THE FRIENDLY TEACHER
The Greeks perpetually loved to hear something new to satisfy their minds, yet in vain. The Heavenly Teacher, on the other hand, before presenting His new teaching, He presented the new possibilities; by which He lifted man up above the deadly letter, by proclaiming that He is the Lord of the Sabbath; in whom, the believer does not bow to the literality of keeping the Sabbath in a dry way, but carries the power of the Spirit; the way He did when He healed the man with the right withered hand, to set it free for the spiritual work; and the way He chose His twelve disciples to preach and work; Then when He presenting His sermons and teachings.
- Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath 1 - 5
- Healing the right hand 6 - 11
- Calling the disciples 12 - 16
- His teachings:
- A personal talk to those who suffer 17 - 26
- A call of exalted love 27 - 46
- Need for building on the rock 47 – 49
- CHRIST, THE LORD OF THE SABBATH:
The three Evangelists: Matthew (12: 1), Mark (2: 43), and Luke , mentioned how the Pharisees created a persistent atmosphere of opposition against the Lord.
“It happened on the second Sabbath after the first, that He went through the grain fields, and the disciples plucked the heads of grain, and ate them, rubbing them in their hands; And some of the Pharisees said to them: Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” (1, 2).
Having already talked about that talk in our study of the gospel according to Matthew and Mark, here, we shall only mention the following remarks:
- What does the Evangelist Luke mean by the phrase: “on the second Sabbath after the first”? (1). There is controversy in interpreting it among the scholars. We can summarize their views as follows:
- By “the first Sabbath”, Luke means the Jewish feast of Passover; and by “the second Sabbath”, he means the feast of the feast of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, or of the Pentecost; the feast of the weeks (7 weeks from the beginning of the Passover), on the sixth of the month ‘Siwan’.
- As it came in the Greek version: “the second Sabbath after the first”, according to some, he means the second Sabbath after the Passover; and it would consequently mean the first Sabbath after thye feast of the unleavened bread; known as “the Sabbath of Omer”.
- By “the first Sabbath”, he probably means the Sabbath of the first month of the Jewish year; while the second Sabbath will be the Sabbath of the second month; Namely, the first Sabbath is the Sabbath in which the head of the civil year(the month of ‘Thishrei, or Thishrin, orLithanim’ comes; while the second Sabbath is that in which the head of the religious year (Nissan) comes.
- According to some, the second Sabbath means the First Sabbath that comes in the year preceding to the year of the jubilee.
- The most probable view, according to many Christians, is that it is thye second Sabbath directly following the Passover.
- According to some scholars who care for the spiritual interpretation, the first Sabbath refers to the Sabbath of the law in its literal Jewish concept; and the second Sabbath here is the new Sabbath, when the Lord Christ brought us forth from the literal physical comfort to the true comfort in Him through His gospel Hence what His disciple did, as
He made them pass through the grainfields, refer to bringing them forth into the fields of the books of the Old Testament, to pluck the grains of the symbols and prophesies, and rubbed them by His Holy Spirit; to find in them the spiritual evangelic food, the grantor of the true satisfaction.
We can also say that what the disciples did, was in the name of the whole Church, entering by the Holy Spirit into the divine altar, to receive the grain “the Eucharist”, as a divine gift on which she feeds to reach perfection, to be prepared for Jesus Christ, her eternal Groom. According to St.Ambrose: [The Lord Christ led His disciples as though into the
field of the present world to enjoy the fruition of the Church which are the work of His Holy Spirit through the apostolic ministry For the disciples got hungry for the salvation of men, and intended to enjoy the harvest of the Spirit,
something that the Jews rejected.
- The question directed by the Pharisees: “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath” (2), as we said, was not out of jealousy on the law, as much as it was out of criticism, and an attempt to distort the ministry of the Lord Christ. The Lord’s response to them was not to convince them, as much as it was to reveal the secrets of the new covenant, in the hope that they might perceive the truth and return to Him. By His answer, the Lord intended to lift them up to the spiritual new covenant instead of the literality of the old law. As according to the apostle Paul: “Because finding fault with them, He says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with Israel and with
the house of Judah............ In that He says, ‘a new covenant”, He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming
obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrew 8: 8, 13), This prophecy, the apostle quotes from the book of Jeremiah which they have in their hands (Jeremiah 31: 31).
According to St. Cyril the Great: [We see how those scribes and Pharisees were completely ignorant of that new covenant, on account of that they denied their eyes seeing the Holy Scriptures, while concentrating on searching the heavenly teachings of the Lord Christ, to see if they could find in them something to catch Him with. With the same tendency, they said to the Savior: Do not You how Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath? When the law commands man to have rest in the Sabbath, Your disciples pluck the heads of grain and rub them in their hands to eat.
……………Now, tell me, O you who complain, If you break your bread while eating your food in a Sabbath; then why do you blame the others who do what you yourself do? To know how ignorant they were in the Holy Books,
“Jesus answering them said: ‘Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with Him? How He went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with Him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” (3, 4)
Even though David did what is not lawful to do, but he, as a prophet and a saint, still has in our souls every honor and reverence. Now, as the law of Moses also commands us to judge truly between and his neighbor, why would you rebuke my disciples with sharp tongues, when they did not do something worse than what David did?
Here we should notice that the showbread mentioned here refer to the bread coming down from heaven, we see on the holy altars of the Churches; and that all the articles of the altar which we use in the secret service are symbols of the exalted divine treasures].
If David was allowed to break the letter of the law and ate the showbread which are lifted up for the priests alone to eat, and new bread are put in its place, according to the Holy Book, saying: “The priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away” (1 Samuel 21: 6); for which king Saul was stirred up against the priest Ahimelech, and sent to kill him together with all the priests. Now, the devil is stirring the Pharisees up against the Lord Christ, the Lord of David, for allowing His disciples to enjoy a new bread.
- “And He said to them: The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath” (5)
While intending to accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath, He proclaimed to them that He is “the Son of Man the Lord of the Sabbath”… Onone aspect He called Himself “the Son of Man’; for “He made the Sabbath for ma, and not man for
man; “not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2: 27). If He became a “Son of Man” for the sake of man, even though He is his Lord, how much more it is befitting of the Sabbath to be to serve man?!
The Lord did not despise nor destroyed the law, but He rather lifted it up bu calling Himself “the Lord of the Sabbath”. Yes indeed, He is “the Lord of the Sabbath”, who is the author of that statute, or that weakly feast; which He set, not to despise nor to break, but to bring us forth into deeper concepts of that feast, through liberating us from the deadly literality of the
Sabbath , to the Sunday that bring joy to the soul. The Lord presented Himself “A Sabbath” for us; for He is the secret of our comfort; and our Feast, in whom we enjoy the resurrected life, and the reconciliation with God the Father.
