John Chrysostom

Prayer is no small bond of love for God, developing in us the habit of converse with him and encouraging the pursuit of wisdom.… We are, however, not as aware as we should be of the benefit of prayer, for the reason that we neither apply ourselves to it with assiduity nor have recourse to it in accord with God’s laws. Typically, when we converse with people of a class above us, we make sure that our appearance and gait and attire are as they should be and dialogue with them accordingly. When we approach God, by contrast, we yawn, scratch ourselves, look this way and that, pay little attention, loll on the ground, do the shopping. If on the contrary we were to approach him with due reverence and prepare ourselves to converse with him as God, then we would know even before receiving what we asked how much benefit we gain.… [In receiving prayer] God, after all, looks not for beauty of utterance or turn of phrase but for freshness of spirit; even if we say what just comes into our mind, we go away with our entreaties successful.… Often we do not even need a voice. I mean, even if you speak in your heart and call on him as you should, he will readily incline toward you even then. In this way was Moses also heard, in this way also Hannah. No soldier stands by to scare people away, no bodyguard to cut short the proper moment; he is not the one to say, “Now is not a good time to make your approach, come back later.” Rather, when you come, he stands listening, even if it is lunchtime, even if dinnertime, even if the worst of times, even if in the marketplace, even if on a journey, even if at sea, even if inside the courtroom before a judge, and you call on him, there is no obstacle to his yielding to your entreaty as long as you call on him as you should … being of sober mind and contrite spirit, approaching him in a flood of tears, seeking nothing of this life, longing for things to come, making petition for spiritual goods, not calling down curses on our enemies, bearing no grudges, banishing all disquiet from the soul, making our approach with heart broken, being humble, practicing great meekness, directing our tongues to good report, abstaining from any wicked enterprise, having nothing in common with the common enemy of the world—I mean the devil, of course.… This is the way you should be righteous; and being righteous you will be heard, since you have such an advocate.

He does not dismiss anger, note, for it is useful, nor does he eliminate wrath, this too proving helpful, after all, in dealing with wrongdoers and the negligent. Instead, he speaks of wrongful anger, irrational wrath.… In other words, it is all right to be angry for good reason, as Paul too was angry with Elymas, and Peter with Sapphira. Yet I would not class that as anger pure and simple but as right thinking, solicitude, good management. A father too is angry with his son, but out of care for him. In the former case the one settling scores gives way to anger rashly, whereas in the latter case the one who sets at right anothers’ behavior is the mildest person of all. Because God, too, whenever he is said to be angry, is angry not to take personal vengeance but to correct us. Let us also, accordingly, imitate this. Taking action against people in this way, after all, is divine, whereas the other way is human. God differs from us, however, not only in being angry for good reason but in the fact that anger in God is not a passion.So let us too not be angry rashly. Anger, you see, has been instilled in us for a reason, not for sinning but for checking others in their sin, not for it to become a passion and an affliction but for it to prove a remedy for passions.… This is the kind of thing anger is, a useful instrument for stirring up our tardy spirits, for imparting energy to the soul, for rendering us more concerned in our reaction to the fate of the wronged, for moving us to action against conspirators. This is precisely the reason he says, “Be angry, and do not sin.”

Seek after righteousness, make an offering of righteousness: this is the greatest gift to God, this an acceptable sacrifice, this an offering of great appeal, not sacrificing sheep and calves but doing righteous things.… This sacrifice requires no money, no sword, no altar, no fire; it does not dissolve into smoke and ashes and smells; rather, the intention of the offerer suffices. Poverty is no impediment to it nor indigence a problem, nor the place nor anything else like that; instead, wherever you are, you are fit to offer sacrifice, you are priest, and altar, and sword and victim. This, you see, is what things of the mind and spirit are like. They enjoy greater facility; they have no need of outside prompting.… Whom is there left to fear if you have God as your ally? No one. Now, this is no little virtue, having confidence in him, putting trust in him. But along with righteousness he also asks this virtue of us, to put our trust in him to hope in him, to place no confidence in things of this life but rather detach ourselves from everything and fix our minds on him. After all, the things of the present life are like dreams and shadows and have even less substance than they do, appearing and departing at the same time; when present they cause their possessors awful worry. Hope in God, [by contrast], is immortal, unchangeable, immovable; it is subject to no alteration, stands firm and steady and renders unassailable the one who professes it in all diligence and with a proper disposition.

He did not say simply, “You have made me the gift of joy” but “of heart,” suggesting that the joy is not in external things, not in … gold or silver, not in clothing or groaning tables, not in the extent of sovereignty or the size of one’s house. Such joy is not of heart but of eyes only. Many people with these possessions, at any rate, think life not worth living; they carry around with them in their soul a furnace of despondency, exhausted by the multitude of concerns and oppressed by unceasing apprehension.… If present realities give you joy, and you learn God’s providence from them, gain a greater and deeper learning from future realities, for the reason that they are better, more stable and permanent. You see, if you believe God’s providence takes the form of you being in wealth and prosperity, let your having wealth in heaven bring you much more to this conviction. If, however, you inquire, “Why is it that these things are kept in store in hope and are not immediately obvious?” I should give this reply, that we believers regard the objects of hope to be more obvious than those that are obvious; such, after all, is the certainty of faith. But if you were to inquire again, “Why is it that we do not gain rewards here and now?” I should give this reply, that the present is the time for struggles and contests, the future is the time for wreaths and laurels. And this is an effect of God’s providence, the gathering together of difficulties and sweat in this brief and passing life, on the one hand, and on the other the continuance of laurels and wreaths throughout an everlasting and ageless eternity.

Nothing, you see, is so calculated to bring peace as knowledge of God and possession of virtue, banishing afar conflict of the passions and not allowing one to be at odds with oneself. Unless … you enjoy this kind of peace, then no matter if you are at peace abroad and no enemy assaults you, you are more miserable than the most embattled people in the world. You see, neither Scythians, nor Thracians, nor Indians, nor Moors nor any other hostile races are capable of mounting such a conflict as an uneasy conscience gnawing at your soul, as untamed desire, as love of money, lust for power, addiction to mundane affairs.… Jealous, slanderous, greedy and rapacious people, you see, carry around with them everywhere this warfare, bearing within them enemies lying in ambush. No matter where they retreat to, they cannot avoid conflict; even if they stay at home and go to bed, they are under attack from clouds of arrows, disturbances more violent than pounding seas, massacres and uproar and lamentation and other calamities more disastrous than those occurring in battle. Righteous persons, on the contrary, are not in this predicament; rather, in their waking hours they enjoy life, and in nighttime they take their rest with great satisfaction.