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standing by I stretch out my hand, desiring to be fed by you; and I take pride in this, so that then, in the presence of the theater of the world, I may proclaim you, and in the hearing of all I may point out my nourisher. And yet you, when you are fed by someone, are ashamed of this and try to hide it; but I, since I love you dearly, even if you are silent, I proclaim what has happened with many praises, and I am not ashamed to say that you clothed me when I was naked, and fed me when I was hungry, but I rather take pride in these things, so that you may be shown to be heirs of the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, beloved, considering these things, let us hold fast to salvation, so that we may also obtain eternal goods, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON 24. Concerning Sin and Confession. Has any of you, beloved, ever visited Palestine? I think so. What then?

Bear witness, you who have seen the places. There is there a great and fertile land; or rather, there was, for now there is not; this land then, so luxuriant, and vying with all lands, approaching in its abundance the paradise of God, is more desolate than all deserts. And trees indeed stand there even now, and have fruit, but the fruit is a reminder of the wrath of God; for there stand pomegranate trees, I mean the wood and the fruit having a brilliant appearance, and to the unknowing it off 63.732 ers many hopes; but if they are taken in hand, when broken open they display no fruit, but much dust and ash stored within. Such is all that land; and the woods and the stones and the air and the waters have partaken of such a disaster. For it is possible to see land, but having nothing of land; trees and fruits, but nothing of trees and fruits, but all is ash; air and water, but nothing of air and water; for these too have been turned to ashes by the power of Him who did these things. For just as when a body has been burned, the shape and form remain in the appearance of the fire, but the subs 63.733 tance no longer, so too it is with those things. Are these things also threats of words? Are these things also sounds of words? But these things are burdensome, while those are not burdensome, when you say that there is no hell? You compel me to say these things, you who disbelieve, you have led me to these words; for if you had believed the words of Christ, I would not have been compelled to bring forward the knowledge from the facts. Will He who poured out so much wrath for one sin, and was not moved by the supplication of Abraham, nor of Lot, spare us, when so many sins have been committed by us? Truly this is laughter and nonsense and diabolical error and deceit. But if you wish to see even those who believe and attend to God, but whose life is not upright, being punished, hear Paul saying: "Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and fell in one day twenty-three thousand." If fornication had such power, what will our sins not work? And if you do not pay the penalty now, do not be surprised. For they did not know of hell, wherefore they were punished with immediate punishments, but you, whatever you sin, even if you pay no penalty here, you will pay for all of it there. For even if we commit the same sins as they did, we are worthy of a greater punishment than they. Why? Because we have enjoyed greater grace. But when we sin more and greater things than they did, what punishment shall we not undergo? For if, when we sin and remain unpunished, we did not become worse, God would have remitted the punishment for us; but He knows this clearly, that not being punished when we sin harms us no less than the sins themselves. For this reason He inflicts punishment, not only demanding justice for past sins, but also correcting for the future. And that this is true, hear what he says to Moses: "Let me alone, that in my wrath I may destroy them." "Let me alone," He said, not because Moses was holding Him back;

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παριστάμενος προτείνω χεῖρα, παρὰ σοῦ τραφῆναι ἐπιθυμῶν· καὶ ἐγκαλλωπίζομαι τούτῳ, ἵνα τοῦ θεάτρου παρόντος τῆς οἰκουμένης ἀνακηρύττω σε τότε, καὶ πάντων ἀκουόντων ἐνδείκνυμαι τὸν τροφέα τὸν ἐμόν. Καίτοι γε ὑμεῖς ὅταν παρὰ τινὸς τραφῆτε αἰσχύνεσθε τοῦτο καὶ συσκιάζετε· ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπειδὴ σφόδρα ὑμᾶς φιλῶ, κἂν ὑμεῖς σιγᾶτε, ἀναγορεύω τὸ γεγενημένον μετὰ πολλῶν τῶν ἐγκωμίων, καὶ οὐκ αἰσχύνομαι εἰπεῖν, ὅτι γυμνὸν ὄντα με περιεβάλετε, καὶ πεινῶντα ἐθρέψατε, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐγκαλλωπίζομαι τούτοις, ἵν' ὑμεῖς κληρονόμοι τῆς βασιλείας ἀναδειχθῆτε τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ταῦτα τοίνυν ἐννοοῦντες, ἀγαπητοὶ, ἐχώμεθα σφοδρῶς τῆς σωτηρίας, ἵνα καὶ τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν ἐπιτύχωμεν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΛΟΓΟΣ Κ∆ʹ. Περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ ἐξαγορεύσεως. Ἐπεδήμησέ τις ἐξ ὑμῶν, ἀγαπητοὶ, τῇ Παλαιστίνῃ ποτέ; Ἔγωγε οἶμαι. Τί οὖν;