- HEALING THE WITHERED RIGHT HAND:
In the new Sabbath, the Lord Christ set forth together with His disciples in the midst of the grain fields to grant them the new head of grain, the secret of spiritual satisfaction, to present to them a new concept of the Sabbath, as the secret of inner comfort, and of deep satisfaction that fills the soul through her encounter and unity with God. Now He, in another Sabbath, He entered into the Synagogue, intending to reveal that the Sabbath is not a day of laziness and slothfulness, but a day of comfort through the true spiritual work; hence He encounters the man with the withered right hand, to restore life to it, to be active in the Lord.
“Now it happened on another Sabbath, that He entered the bsynagogue and taught, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and the Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him” (6, 7).
According to St. Augustine: [While the left hand refers to the material work, the right hand refers to the spiritual work. The man with the withered right hand refers to the Jewish synagogue itself, whose right hand got withered for the spiritual work; as the Sabbath for them turned into a day to cease work, and to practice lifeless literacies The Lord came to take away this withering, and to
restore to the Sabbath a new spiritual concept.
In our interpretation of the gospel according to St. Mark (3: 1 – 6), we saw St. Ambrose talks about that man with the withered right hand, as referring to the first Adam who, stretching his hand to the tree in disobedience to his Creator, his hand withered with the sin, and needed the Lord to come to heal it, to practice again the virtuous life., through loving the neighbor and giving justice to the oppressed....... The hand of Jeroboam withered when he intended toraise incense to the idols, and was healed when he prayed
(1 kings 13: 4-6); And we saw how St. Cyril the Great, commenting on the miracle, showed how The Lord cared, not only to heal the withered hand, but also to debate with the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath, hoping that they might accept the healing of their withered literal interpretation.
“But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand: ‘Arise and stand here’.;............... Then Jesus
said to them: ‘I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?!………
and when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man: ‘Stretch out your hand; and he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other” (8 -10)
The Lord looked at them while moaning inside inside for the sake of the hardness of their hearts; for instead of caring for the healing the withered hand of their brother, to enjoy again the active life, they cared to criticize, and to watch the Lord closely, to see whether He would heal on a Sabbath that they might find something to accuse Him… even after the healing of the man’s hand, instead
of rejoicing with him,
They were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus” (11)
According to St. Cyril the great; [Was the miracle not enough to sow the spirit of faith in their hearts?! They saw how the Lord
Christ works by a divine authority, and heals the man by an exalted power; and yet, they still retained the hardness of their hearts because of envy and malice].
- CALLING THE DISCIPLES:
If the Lord Christ came as a Friend to humanity, a friendship not set upon mere emotion, but through active love.............. We saw Him
bring us into the grain fields to present Himself as the new Head of grain, delivered on the cross; to partake of as the secret of our satisfaction in the Sabbath of the true comfort We also saw Him bring us to His sanctuaries (the synagogue), being the Lord
of the Sabbath, to heal our withered right hand, to turn our life away from the hard letter of the law, to the evangelic life working in, and by Him… Now we see Him, in our name, and to our account,
“go out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (12).
Being our Friend, He proclaims to us that “prayer” is the way to friendship, and to opening our hearts wide to the Lord of heaven. In the introduction to this book we said that it is the book of “the divine friendship”, set upon prayer; hence the Lord shows Himself as our Teacher of prayer, not through commandments to practice fervently the perpetual prayer, but through Him going, as well, to
many locations to pray............... We saw the difference between the prayer of Him, who is without sin, and our prayers being sinners.
On account of that He prays and intercedes by His blood for the forgiveness of our sins (See the interpretation of Luke 5: 16).
Commenting on the phrase said by the Evangelist Luke: “He went to the mountain to pray” (12), St. Cyril the Great said: [All what the Lord Christ did was for our edification, and for the benefit of the believers in His name. He did everything to present to us an exalted example of the spiritual life, to worship Him by a true worship.
Now, let us study the living example presented by the Lord Christ to us, when we intend to supplicate to the High God concerning some issue; We should pray in secret, away from anyone, according to the Lord’s command, saying: “When you pray, go into your
room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place” (Mathew 6: 6). The goal of prayer is not to seek glory and honor; butto stand “lifting up holy hands” (1 Timothy 2: 8); to ascend up to heaven, to the dwelling place of God, and to find for ourselves a place away from the chaos,worries, and troubles of the world; and to do all that with pleasure, and
not with labor and anxiety; with longing, jealousy, and perseverance, worthy of commendation and admiration; on account of that you read in the Holy Books, how the Lord Christ, despite the fact that He is begotten of God the Father; not only prayed, but kept on praying the whole night and humbledHimself to the extent of emptying Himself on many aspects, to become our brother who
is like us in everything except for sin. Christ partook of our human nature, had compassion on us; did not despise us, nor our nature, but took our likeness over Himself to make us follow His lead, and imitate Him].
According to St. Ambrose: [Not everyone who prays can climb the mountains; as there is prayer that may be counted as sin (Psalm 109: 7). Whoever learns the sound prayer will exalt above the earthly riches to the heavenly, and keeps on climbing until he reaches the top of the high seclusion. Whereas whoever cares for the riches of the world, cannot climb the mountains, but would instead desire the lowly things that belong to his neighbor. Whoever looks up to the company of God, will seek God to ascend; the
strong souls climb the mountains. The prophet does not counsel anybody to climb the mountains, but says: “Get up on the high mountain, O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength” (Isaiah 40:9) Climbing the mountains is not by feet, but by the exalted works Following Christ, you yourself will be one of the mountains surrounding you (Psalm 125: 2)}.
St, Ambrose goes on to say: [When the Lord prays, He seeks nothing for Himself, but for our sake; He is our Intercessor; …………
Do not ever assume that Christ out of weakness, seeks to get something which He cannot get on His own; for He is the source of every authority …….. But He conforms us by His role model in virtue …… “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous” (1 John 2:1) who intercedes for our sins;He therefore seeks, not out of weakness but out of love; He spent the
whole night in prayer, to give you an example to follow]………
Then, in the daylight, He called the twelve disciples; In whose choice we can notice the following:
- According to St. Augustine: [He chose the disciples of illiterate and of lowly origin; so that when they become great and practice great works, it would be through His dwelling and working in them. The apostle Paul says: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame thewise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the
things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are; that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 2: 27
– 29)
He chose them, as well, from among the sinners, to make them have compassion on their sinful brethren
- “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you” (John 15: 16). By hearing those words, the disciples felt that they had no favor in being chosen,but the favor refers to God who chose them He is, therefore,
committed to care for them, to support them, and by His Spirit to get fruition in them to fulfill His mission; yet not with negativity on their part, but they have to respond to the work of His grace, to work by, in Him, and to His account. This is confirmed by the apostle Paul who perceived that he was separated for work while still in his mother’s womb (Galatians 1: 15); and is therefore committed to the divine work, saying: “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain” 2 Corinthians 6: 1).
