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is true; that is, He proved it irrefutably; which indeed seems to me to be what the text hints at here also. For "the Father has sealed" is nothing other than He proved, He revealed through His own testimony. For He also showed Himself; but since He was speaking to Jews, He brought forward the Father's testimony. βʹ. Let us learn, therefore, beloved, to ask these things of God, which it is worthy to ask of Him. For those things, I mean the things of this life, however they may turn out, bring no harm. For if we become rich, we shall enjoy luxury here only; and if we fall into poverty, we shall suffer nothing terrible. For neither the splendors of the present life, nor its sorrows have the power to cause despondency or pleasure, but both are contemptible, and flow by with great speed. Wherefore it is also rightly called a road, since these things pass by, and are not by nature meant to remain for long; but the things to come, both those of punishment and those of the kingdom, remain immortal. For those things, therefore, let us make great effort, so as to flee the one and choose the other. For what is the benefit of luxury here? Today it is, and tomorrow it is not; today a bright flower, and tomorrow scattered dust; today a burning fire, and tomorrow extinguished ash. But spiritual things are not such, but they remain always shining, and flourishing, and becoming brighter day by day. That wealth never perishes, never changes place, never ceases, never brings on care and envy and accusation, does not destroy the body, does not corrupt the soul, does not have envy, does not pile up malice, all of which are attached to this wealth. That glory does not lift one to despair, does not prepare one to be puffed up, never ceases, nor becomes dimmer. The repose and the luxury in the heavens again remains, and this is perpetual, being ever motionless and immortal; for it is not possible to find its limit or end. This life, I beseech you, let us desire. For if we desire it, we shall make no account of present things, but will despise and laugh at all of them, and even if someone should bid us enter royal courts, we would not choose it, having that hope; and yet nothing seems more blessed than this, but to those possessed by the love of the heavens even this is small and cheap and worthy of no account. For everything that has an end is not very desirable; everything that ceases, and is today, and tomorrow is not, even if it is very great, seems to be very small and contemptible. Let us not, therefore, cling to things that flee, nor to things that flow by and depart, but to things that remain and are immovable, so that we may be able to attain them, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be the glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. 59.251 HOMILY 45. They said therefore to Him, "What must we do, to be working the works of God?" Jesus therefore said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." They said therefore to Him, "What sign then do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?"

αʹ. Nothing is worse than gluttony, nothing more shameful. This makes

the mind dull, this makes the soul carnal, this maims it, and does not allow it to see clearly. See, at any rate, this happening in the case of the Jews. For since they gaped for gluttony, and were wholly of the things of this life, and understood nothing spiritual, Christ leads them with countless words that have both a goad and forbearance; and not even so do they rise up, but still remain lying below. For consider. He said to them, You seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled. He struck them through the rebuke; He showed what kind of food they ought to seek, saying, Do not labor for the food

