν, καὶ τῆς ἑντολῆς, ὑπὲρ ἧς συχνῶς ὑμῖν διαλέγομαι, πολλὴν ποιησώμεθα τὴν σπουδήν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀποστήσομαι ἕως ἂν κατορθώσητε, ἐπειδὴ τὸ ζητούμενον ἡμῖν οὐ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ἢ ὀλιγάκις εἰπεῖν, ἢ πολλάκις, ἀλλὰ μέχρι τότε λέγειν, ἕως ἂν ὑμᾶς πείσωμεν. Πρὸς μὲν οὖν Ἰουδαίους ὁ Θεὸς ἔλεγε διὰ τοῦ προφήτου· Εἰ εἰς κρίσεις καὶ μάχας νηστεύετε, ἵνα τί μοι νηστεύετε; πρὸς ὑμᾶς δὲ ἐρεῖ δι' ἡμῶν· Εἰ εἰς ὅρκους καὶ ἐπιορκίας νηστεύετε, ἵνα τί νηστεύετε; Πῶς γὰρ τὸ Πάσχα ὀψόμεθα τὸ ἱερόν; πῶς τὴν θυσίαν δεξόμεθα τὴν ἁγίαν; πῶς τῶν θαυμαστῶν κοινωνήσομεν μυστηρίων διὰ τῆς γλώττης, δι' ἧς τὸν νόμον τοῦ Θεοῦ κατεπατήσαμεν, διὰ τῆς γλώττης, δι' ἧς τὴν ψυχὴν ἐμολύναμεν; Εἰ γὰρ πορφυρίδα τις βασιλικὴν οὐκ ἂν ἀνάσχοιτο χερσὶ δέξασθαι μεμιασμέναις, πῶς σῶμα ∆εσποτικὸν δεξόμεθα ἀκαθάρτῳ γενομένῃ γλώττῃ; Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὅρκος τοῦ Πονηροῦ, ἡ δὲ θυσία τοῦ ∆εσπότου. Τίς οὖν κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος, ἢ τίς συμφώνησις Χριστῷ πρὸς Βελίαρ; Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἐσπουδάκατε ταύτης ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς παρανομίας, οἶδα σαφῶς, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ καθ' αὑτὸν ἕκαστος οὐκ ἂν εὐκόλως αὐτὸ κατορθώσειε, ποιησώμεθα φρατρίας καὶ συμμορίας, καὶ ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν συμποσίων οἱ πένητες ποιοῦσιν, ἐπειδὰν αὐτῶν ἕκαστος ἑστιάτωρ ὁλόκληρος γενέσθαι μὴ δύνηται, συνελθόντες ἅπαντες ἐξ ἐράνου τὴν εὐωχίαν εἰσφέρουσι, τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιήσωμεν· ἐπειδὴ καθ' ἑαυτούς ἐσμεν ῥᾴθυμοι, συμμορίας ποιήσαντες ἀλλήλοις παρεγγυῶμεν εἰσφέρειν συμβουλὴν, καὶ παραγγελίαν, καὶ παράκλησιν, καὶ ἐπιτίμησιν, καὶ ὑπόμνησιν, καὶ ἀπειλὴν, ἵνα ἐκ τῆς ἑκάστου σπουδῆς ἅπαντες κατορθώ 49.127 σωμεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὰ τῶν πλησίον ὀξύτερον βλέπομεν ἢ τὰ ἡμέτερα, ἡμεῖς ἑτέρους φυλάττωμεν, καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν φυλακὴν ἐπιτρέψωμεν ἐκείνοις, καὶ τὴν καλὴν ἅμιλλαν ταύτην ποιησώμεθα, ἵνα οὕτω περιγενόμενοι τῆς πονηρᾶς ταύτης συνηθείας, μετὰ παῤῥησίας ἐπὶ 49.128 τὴν ἁγίαν ταύτην ἔλθωμεν ἑορτὴν, καὶ τῆς ἁγίας μετάσχωμεν θυσίας μετὰ χρηστῆς ἐλπίδος, καὶ συνειδότος ἀγαθοῦ, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.