Commenting on the choice of the disciples, St. Cyril the Great says: [The disciples, taking power from Christ, the whole world marveled on their works. Yet, here we notice how the Evangelist Luke, in humility and meekness, did not say that the disciple were elected, but simply mentioned their names, to draw attention to that no one should attempt to force himself upon ministry. And in this concern, the apostle Paul says: “No man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was” (Hebrew 5: 4) Even though the saintly apostles were separated by name by God
for this exalted mission, yet, some people, every now and then, foolishly dare to force themselves among the apostles, and take upon themselves a name they were not given; to which the apostle Paul referred, saying: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into minister of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11: 13, 14).
- He mentioned the names of the twelve disciples, two by two, to confirm the life of fellowship between them. For the secret of their power lies inthe Lord Christ (the true love) transfigured in their life, in their inner personal life, as well as in the living life of
We often said that the figure 2 refers to “love, which makes the two one”; in a mission of love that unifies the hearts in the Lord, and embraces all souls together through the reconciliation with God the Father in His Son, by His Holt Spirit.
- The following are the names of the twelve disciples and their meaning:
“Simon”, meaning (the Listener) or (the Obedient). Whom the Lord Christ called “Peter’, meaning (the Rock), being the first to proclaim the faith in the Lord Christ the Son of God.
“Andrews”, meaning (the Serious), (the Strong), or (the Mighty). “James”, meaning (the Chaser) or (the Striver)
“John”, meaning (God shows compassion), or (God grants grace).
“Philip”, meaning (Mouth of the lamp). “Bartholomew”, meaning (Son of the Mower). “Matthew”, meaning (A Grant), or (A Gift)
“Thomas”, meaning (The Twin).
“Judas”, meaning (Thanks-giver) or (The confessor)
We have already mentioned some comments by the fathers in this concern, in our study of the gospel according to the Evangelist Mark (3: 15).
- HIS TEACHINGS:
If, in His friendship, the Lord Christ brought us forth into the grain fields to satisfy us by Himself; into His sanctuaries (the synagogue) to heal our right hand for the spiritual work; and chose the disciples to proclaim the heavenly reconciliation; Now, He approaches us as a Friendly Teacher, to talk to us about His heavenly law by which to live.
A- A personal talk to those who suffer:
As a Friendly Teacher, He comes down to us in the midst of our suffering, to talk to us a practical and an actual talk, and to support us in our labor; According to the Evangelist:
“He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out of Him and healed them all” (6: 17 – 19).
If in His prayer all night long, the Lord went up the mountain; for no one could perceive the secret of the unique unity between God the Father and God theSon; Yet, He came down to the plain to encounter with His disciples, the Jews, and the Gentiles;
those who came to hear Him, and to touch Him for power went out from Him and healed them all............. By that the Lord discipled
His ministers; who, even though it was befitting of them to climb the high mountains to enter with God into a deep secret spiritual fellowship, yet, as servants of the people, and workers to the account of humanity, they have to go down to comfort them.
If our Lord Christ, as a Friendly Teacher, came to grant power to whoever touch Him, to grant exalted gifts to the suffering souls who remained on the plains, unable to climb the high mountains to encounter Him. According to St. Ambrose: [Meditate in every word
……… in how He came down to the multitude; for where could the multitude see Him except on the plains. For, as the multitudes could not follow Him up to the heights, nor climb to the tops of mountains; He Himself comes down to the plains, where the weak and to the sick could be healed, to grow in strength gradually, until they are able to climb the mountains The Lord comes
down to heal our wounds, to make us partake of His nature by uniting with us].
Now, having granted power to those who touched Him to lift them up from the plains to the tops of mountains of virtue; He started to talk to them a personal talk about “the blessing of sufferings”, the Evangelist says:
“He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: ‘Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God’”(20)
To encounter the people He came down to the plains; but when He talks, He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples to raise their insight with Him toward heaven. He blessed the poor, not to take away from them their temporal deprivation or their suffering, but to lift them up in the midst of their sufferings to His divine kingdom. Our Friend came suffering to live among those who suffer, to carry them up to the fellowship of His glories.
He presents a personal beatitude to His listeners by saying: “Blessed are you …….”, describing them as poor, hungry, weeping, hated by men, and unjustly persecuted by them ………Then He gives woes to those who carry contradictory features: namely to those who are rich, who are full, who laugh now, and who are commended by all men. We have already spoken about those blessings in our study of the gospel according to St. Matthew (5: 2 – 12); in which we would notice the following points:
- He started by the blessings and not by the woes. In the blessings, He addresses His talk to His listeners; whereas He addresses the woes in the absent tense. By that, the Lord Christ the true Friendly Teacher presents a living portrait of the sound teaching, intended to encourage the listeners, and to provide them with hope; assuming that His listeners would obey Him to enjoy His divine blessings; And when He warns, He assumes thatthey still do not do wrong................................. He is
positive n His teaching.
Carrying the Spirit of his Lord, the apostle Paul in his epistles calls those to whom he writes “saints, chosen, and called for the kingdom,etc”… Then after such abundance of encouragement, he starts rebuking them, firmly, but without
hurting their feelings.
- Commenting on the divine saying: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (20), St. Cyril the Great says: [Those are the words uttered by the Savior as He opened before His disciples the treasures of the new covenant, and led them along the way of the gospel, as they were about to go proclaiming the holy mission……….
We want now to know who are they whom He called “poor”, and whom He promised the kingdom of God. According to Matthew (5: 3); he is the poor in spirit, whoever is humble, and not puffed up; he who has a meek heart, and a mind far from pride and boasting, and free from the iniquity of selfishness.
Such a person is worthy of commendation, on account of that he is a friend of God, described by the prophet Isaiah as: “On this one will I look, on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My words” (Isaiah 66: 2); and by the prophet David says: “A broken and a contrite heart – these O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17); and the Lord Himself says: “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11: 29).
In the verse before us we notice that it promises the poor to have every heavenly blessing, yet without adding the words (in Spirit), as it is in the other gospels. But we should Know that the Evangelists do not contradict one another, but share the narration among themselves; sometimes they all mention the same episode whole; and other times one of them mentions what the other omitted; to provide the believers in Christ with everything that would edify and renew the disciples.