μαρτυρήσατε ὑμεῖς οἱ τοὺς τόπους ἑωρακότες. Ἔστιν ἐκεῖ χώρα πολλή τις καὶ εὔφορος· μᾶλλον δὲ ἦν, νῦν γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν· αὕτη οὖν ἡ οὕτως εὐθαλὴς, καὶ πρὸς πάσας τὰς χώρας ἁμιλλωμένη, ἡ φθάνουσα τῇ εὐθηνίᾳ τὸν παράδεισον τοῦ Θεοῦ, πασῶν τῶν ἐρήμων ἐστὶν ἐρημοτέρα. Καὶ ἑστήκασι μὲν δένδρα καὶ νῦν, καὶ καρπὸν ἔχει, ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὀργῆς ἐστιν ὑπόμνησις· ἑστήκασι μὲν γὰρ ῥοιαὶ, καὶ τὸ ξύλον λέγω, καὶ ὁ καρπὸς λαμπρὰν τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν ἔχων, καὶ τῷ ἀγνῶτι παρ 63.732 έχων πολλὰς τὰς ἐλπίδας· εἰ δὲ ληφθεῖεν εἰς χεῖρας, διακλασθέντα καρπὸν μὲν οὐδένα, κόνιν δὲ καὶ τέφραν πολλὴν ἐπιδεικνύουσιν εἰς τὰ ἐναποκείμενα ἔνδον. Τοιαύτη πᾶσα ἡ γῆ ἐκείνη· καὶ τὰ ξύλα καὶ οἱ λίθοι καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ καὶ τὰ ὕδατα τῆς τοιαύτης μετέσχηκε συμφορᾶς. Καὶ γὰρ γῆν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν γῆς ἔχουσαν· δένδρα καὶ καρποὺς, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν δένδρων καὶ καρπῶν, ἀλλὰ πάντα τέφραν· ἀέρα καὶ ὕδωρ, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ἀέρος καὶ ὕδατος· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα τετέφρωνται τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ ταῦτα ποιήσαντος. Καθάπερ γὰρ σώματος ἐμπρησθέντος, τὸ μὲν σχῆμα μένει καὶ ὁ τύπος ἐν τῇ τοῦ πυρὸς ὄψει, ἡ δὲ δύ 63.733 ναμις οὐκέτι, οὕτω δὴ κἀκεῖνα. Μὴ καὶ ταῦτα ἀπειλαὶ ῥημάτων; μὴ καὶ ταῦτα ψόφοι ῥημάτων; Ἀλλὰ φορτικὰ ταῦτα, ἐκεῖνα μὲν οὐ φορτικὰ, ὅταν λέγῃς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι γέεννα; Σύ με ταῦτα ἀναγκάζεις λέγειν, ὁ διαπιστῶν, σύ με εἰς τούτους ἐξήγαγες τοὺς λόγους· εἰ γὰρ τοῖς ῥήμασιν ἐπίστευσας τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὐκ ἂν ἠναγκαζόμην τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπιστήμην παραγαγεῖν. Ὁ δὲ ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς ἁμαρτήματος τοσαύτην ἐκχέων ὀργὴν, καὶ μήτε τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ τὴν ἱκετηρίαν δυσωπηθεὶς, μήτε τοῦ Λὼτ, τοσούτων ὄντων τῶν παρ' ἡμῶν γενομένων ἁμαρτημάτων, φείσεται; Γέλως ὄντως ταῦτα καὶ λῆρος καὶ πλάνη διαβολικὴ καὶ ἀπάτη. Εἰ δὲ βούλει καὶ ἐκ τῶν πιστευόντων καὶ προσεχόντων τῷ Θεῷ, βίου δὲ οὐκ ὄντος ὀρθοῦ, ἰδεῖν τιμωρουμένους, ἄκουσον Παύλου λέγοντος· Μηδὲ πορνεύωμεν, καθώς τινες ἐπόρνευσαν, καὶ ἔπεσον ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ εἰκοσιτρεῖς χιλιάδες. Εἰ δὲ εἰς τοσοῦτον πορνεία ἴσχυσε, τί οὐκ ἐργάσεται τὰ ἡμέτερα; Εἰ δὲ καὶ μὴ δῷς δίκην νῦν, μὴ θαυμάσῃς. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ᾔδεισαν τὴν γέενναν, διὸ ταῖς παρὰ πόδας ἐκολάζοντο τιμωρίαις, σὺ δὲ ὅσα ἂν ἁμάρτῃς, κἂν μηδεμίαν ὧδε δίκην δῷς, πάντα ἀποτίσεις ἐκεῖ. Κἂν γὰρ τὰ αὐτὰ ἁμάρτωμεν ἐκείνοις, μείζονός ἐσμεν ἐκείνων κολάσεως ἄξιοι. ∆ιὰ τί; ὅτι πλείονος ἀπελαύσαμεν χάριτος. Ὅταν δὲ πλείω καὶ μείζονα ἐκείνων πταίωμεν, τίνα οὐχ ὑποστησόμεθα τιμωρίαν; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἁμαρτάνοντες καὶ μένοντες ἀτιμώρητοι, μὴ ἐγενόμεθα χείρους, κἂν ἀφῆκεν ἡμῖν τὴν κόλασιν ὁ Θεός· ἀλλ' οἶδε τοῦτο σαφῶς, ὅτι τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔλαττον ἡμᾶς τὸ μὴ κολάζεσθαι ἁμαρτάνοντας βλάπτει. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐπιτίθησι τὴν τιμωρίαν, οὐ μόνον τῶν ἀπελθόντων ἀπαιτῶν δίκην, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα διορθούμενος. Καὶ ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθὲς, ἄκουσον τί φησι πρὸς τὸν Μωσέα· Ἄφες με, καὶ θυμωθεὶς ἐκτρίψω αὐτούς. Ἄφες με, ἔλεγεν, οὐχ ὅτι Μωσῆς αὐτὸν κατεῖχεν·