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Homilia de misericordia et judicio

OF THE SAME AUTHOR, CONCERNING MERCY AND JUDGMENT. Father, give your blessing. The world that forgets God, brothers, is held fast by injustice toward its neighbor and by inhumanity toward the weak, just as the divine Apostle says, that *As they did not see fit to have God in their knowledge, 31.1708 God gave them up to a debased mind, to do what ought not to be done, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, whisperers, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, unloving, unmerciful;* but those whom God leads back to piety, He teaches both abstinence from evil things and the practice of mercy toward one's neighbor; just as the prophet Isaiah taught, speaking from the person of God: *Cease from your evil ways, learn to do good.* And the Law had many commands about not harming one's neighbor, and also commandments about being philanthropic and showing mercy. For if someone should neglect one of these, the other is not sufficient for the correction of a person. For neither is a good deed done for the needy from unjust gains acceptable to God, nor is the one who abstains from injustices praiseworthy, if he shares nothing of his own with anyone. For concerning those who act unjustly and attempt to offer gifts to God, it is written: *The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord;* but concerning those who do not show mercy: *He who closes his ears so as not to hear the poor, he too will call, and there will be no one to listen.* For this reason the Proverb advises: *Honor the Lord from your righteous labors, and offer first fruits to him from your fruits of righteousness.* For if you are going to offer to God from injustice and plunder, it is better neither to have acquired such a possession, nor to offer from it. For a pure gift will carry up the prayer, as it is written: *The prayers of the upright are acceptable to him.* And again, if, acquiring from righteous labors, you do not make offerings to God from which the poor are fed, it will be counted to you as plunder, as he says through the prophet Malachi, that *The first fruits and the tithes are with you, and there will be plunder in your houses.* Therefore, you must, blending mercy and judgment, acquire with judgment, and spend on mercy, according to what is written: *Keep mercy and judgment, and draw near to your God continually.* For God loves mercy and judgment. Therefore, he who provides for mercy and judgment draws near to God. Henceforth, let a man examine himself here, and let the rich man consider his own resources, from which he is to offer gifts to God: lest he has oppressed the poor man, lest he has done violence to the weaker, 31.1709 lest he has defrauded the one subject to him, using authority instead of justice. For we are commanded to keep what is just and equal even toward slaves. For do not, because you have power, use violence, nor, because you are able, be greedy; but because the things of authority are yours, show the things of justice. For not in what you are unable to do will you provide the proof of obedience and fear toward God, but in what you are able to transgress, you do not transgress. But if, having taken away the things of the poor, you give to the poor, it would have been better for you neither to seize nor to give. Why do you defile your own wealth, by introducing unjust gains to it? Why do you make your own offering abominable out of injustice, by attempting to offer, while you are about to show mercy to another poor man? Show mercy to him whom you are wronging.

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Homilia de misericordia et judicio

ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΕΛΕΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΡΙΣΕΩΣ. Πάτερ, εὐλόγησον. Ὁ μὲν ἐπιλανθανόμενος τοῦ Θεοῦ κόσμος, ἀδελ φοὶ, ἀδικίᾳ τῇ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον, καὶ ἀπαν θρωπίᾳ τῇ πρὸς τοὺς ἀδυνάτους κρατεῖται, καθά περ ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος λέγει, ὅτι Καθὼς οὐκ ἐδοκίμασαν τὸν Θεὸν ἔχειν ἐν ἐπιγνώσει, 31.1708 παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν, ποιεῖν τὰ μὴ καθήκοντα, πεπληρωμένους πάσῃ ἀδικίᾳ, πονηρίᾳ, πλεονεξίᾳ, κακίᾳ, μεστοὺς φθόνου, φόνου, ἔριδος, δόλου, κακοηθείας, ψιθυριστὰς, καταλάλους, θεοστυγεῖς, ὑβριστὰς, ὑπερηφάνους, ἀλαζόνας, ἐφευρετὰς κακῶν, γο νεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς, ἀσυνέτους, ἀστόργους, ἀνελεήμονας· οὓς δὲ εἰς θεοσέβειαν ἐπανάγει Θεὸς, διδάσκει καὶ τὴν τῶν κακῶν ἀποχὴν καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἐλέους πρὸς τὸν πλησίον ἐπιμέ λειαν· ὥσπερ ὁ προφήτης ἐδίδαξεν Ἡσαΐας ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγων· Παύσασθε ἀπὸ τῶν πονηριῶν ὑμῶν, μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν. Καὶ εἶχεν ὁ νόμος πολλὰ μὲν προστάγματα περὶ τοῦ μὴ βλά πτειν τὸν πλησίον, ἐντολὰς δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ φιλ ανθρωπεύεσθαι καὶ ἐλεεῖν. Εἰ γάρ τις τὸ ἕτερον τούτων καταλίποι, θάτερον οὐχ ἱκανὸν εἰς διόρθω σιν ἀνθρώπου. Οὔτε γὰρ ἐξ ἀδίκων κερδῶν εὐεργεσία πρὸς τὸν δεόμενον δεκτὴ παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, οὔτε ὁ τῶν ἀδικιῶν ἀπεχόμενος ἐπαινετὸς, εἰ μηδενὶ μεταδοίη τῶν ἑαυτοῦ. Περὶ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἀδικούντων καὶ δῶρα Θεῷ προσφέρειν ἐπιχειρούντων γέγραπται· Θυσία ἀσεβῶν βδέλυγμα Κυρίῳ· περὶ δὲ τῶν μὴ ἐλεούντων· Ὁ φράσσων τὰ ὦτα αὐτοῦ τοῦ μὴ εἰσακοῦσαι πένητος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπικαλέσεται, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ ἐπακούων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἡ Παροιμία συμ βουλεύει· Τίμα τὸν Κύριον ἀπὸ σῶν δικαίων πό νων, καὶ ἀπάρχου αὐτῷ ἀπὸ σῶν καρπῶν δικαιο σύνης. Εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἀδικίας καὶ ἁρπαγῆς μέλλεις προσφέρειν τῷ Θεῷ, κάλλιον μήτε κτήσασθαι τὴν τοιαύτην κτῆσιν, μήτε προσφέρειν ἐξ αὐτῆς. Καθα ρὸν γὰρ δῶρον ἀνοίσει τὴν εὐχὴν, ὡς γέγραπται· Εὐχαὶ κατευθυνόντων δεκταὶ παρ' αὐτῷ. Καὶ πά λιν, εἰ κτώμενος ἐκ δικαίων πόνων μὴ προσφέρεις Θεῷ προσφορὰς, ἀφ' ὧν τρέφονται πένητες, ἁρπαγὴ λογισθήσεταί σοι καθά φησι διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Μα λαχίου, ὅτι Αἱ ἀπαρχαὶ καὶ τὰ ἐπιδέκατα μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰσι, καὶ ἔσται ἡ διαρπαγὴ ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις ὑμῶν. ∆εῖ τοίνυν, ἔλεον καὶ κρίσιν συγκεράσαντας ὑμᾶς, κτᾶσθαι μὲν μετὰ κρίσεως, ἀναλίσκειν δὲ εἰς ἔλεον, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· Ἔλεον καὶ κρῖμα φυλάσσου, καὶ ἔγγιζε πρὸς Θεόν σου διαπαντός. Ἐλεημοσύνην γὰρ καὶ κρίσιν ἀγαπᾷ ὁ Θεός. ∆ιόπερ ἐγγίζει πρὸς Θεὸν ὁ τοῦ ἐλέους καὶ τῆς κρίσεως προνοούμενος. Λοιπὸν ἐνταῦθα ἐξεταζέτω τις ἑαυ τὸν, καὶ σκοπείτω τοὺς ἰδίους πόρους ὁ πλού σιος, ἐξ ὧν ἀναφέρειν δῶρα μέλλει Θεῷ· μὴ τὸν πέ νητα κατεδυνάστευσε, μὴ τὸν ἀσθενέστερον ἐβιάσατο, 31.1709 μὴ τὸν ὑποκείμενον αὐτῷ πεπλεονέκτηκεν, ἐξουσίᾳ χρώμενος ἀντὶ δικαιοσύνης. Τὸ δίκαιον γὰρ καὶ τὴν ἰσό τητα κελευόμεθα φυλάττειν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς δούλους. Μὴ γὰρ, ὅτι κρατεῖς, βιάζου, μηδὲ, ὅτι δύνασαι, πλεονέκτει· ἀλλ' ὅτι πάρεστί σοι τὰ τῆς ἐξουσίας, δεῖξον τὰ τῆς δι καιοσύνης. Οὐ γὰρ ἐν ᾧ μὴ δύνασαι, παρέξεις τὴν ἀπόδειξιν τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὑπακοῆς καὶ τοῦ φόβου, ἀλλ' ἐν ᾧ παραβῆναι δυνάμενος, οὐ παραβαίνεις. Εἰ δὲ, ἀφελόμενος τὰ τῶν πενήτων, πένησι δίδως, κάλλιον ἦσθα μήτε ἁρπάζων, μήτε διδούς. Τί μολύνεις τὸν σαυτοῦ πλοῦτον, ἐπεισάγων αὐτῷ τὰ μὴ δίκαια κέρδη; Τί βδελυκτὴν ποιεῖς τὴν σαυτοῦ προσφορὰν ἐξ ἀδικίας, προσφέρειν ἐπιχειρῶν, ἐν ᾧ μέλλεις ἕτερον πτωχὸν ἐλεεῖν; Ἐκεῖνον ἐλέησον, ὃν ἀδικεῖς.