In the verse before us then, we see that Christ, by “the poor in spirit” means him who is worthy of blessings and of paradise, who does not care for the riches and the love of money, who despises covetousness and hateful gifts; and who goes up above all the vain appearances of life.
To guide us to the way of sound principles, the wise St. Paul says: “Let your conduct be without covetousness” (Hebrew 13: 5); then adds: “having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6: 8); For whoever wishes for the redemption and salvation of Christ, will despise the mortal riches, and girdle his loins with the exalted immortal works.
………Yet by despising the riches, we do not mean to defame the people who have an abundance of riches, but we mean those who throw themselves wholly on the love of money, and desire it with their heart, soul, and mind; whom the Savior addressed by saying: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth” (Matthew 6: 19).
According to St. Ambrose: [All the Evangelists began their beatitudes by this verse, for it is the first in order, and the mother of all the other virtues.By despising the possessions of this life, we come to be worthy of the eternal possessions; whereas by becoming captives of the desires of the world, it would be impossible to float above them]. And he also says: [Not all the poor are blessed; for there are good and evil poorpeople;............................... Blessed is he who is poor in sin and
iniquities, in whom the prince of this world has no place (John 14: 3);............... Bless is the poor who likens his Lord who
even though rich, has become poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9)].
According to St. John El-Tabaisy: [Unless we begins by deprivation, we would not be able to acquire the sound spirit, as long as we have some obstacles in our souls. Namely man cannot acquire the love of God, if the love of possession is still in him; for it is written: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8: 35). Man cannot bear the cross without denying the world; Truth would not hold fast in him, unless he cuts off
from his conscience the love of wealth............ Do not feel sorrow, O man, when you are poor and needy, hungry and
naked for the sake of God, for your hope for comfort is in the kingdom; Do not be dismayed, but rejoice and be glad by the hope prepared for you]
According to St. Chrysostom, counting poverty or humility, as being the head of every virtue, he says: [It is the golden
altar, the spiritual place of the sacrifice; for “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit” (Psalm 51: 17). Humility is the father of wisdom; if man has it, he would have all the rest of virtues].
- “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled” (21)
+ In Matthew it came as: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (5: 6). whereas in Luke it came as: Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled” (21).. It is certain that the hungry and thirsty for the righteousness carry out a great and honorable work; for they diligently seek after godliness and goodness the way they do after food and drink.
By the same verse, he meant to bless whoever optionally seeks the life of poverty and need without complaining; for such beatitude works on growing their mind and increasing their will, to walk along the sound apostolic life, to care, not for the vain profit; nor for silver and gold, nor for rich attire; they have nothing but the least of food that only satisfy the minimum of their need.
Caring for the eternal life instead of the one in the world, and trusting in the promise of the Lord Christ, such people will never despair; for The Lord openly proclaims that they will be satisfied with what He opens for them of the spiritual and mental treasures.
(St. Cyril the Great)
+ Whenever man is inflicted with a serious illness, he will not feel hungry; for pain swallows hunger!.................. Now what is
this hunger for the righteousness? And what are the goods for which the righteous hunger? Are they not those about which is written: “I have been young, and now am old; yes I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37: 25).
Whoever feels hunger, would wish for his strength to grow, and for his virtue to be stronger.
(St. Ambrose)
- “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (21)
As the Lord Christ seeks from us to weep and shed tears, the church, from the beginning was preoccupied with the practice of a life of true repentance with unceasing tears; yet with wisdom and discernment, without loss of the inner joy, through hope and exalted peace. We will, therefore not marvel to see St. Clement of Alexandria, exhort us to shed tears, saying:[It is good to weep and feel sorrow for the sake of justice, by which we would testify to the most amazing of statutes]; He confirms our commitment not to exaggerate in weeping as well as in laughing. By the same view we hear St. Cyril the Great tell us about the beatitude given by the Lord Christ to those who weep, to have the enjoyment of the life of joy; yet not all those who weep, for many unbelievers weep out of grief and sorrow.
Let us then weep and shed tears, yet with wisdom, and hope for the sake of our salvation and the salvation of our brethren. And let our weeping be before the Lord Himself, so that He would fill us with the comfort of His Holy Spirit.
+ It is befitting of you to weep on the world, but to rejoice in the Lord; to weep in repentance, and to rejoice for grace; hence Paul, the teacher of theGentiles counsels us “to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12: 15)
+ Who will acquire great joy, but him who often weeps; as though he gets the grace of the glory to come as a price of his tears.
(St. Ambrose)
+ “There is “time to weep and time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3: 4).”
The time of weeping is that of suffering, according to the words of the Lord: “Most assuredly I say to you that you will weep and lament” (John 16: 20) whereas laughing concerns the resurrection; “Sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16: 20).
(Father Dionesius of Alexandria)
+ The present time is the valley of tears; This world is the place of sorrow and not of joy;..................... The world to come is
that of joy; whereas, it is now the arena of wrestling and endurance.
+ In the present world, there is no eternal joy, but what will soon come to an end.
+ He who does not weep in the present world, will shed tears in the life to come.
(St. Jerome)
+ The extended prayer, and the dense tears, draw the mercy of God.
+ It is only weeping that leads to the blessed laughing.
+ Intending to show in Himself all the beatitudes for those who weep now, Jesus Himself wept, to set the good foundation of that beatitude.
(The scholar Origen)
+ In his eulogy of St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa said: [Whenever I remember the flood of his tears, I, myself, start to weep; fr it is impossible for me tocross over the sea of his tears with dry eyes. No day nor night, or even a moment however short, in which his watching eyes would not appear full of tears. He sometimes weeps for the sake of the general misery and foolishness in which all fall; and other times for the sake of individual transgressions. You will find him weep and mourn, not only when he speaks about repentance, ethics, and the ordinance of life; but even during prayers of praise and thanksgiving.
(St. Ephraim the Syrian)
+ The soul, dead through sin, needs sorrow, weeping, tears, and bitter sighs on the evil which pushed her over to perdition…………
Wail, weep, feel sorrow; to bring the soul back to God.
If you think of how a mother would suffer if she loses her son to death, and how she wails on the departure of her beloved. you will realize that sorrow should be greater for man who is separated by sin from God, to lose his goodness and his image, beloved by God, for whom the soul ismore dear than all the rest of His creation If you do not think, O sinner,
that by sin, the soul dies, you should rather feel sorrow for the sake of God who feels sorrow for you!............ Your soul is
dead through iniquity; shed tears to raise it up; to bring joy to God by the resurrection of your soul.