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ἀληθής ἐστι· τουτέστιν, ἀπέδειξεν ἀναντιῤῥήτως· ὃ δή μοι δοκεῖ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἡ λέξις αἰνίττεσθαι. Οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἄλλο τὸ, Ἐσφράγισεν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἀλλ' ἢ ἀπέδειξεν, ἐξεκάλυψε διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ μαρτυρίας. Ἔδειξε μὲν γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἑαυτόν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ πρὸς Ἰουδαίους διελέγετο, τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς μαρτυρίαν εἰς μέσον ἤγαγε. βʹ. Μάθωμεν τοίνυν, ἀγαπητοὶ, ταῦτα αἰτεῖν τὸν Θεὸν, ἃ ἄξιόν ἐστι παρ' αὐτοῦ αἰτεῖν. Ἐκεῖνα μὲν γὰρ, ὅπως ἂν τύχῃ, τὰ βιωτικὰ λέγω, βλάβην οὐδεμίαν φέρει. Ἄν τε γὰρ πλουτήσωμεν, ἐνταῦθα μόνον ἀπολαυσόμεθα τῆς τρυφῆς· ἄν τε εἰς πενίαν καταπέσωμεν, οὐδὲν πεισόμεθα δεινόν. Οὔτε γὰρ τὰ λαμπρὰ τοῦ παρόντος βίου, οὔτε τὰ λυπηρὰ εἰς ἀθυμίας καὶ ἡδονῆς λόγον ἔχει τὴν ἰσχὺν, ἀλλ' ἑκάτερα εὐκαταφρόνητα, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς παραῤῥεῖ τῆς ταχυτῆτος. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁδὸς κέκληται εἰκότως ἅτε παροδεύοντα, καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον μένειν οὐ πεφυκότα· τὰ δὲ μέλλοντα ἑκάτερα ἀθάνατα μένει, τά τε κολάσεως, τά τε τῆς βασιλείας. Ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων τοίνυν πολλὴν ποιώμεθα σπουδὴν, ὥστε τὰ μὲν φυγεῖν, τὰ δὲ ἑλέσθαι. Τί γὰρ τῆς ἐνταῦθα τρυφῆς ὄφελος; Σήμερόν ἐστι, καὶ αὔριον οὐκ ἔστι· σήμερον ἄνθος λαμπρὸν, καὶ αὔριον κόνις σκεδαννυμένη· σήμερον πῦρ καιόμενον, καὶ αὔριον τέφρα κατασβεννυμένη. Ἀλλ' οὐ τὰ πνευματικὰ τοιαῦτα, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ μένει λάμποντα, καὶ ἀνθοῦντα, καὶ φαιδρότερα γινόμενα καθημέραν. Ὁ πλοῦτος ἐκεῖνος οὐδέποτε ἀπόλλυται, οὐδέποτε μεθίσταται, οὐδέποτε λήγει, οὐδέποτε ἐπάγει φροντίδα καὶ φθόνον καὶ κατηγορίαν, οὐ σῶμα ἐξόλλυσιν, οὐ ψυχὴν διαφθείρει, οὐ φθόνον ἔχει, οὐ βασκανίαν ἐπισωρεύει, ἅπερ ἅπαντα ταῦτα τῷ πλούτῳ πρόσεστιν. Ἡ δόξα ἐκείνη οὐκ εἰς ἀπόνοιαν αἴρει, οὐ φλεγμαίνειν παρασκευάζει, οὐδέποτε παύεται, οὐδὲ ἀμαυροτέρα γίνεται. Ἡ ἄνεσις καὶ ἡ τρυφὴ ἐπὶ τοῖς οὐρανοῖς πάλιν μένει, καὶ αὕτη διηνεκὴς, ἀεὶ ἀκίνητος οὖσα καὶ ἀθάνατος· οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ πέρας αὐτῆς καὶ τέλος εὑρεῖν. Ταύτην, παρακαλῶ, ποθήσωμεν τὴν ζωήν. Ἂν γὰρ ποθήσωμεν αὐτὴν, οὐδένα τῶν παρόντων ποιησόμεθα λόγον, ἀλλὰ καταφρονήσομεν τούτων ἁπάντων καὶ καταγελασόμεθα, κἂν εἰς βασιλικὰς αὐλάς τις ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν κελεύῃ, οὐχ αἱρησόμεθα ἐκείνην ἔχοντες τὴν ἐλπίδα· καίτοι τούτου οὐδὲν μακαριώτερον εἶναι δοκεῖ, ἀλλὰ τοῖς κατεχομένοις τῷ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἔρωτι καὶ τοῦτο μικρὸν καὶ εὐτελὲς καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄξιον λόγου. Πᾶν γὰρ ὃ τέλος ἔχει, οὐ σφόδρα περισπούδαστον· πᾶν ὃ παύεται, καὶ σήμερόν ἐστι, καὶ αὔριον οὐκ ἔστι, κἂν σφόδρα ᾖ μέγα, σφόδρα μικρὸν καὶ εὐκαταφρόνητον εἶναι δοκεῖ. Μὴ τοίνυν τῶν φευγόντων ἀντεχώμεθα, μηδὲ τῶν παραῤῥεόντων καὶ ἀπερχομένων, ἀλλὰ τῶν μενόντων καὶ ἀκινήτων, ἵνα καὶ αὐτῶν δυνηθῶμεν ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. 59.251 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΜΕʹ. Εἶπον οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν· «Τί ποιῶμεν ἵνα ἐργαζώ μεθα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Θεοῦ;» Εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· «Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα πιστεύσητε εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος.» Εἶπον οὖν αὐτῷ· «Τί οὖν ποιεῖς σημεῖον, ἵνα ἴδωμεν καὶ πιστεύσωμέν σοι; Τί ἐργάζῃ;»

αʹ. Οὐδὲν γαστριμαργίας χεῖρον, οὐδὲν αἰσχρότερον. Τοῦτο παχεῖαν ποιεῖ

διάνοιαν, τοῦτο σαρκικὴν ποιεῖ ψυχὴν, τοῦτο πηροῖ, καὶ διαβλέπειν οὐκ ἀφίησιν. Ὅρα γοῦν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων τοῦτο γινόμενον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πρὸς γαστριμαργίαν κεχήνασι, καὶ ὅλοι τῶν βιωτικῶν ἦσαν, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐνενόουν πνευματικὸν, μυρίοις αὐτοὺς λόγοις ἐνάγει ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ κέντρον ἔχουσι καὶ φειδώ· καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀνίστανται, ἀλλ' ἔτι κάτω μένουσι κείμενοι. Σκόπει γάρ. Εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ζητεῖτέ με, οὐχ ὅτι εἴδετε σημεῖα, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἐφάγετε ἐκ τῶν ἄρτων, καὶ ἐχορτάσθητε. Ἔπληξε διὰ τοῦ ἐλέγχου· ἔδειξεν ὁποίαν δεῖ ζητεῖν τροφὴν, εἰπών· Ἐργάζεσθε μὴ τὴν βρῶσιν