(St. (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian)
We wish, as well, to make it clear that, while weeping in this world on our sins, this weeping does not mean a loss of hope, but, according to St. (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian, [As we truly repent, we are forgiven, for God loves us; yet we should perpetually remember those sins, lest we would fall into them again. Even though they are completely forgiven, yet we should say together with the psalmist: “MY sin is always before me” (Psalm51:3). Father Pavnotius, disciple of St.
Maccari, often quotes the great saint saying: [When I was a little child I used to eat together with the other children the few figs they steal; and when a fig fell from them while running, I picked it up and ate. Whenever I remember that I weep].
Our weeping should be, not only on our own sins, but on those of the others, as well.................. On a question if man is
allowed to laugh, St. Basil the Greats said: [I do not understand how a good Christian can ever laugh, when he always sees how many bringsorrow to God by breaking the law, and approach death throughsin!]............................................................................................................................. And in his sermon on
Jolita the martyr, he said: [Whenever you see your brother mourn his sins, weep together with him. For through your hot tears on the sins of the others, you, yourself will be healed. That is the condition of him who says: “Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked who forsake Your law” (Psalm 119: 53).
And according to St. John Chrysostom: [Let us weep on them, not one day or two, but our whole life].
To provide us with practical training to weep and to enjoy shedding tears, St. John El-Tabaisy said: [Remember the passion of Christ, bring your soul into account, remember the ultimate judgment, death, etc.). Seek tears from God].
………… Of his words: [Tears used to come easily to our blessed fathers during prayers, because they perpetually thought about the passion of the Lord], and, [Bring your soul into account, how often you watched the nights for her sake (for the sake of tears); or how many works you presented to God to seek from Him the sorrow of tears, which are a talent given by God according to the strife of him who seeks it] .
+ “Blessed are you, when men hate you, and when they exclude you” (22)
Being a true Friend who entered into our life, and partook of our sufferings, we do not see in the teachings of the Lord shining philosophical words, but an experience of life, He presents to us in the midst of our tribulations. He dwelt among us as poor; and appeared as hungry and thirsty; He wept to bless the poor, the hungry, and those who weep. And now, He accepts to be rejected by men, to give those hated and excluded a place in Him.
If poverty in spirit, or humility, is the head of every virtue, and the beginning of every true beatitude; the endurance of hate, reproach, and exclusion by men, with a heart wide with love, for the sake of the kingdom of God, would be the ultimate end of the beatitudes; for in it the believer would reach the true spiritual maturation. In other words, what the Word of God seeks of us in our endurance of the others with joy, is the enjoyment of having the features of the Lord Christ, suffering for the sake of His enemies; to be truly counted as mature members of His body………St. Jerome summarized the beatitudes in the Old and the New testaments in a single phrase: [Blessed – not every man – but he who reaches the perfection of maturity in Christ].
+ “Blessed are you, when men hate you” (22).
Here, the Lord told the apostles what to expect prepared for them by the devil, of tribulations and persecution while teaching people. And the Evangelist, through the way of prophecy, describes the horrible woes that will come upon the apostles while proclaiming the message of the Redeemer; while counseling the Jews to reject the literal worship of the law, to be clothed by the attire of the ideal life; and while illuminating the way of truth for the pagans, to make them forsake the life of iniquity and fornication.
But the enemy of virtue, accepting no counsel nor guidance, kindles an open war against the counselor and the guide. And to make the apostles aware of what awaits them while preaching the Word of the gospel, lest they might despair or be shaken, in case they are persecuted by men, and hated by the wicked for their counsel and guidance, the Lord Christ told them ahead their exalted spiritual portion; and clothed them with the attire of heavenly gladness. He said to them that all what the wicked could do to them of scattering, deprivation, exile, reproach, and hate, are counted as nothing, because, through their endurance of all those tribulations and persecution, they will be counted worthy of the enjoyment of spiritual comfort. Then the Lord added that going through persecution is nothing new, for the prophets and apostles have for long suffered it before them. They have been murdered, sawed, and struck by the edge of the sword, etc. for the sake of the conquest of truth and justice; then were crowned by the crowns of heaven, and had fellowship of the glory of the saints.
(St. Cyril the Great)
+ Whoever intends to liken the Lord, has to be meek and tranquil, as much as is possible for man, and to endure with a wide heart what would disturb him by the others.
In case you face a heavy un-endurable reproach, and when you are overridden by anger and by any tendency for foolish reaction, just remember the meekness of Christ, to get, through your enemy, a great benefit; for by your meekness you may make him good.
(St. John Chrysostom)
+ Pray for me to God to grant me the great grace to offer sacrifices to Him, as long as the altar is prepared............. In
gathering together, sing with love a song of thanksgiving to God the Father by His Son Jesus Christ.
I seek of you not to show me compassion out of place; Allow me to become food for the vicious beasts, through which I would be granted the good fortune to reach to God Let me be ground by the fangs of beasts to leave nothing of my
body, to become a tomb for me, to cause no one the trouble to bury me. ,…......... For, once my body is not seen by the
world, I shall be truly a disciple of Christ…......... Supplicate to Christ for my sake, that through such a way, I would be
prepared to be a sacrifice for God.
(Agnatius the Theophorus the martyr)
6-After presenting the four blessings, He presented the four woes which concern the rich, the full, those who laugh now, and those of whom all men speak well (24 – 26).
By the rich, He undoubtedly means those who trust in their wealth, to have their eyes blinded to behold God and their brethren… By the satisfied, He means those who have become so full to feel that they are in no more need for God, and seek
nothing from Him;................ And by those who laugh, He means those whom the world with all its seductions distract them away
from the way of repentance;…............ And by those of whom all men speak well, He means those who seek the vain glory, and not
the inner hidden glory.
Concerning “the rich”, according to St. Ambrose: [Even though an abundance of wealth includes many calls toward evil, it probably includes, as well, a call to virtue. Virtue, indeed does not need an abundance of wealth, for the few offered by the poor is better than the plenty offered by the rich. Yet God does not condemn him who possess wealth, but condemns him who misuses it].
St. Ambrose also believes that the rich who fall under curse, are the Jews and the philosophers: the Jews, who got rich with the symbols, the prophesies, and the promises, yet rejected the simplicity of faith…...................................................................................................................... And the philosophers who got rich with the
human philosophies, to reject faith altogether.
In his book “Who is the rich who will be saved?”, St. Clement of Alexandria, proclaimed the Christian concept of richness; in that wealth represents a talentwhich should be (kindled) to the account of the Kingdom of God…................................................................................................................................. And with the same view, St. John
Chrysostom confirmed in several of his articles, that richness, in itself, is neither good nor evil; but could be used by man for righteousness or for evil And St. Cyril the Great confirms, that among the rich are those who have compassion on the
poor, and have mercy on the like of Lazarus, to gain the crown of heaven; through keeping the divine commandment: “I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home” (Luke 16: 9)
By “the full” He means those like the one to whom is said: “Because you say: I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked --I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich, and white garment that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eye with eye salve, that you may see” (Revelation 3: 17, 18). Those who are described as “full’, assume that they
are rich, trust in themselves and their own possibilities, and not in the Word of God, the pure Gold that grant true fullness; nor on the Lord Christ Himself, whom it is befitting of us to put on, to cover our weakness and shame, by His free righteousness, nor in the Holy Spirit who opens up the inner insight.
By “those who laugh now”, He means those who licentiously walk in life; not caring for the salvation of their souls, nor for their eternal inheritance; who spend their days in fun, instead of seriously practicing repentance.
Finally, by “those of whom all men speak well”, He means those who, seeking to be commended by men, enslave themselves to them and not to God; seek to please men at the expense of the truth; and rejoice to hear a word of temporal commendation, instead of the eternal glory.
B- A call of exalted love:
Intending to be our Friend, to lift us up to enjoy the beatitudes, and to beware of the woes; He brings us forth into His feature of “the exalted love”, to make love an inner flood springing in our depths; to love even our enemies; to love by work, and not by words; hence His commandments so came:
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you; and pray for those who spitefully use you” (27, 28)
He seeks from us to have an abundance of love spring inside us, without waiting for a payback; saying: “Love your enemy”; and pay his enmity back with love. Such love is translated into a work of mercy: “Do good to those who hate you”; and, through a holy and blessed life, that blesses everyone and curses no one: ”Bless those who curse you”. Mixing with worship, we should desire the salvation of those who “spitefully use us”, and to have their fellowship with us in glory, to pray for their sake to repent. In other words: the commandment of love came bound with our whole being in the Lord; deep in the soul, translated into behavior and work; and mixed with the holy life, and bound to our worship.
+ “Love your enemies” (27)
According to the wise Paul, true in what he writes: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5: 17) For all things are renewed in, and by Christ. Notice how the life of those apostles, chosen by Christ to spread the message of salvation over the whole world; is renewed. Notice how the Lord commands them to pay the wrong doing, the plots, and the snares of their enemies, who know no mercy or compassion, back with goodness;…................. Notice how He sought from His apostles not to
avenge the evil done against them, so as not to hinder the distribution of the Word;................ how He counseled them to control
their minds by perseverance and tranquility; ………how to endure with pleasure every harm done to them,............... to follow the
lead of Jesus Christ their highest role model in perseverance and forgiveness; who, being scoffed by the Jews, young and old, He preyed to God the Father, saying: “Father, Forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23: 34) and that of blessed Steven, who while being stoned to death, knelt on the ground, and cried out in a loud voice, saying: “Lord, Do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7: 60); and, in this concern, the wise Paul says: “Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure” (1 Corinthians 4: 12)
The warning of the Lord Christ was therefore necessary for the holy apostles, and of benefit for us believers, as well, to live in uprightness; beside having a deep philosophical meaning, on account of what we have in us of stirred-up psychological tendencies, that make it rough to walk according to the warnings of the Lord. But the Lord made us understand the necessity of
fighting against these corrupt tendencies, and discerned between those who obey His word, and those who do not; saying: I say to you, who listen”; And the apostle Peter adds, saying about the great perseverance and longsuffering of the Lord Christ: “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2: 23).
Some of you may object, saying that Christ is God, while I am a weak human being, with unsound mind, and has of the psychological tendencies what would stand against attempts to quench the spirit of evil covetousness. But be sure, O man, that God did not deprive you of the spirit of His compassion and love; for He is beside you, and even in you by His Holy Spirit; we are His dwelling place; He dwells in the souls of His beloved; He encourages you by His right hand, to keep you from being shaken; holds you fast so as not to fall. Therefore, “Do not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12: 21).
(St. Cyril the Great)
+ As much as possible, do not have an enemy; and in case you have someone who hates you, do not be grieved, for they hated Your Lord before you.
You can turn the hate of your enemy into benefit; for because of him, you will have an abundance of God’s love; and because your feeling sorry for him, you will have much benefit; because the commandment of your Lord will be fulfilled in him. In case your enemy causes you harm, and you cannot have benefit of his hate, you should recognize your weakness, and search for the reason why you could not have benefit out of his hate; for how would your truth with your Lord could be known, if you have nothing in you that contradict with your comfort; to seem like someone without strife.
(St, John El-Tabaisy)
+ Remember the perseverance of that meek lamb, even though he was without sin; Remember how He endured to be reviled, and stricken, even todeath.
(St. Parsonovius)
+ There are other ways to pay evil back with evil; not only by works, but also by words and by intention. Man, can intentionally disturb his brother through his body movements, or his looks
(St. Dorotheos)
“To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from him who takes away your goods, do not ask them back” (29, 30).
We have already, in our interpretation of the gospel according to St. Matthew (5: 39- 42), studied these commandments that proclaim the practical translation of the energies of love; that in case someone is inflicted in his temporal honor (is struck on the cheek), or in his personal possessions like his cloak, he would be ready to endure more and more, for the sake of gaining his brother who has become his enemy. And on another aspect, bearing the feature of his Lord, he will be a lover of giving, more than of taking; he will give him who asks him; and he who borrows something from him, he will not ask them back. The goal of these commandments, according to the commentaries of the fathers is two things: Gaining the other, and practicing the giving.
+ It is befitting of the righteous and the godly man to be always ready to endure harm with perseverance from those, of whom he intends to become good; so that the number of the good people would increase, instead of being, himself, added to the number of the wicked, when he intends to avenge himself against those who cause him harm.
(St. Augustine)
+ It is befitting of us not to wrestle against the others, nor to desire to be like the wicked; The Lord exhorts us to treat the others with perseverance and compassion, rather than with the love of evil and reproach.
(St. Justin)
+ God’s gladness is truly in giving.
(St. Clement of Alexandria)
The essence of these commandments is love, by which one will not only disregard his stricken cheek, but, with wide heart, would be ready to give the other cheek as well, to gain his brother to the account of the eternal kingdom; and not only give away his cloak, but by his own free will not withhold his tunic as well. He would be so loving giving, that he would not seek the return of the debt, lest that would probably cause embarrassment to his brother................ According to St. Augustine: [Our Lord exhorts His
followers not to resort to the civil courts of justice in their temporal disputes against their brethren].
“And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (31)
That is the practical love, by which man departs from the ‘ego’, loves his neighbor as he loves himself, desires for him what he
desires for himself; and “just as he wants men to do to him, he also does to them likewise”
Commenting on this verse, St. Cyril the Great says: [Most probably, the saintly apostles, thought within themselves, that it would be difficult for them to put those commandments into action. Perceiving their thoughts, the Lord Christ, resorting to the instinct of self- love to judge between men, sought from each of them to do to the others what he himself wishes them to do to him. If we want
the others to treat us with compassion and love, we are committed to treat them likewise. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that there will be time when the believers will not need written commands, on account of that those teachings would be inscribed on
their hearts and minds; saying: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31: 33).
Through the mature love, He seeks from us not to pay our neighbors back with like treatment; but to present to them what we desires for ourselves, regardless of what they do to us When we love for God’s sake, namely for love itself; Love would
become our nature............. ; saying:
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you; for even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you, for even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back” (32 – 34)
It is as though He says to them: [Do not consider my commandments difficult to put into practice; for I present what is
befitting of you as children of the kingdom. While I seek of you to lead a virtuous life, exalted above the human nature; I shall be working with, and inyou Then He adds:
“Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High” (35).
The world, when it loves seeks a like reward in the least; Whereas for you, your reward will be great; you will be sons of the Most High; which commits you to be like your heavenly Father.
Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful” (36)
+ Nothing can make us like God except doing good (be merciful)
+ God the Father and His Son Jesus are the teachers
+ Let us come, together with our children, and all who belong to us, to the school of mercy; which man should learn above anything else… Let us count ourselves as not living, if we still not show mercy.
(St. John Chrysostom)
+ This is the work of God............... He created heaven, earth, and seas; which are great achievements, befitting of His
wisdom; but nothing of them have the authority to draw the human nature to Him, like His mercy and love for men.
(St. John Chrysostom)
+ Love (Mercy), the most exalted feature, which protects whoever practices it, is dear to God, stands always beside Him, to intercede with Him for the sake of those who seek it, if we practice it the right way!
It intercedes even for those who hate. Great is its authority, even concerning those who sin.
It loosens the shackles; scatters the darkness, quenches the fire, kills the maggots, and appeases the grinding of teeth.
Before her, the gates of heaven will surely open; As a queen she will enter, and no gate-keeper will dare stand in her way, or even asks who she is; but all will readily receive her.
So it will be for the mercy; a true queen, which makes men like God; has golden wings, by which she flies, bringing pleasure to the angels.
(St. John Chrysostom)
If mercy makes us like the merciful God Himself, while we seek mercy, we are committed to be merciful toward our brethren, and not to judge them:
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned” (37)
The fathers – those of the wilderness in particular – cared much for not judging; counting that nothing like it will provoke God to anger; on account of that it would take away His grace and mercy from whoever commits it; until he shows compassion on his
neighbor, when he, himself will gain the divine grace and mercy............... According to Father ‘Bomen’ and Father ‘Moses’: [Whoever
judges his neighbor will preoccupy himself with the sins of the others, and not with his own; and will be like him who forsakes his own dead, and mourns for the dead of the others]… and according to Father Dorotheos: [As long as we preoccupy
ourselves with our neighbor’s affairs, we shall lose our ability to reform ourselves]. [Nothing will provoke God to anger, bares man, or bring him to perdition, like slandering, judging, condemning, or despising his neighbor…................................................................................................................................... It would be a serious matter to
condemn someone for the sake of one sin he committed; hence the Lord Christ says to us:
“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye” (42)
Notice how He describes the sin of your brother as ‘a speck’, while he describes your hastening to condemn as ‘a plank’. The most difficult of sins to deal with is most probably condemning our brother !........................................................................................................................... Why would we rather not judge ourselves, and
condemn our own evil, which we know well, and on which we will eventually give an account before God?!.............. Why do we take
by force the right of God to justify, judge and condemn?!........... He who knows the condition of each of us, our possibilities,
perversions, talents, and readiness?! ………He who alone has the right to judge according to His unique knowledge?!.............. He
who judges the works of the bishop in a way different from those of the ruler; the head of a monastery in a way different from that by which He does his disciple; on account of that the former has a longer experience and wider knowledge than the later who seeks to become a monk; the sick from the one withsound health; Who could recognize all those ordinances except the Creator of
everything, the Maker of all, and the knowledgeable of everything?!].
Father Dorotheos supports his talk concerning the judgment, by telling the story of a ship carrying on board a load of slaves; when a saintly virgin approached the owner of the ship, and purchased from him a little slave girl, she carried to her own cabin to train her on the godly life, like her own little daughter. Shortly after that, a dancing troupe came to purchase the sister of that girl to train her on the works of fun, licentiousness and the life ofcorruption................... Here, Father Dorotheos stands amazed, thinking of how one
of those two girls, snatched by force from their parents, had the good fortune of having company with a godly saint; while her sister, against her will, had to practice the corrupt life. And he wonders: Is it not up to God alone to judge the two girls in a way difficult for us to perceive; being aware of the secrets, longsuffering, and capable to justify or to condemn?!
Commenting on the words uttered by the Lord concerning judgment and condemnation, St. Cyril the Great said:
[While seeking from us to go deep in searching ourselves, to make sure that our behavior conforms to the divine commandments, and teachings, We find some who preoccupy themselves with interfering in the affairs and works of others; and once they discover something wrong with their behavior, they hasten to tear apart their persons by their sharp teeth and tongues, not perceiving that in reviling the others, they are actually reviling themselves, on account of that they, themselves, embody wrong doings, not less humiliating than those of the others. Hence the wise Paul says: “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for whatever you judge another you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things” (Romans 2: 1). We, therefore, are committed to have compassion on the weak, who fall captive to their vain and evil desires, and before whom the ways are closed shut, to beable to rid themselves from the snares of evil and sin........................................................................................................................................ Let us pray for the sake of such miserable
people who fall into despair; ………let us stretch to them a helping hand;........... and let us be careful, lest we would probably fall the
way they did; “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren; he who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law, and judges the law”(James 4: 11); because the law-Giver and the law-Judge are one and thesame................................................................................................................................... As the one
who may judge the evil soul has to be more exalted than it is; and as we cannot take on ourselves the task of a judge, because of our sins; We have to keep away from doing it; on account of the fact that, how we, being sinners, judge and condemn the others?! If your feel a tendency to judge the others, you should remember that the law did not appoint you a judge and
executioner; and forcing yourself on such a task will bring you under judgment of the law which you break.
A believer should not preoccupy his mind with the shortcomings and offenses of the others, but with deeply searching his own; for according to how the blessed psalmist describes himself: “If You Lord should mark iniquities; O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 131: 3) and in another location, revealing his weakness, and asking for forgiveness, he says to God: “For He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103: 14)..
“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?” (41)
The Lord previously drew the attention to the danger of condemning the others by sharp tongues, saying “Judge not, and you shall not be judged”(Luke 6: 37) Now, the Lord presents to us many examples and evidences to exhort us to avoid such tendencies to judge and condemn the others according to our own measures; when we should rather search our own hearts, work on liberating them of such evil tendencies kindling inside us, and supplicate to the Lord to purge us from our iniquities and transgressions. He says to us: How would allow yourself to criticize the others, to reveal their shortcomings, and expose their evil doings, and maladies, when you are yourself a sinner, and sick?! How can you clearly see to remove the speck from your brother’s eye, with such
a plank in your own eye that blinds your vision?!.............. How dare you do that; when the others are less guilty than you?!
To be aware of how the condemnation of the others is hateful and evil, the gospel tells us that, while the Lord was going through the ripe fields doing good; His blessed disciple plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate to satisfy their hunger
. But it so happened that they were being watched by a bunch of scribes and Pharisees, who hastened to approach the Lord to ask Him: “Why are your disciples doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” (1, 2) They so uttered when they, themselves, were guilty of transgression against the sanctuary, and of doing contrary to God’s commandments and ordinances, according to the statement said by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The faithful city has become a harlot. It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross; your wine mixed with water; your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them” (Isaiah 1:21).
Despite having all those shameful attributes, those people have gone so far to dare to accuse the blessed disciples of not keeping the holy Sabbath; but the Lord Christ put them in their place by saying: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. These you ought you have done, without leaving the others undone….. Blind judges, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” (Matthew 23: 23, 24) And no wonder that the Lord said about them: “You are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful
outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23: 27).That is how the hypocrite behaves, condemning the others and accusing them with the worst things, while he himself is blinded by a plank in his eyes.
We therefore, should care to search ourselves before we dare to sit on the judging bench to condemn the others; particularly if we occupy the position of a guide or a teacher, who is committed to be so pure, adorned by the grace of reverence; and not only knowledgeable in the exalted virtues, but walk according to them; to become a role model, and to have the right of judging the others, in case they go astray from the way of truth and uprightness. Whereas if the guide is slothful, he will not have the right to judge the others, when he, himself has the same weaknesses which he sees in them; according to the counsel of the blessed apostle James, saying: “My children, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment” (James 3: 1); and to the words of the Lord Christ, while crowning the heads of the righteous with the holy crowns, and threatening the sinners with chastisements, saying: “Whoever, therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5: 19)
And according to Father (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian: [Once the soul is filled with the fruition of the Spirit, it becomes free of depression and affliction;………. in her heart the door of love for the rest of people is opened;............................................................................................................................. from her mind every tendency to say such
is good and such is evil, this is righteous, and that is a sinner will be driven away;;............... Will put her inner feelings in order, with
reconciliation between the heart and the conscience, lest one of them would move with anger or jealousy on any creature............... On
the other hand, the soul which is barren and empty of the fruition of the Holy Spirit, will perpetually be clothed with malice, grudge, affliction, depression, boredom, and disturbance, to keep on condemng people all the time].
+ Beware of condemning anyone, lest God will hate your prayer.
(St. Abba Anthony the Great)
+ He who condemns, break his wall down by his lack of knowledge.
(St. Abba Moses the black)
+ He who refers to the others what is good and what is evil, will not be worthy of the grace of God.
(Father (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian)
+ If you, O monk, condemn no one, God will grant you tranquility and repose in your cell.
(Abba Bemen)
+ Once one of the brothers sinned, and as he was driven out of the monastery; Father Bisarion stood up and went out with him, saying: [I too am asinner].
(St. Baladius)
+ If you disregard your own sins, you will fall into those of your brother.
(Abba Isaiah)
+ (In the episode of the adulterous woman), Jesus condemned the sin and not the woman.
(St. Augustine)
The Lord Christ, our heavenly Friend, talked to us about love, practically translated through giving alms and covering up the weaknesses of the others; by which He presented to us the key to enter into the presence of God, to enjoy His love, and the key of His divine treasure, saying: “forgive and you will be forgiven” (37). According to St. Augustine: [These two works: covering up the
weaknesses of the others, and giving alms, are the two wings that lift your prayer up to the divine throne with no hindrance. Of his words: [The first righteousness is practiced in the heart, when you forgive your brother his sins; and the other righteousness is practiced outside it when you give bread to the poor. Present the two together, for without these two wings, your prayer will stay motionless].............. [If you wish to have forgiveness, you, yourselves,should forgive the others: “Forgive and you will be forgiven;
Give, and it will be given to you” (37, 38)F)
Finally, the Lord Christ confirms that, while presenting His commandments concerning love. He seeks the change of heart; He seeks from the believer to become a fruitful tree, saying:
“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit; for every tree is known by its own fruit; for men do not gather figsfrom thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks” (43 – 45).
The followers of Valentinus depend on these verses and the like to proclaim their wrong view of the preexistence of basic difference in the nature of souls; as according to them, some souls, being good by nature, are incorruptible; while some others, being evil by nature are uncorrectable. The former are the good tree which produce good fruition, while the later are bad tree that produce bad fruition.
Setting forth to debate against that view, many fathers confirm the free will of man, and his possibilities in Jesus Christ to correct their life… If the tree isbad, it continues to produce bad fruition until it turns into a good tree in the Lord. That is what St.
Augustine confirms in his sermons on the New Testament.
In the second century AD, the scholar Tertullian says: [It is not possible for the texts of the Holy Book not to conform to the truth; for the bad tree will never produce good fruition, unless it is grafted with good nature; nor the good tree to produce bad fruition unless it goes corrupt. Even the stones couldbecome children of Abraham, through having the faith of Abraham.; and the brood of
vipers could produce fruition of repentance, if they denied their deceptive nature. That is the power of the grace of God, which is more active than nature itself].
If the human nature is committed to do good or evil against her free will; with no hope for change, the Lord Christ would not exhort us, saying: “Make the tree good”.; and the talk itself would be without benefit; for the Lord exhorts us to receive His work in us, that keeping His commandments would not be just through the outer behavior, but through changing our old nature; saying: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good” (45)
- The need for building on the Rock:
The Lord Christ again confirms that the goal of keeping His commandments should be to produce natural fruition of the new heart, founded on Him, likening our life to a building fit to be set upon the Lord Christ “The Rock of Ages”, that the tempests of events would not be able to shake or destroy.
Our faith in Christ is the inner rock, through which we receive the Lord Christ Himself as the secret of our power; working in us by His Holy Spirit, to lift us to His Father’s bosom.
Whoever is not founded on the “True Rock”, his building will shake right and left by the continually changing torrents of the enemy, who would never stop until it utterly collapse.