THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
Meanwhile, while He was saying this, the Samaritans came, and the fruit was gathered at once. For this reason Christ said, "Lift up your eyes, and see the fields, for they are already white" (v. 35).
He spoke, and this was fulfilled in deed. His words were confirmed by events, for "many of the Samaritans from that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, 'He told me all that I ever did.'" They saw that the woman could not, from flattery, lavish praise on One who had exposed her sins. Nor would she reveal her life to please someone else.
Let us also imitate this woman. In regard to our own sins, let us not be ashamed before men, but let us fear God as we ought. He sees our deeds even now, and in the age to come He will punish the unrepentant.
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Yet we do the opposite. We do not fear Him who will judge us. We tremble before those who can do us no harm, and we fear dishonor from them. Therefore we shall be punished by the very thing we fear.
Whoever now fears shame only before men, and is not ashamed to do what is vile before the all-seeing God, and who refuses to repent and amend, will in the coming day be exposed to shame before the whole universe, not before one or two men.
That both good and evil deeds will then be set forth as a great spectacle, let the parable of the sheep and the goats teach you. Let blessed Paul also teach you, for he says, "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each may receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Cor 5:10). Again he says, "The Lord will bring to light the things hidden in darkness" (1 Cor 4:5).
Have you done something evil, or merely thought of it, and do you hide it from men? You will not hide it from God. Yet you care nothing for this. The eyes of men are what frighten you.
Consider, then, that on that day you will not be able to conceal anything even from men. Then all things will be set before our eyes as in a picture, so that each man will become his own judge.
This is clear also from the parable of the rich man. The rich man sees before his eyes the beggar whom he had despised. I speak of Lazarus. He now begs the one whom he had so often loathed to give him his finger for comfort.
Therefore I beseech you: even if no one sees our deeds, let each of us turn to his conscience. Let him set his reason as judge over himself, and disclose his sins before it.
If we do not wish to be put to shame on that dread day, let us heal our wounds and apply to them the medicine of repentance. It is possible, truly possible, to come forth healthy, even if one is covered with countless wounds.
For it is said, "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Mt 6:14-15).
As sins submerged in baptism disappear, so these too will be destroyed, if we wish to repent. Repentance consists in no longer doing the same things. Whoever takes up his former deeds again is like the dog that returns to its vomit (2 Pet 2:22). He is also like the man in the proverb who beats wool over the fire and draws water with a sieve.
Therefore we must withdraw, both in deed and in thought, from sinful impulses. Once we have withdrawn, we must apply to the wounds remedies contrary to the sins. I will give some examples.
Are you a robber and extortioner? Cease from robbery, and apply almsgiving to the wound. Have you committed fornication? Cease from fornication, and apply chastity to this sore. Have you spoken evil of your neighbor and harmed him? Leave off slander, and apply friendship.
Let us act so with each of our sins, and let us leave none of them without attention. The time of reckoning is already coming. It is coming. Therefore Paul says, "The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing" (Phil 4:5-6).
But perhaps to us the opposite should be said: "The Lord is near; be anxious." It was fitting for the Philippians to hear, "Be anxious for nothing," for they were in affliction, labors, and struggles.
But those who live in robbery and pleasure, and who must give a heavy account for these things, should more justly hear this: "The Lord is near; be anxious." Little time remains until the end. The world is already hastening toward its end.
Wars, afflictions, earthquakes, and the cooling of love show this. When a body is breathing its last and near death, it is beset by countless illnesses. When a house is near collapse, much usually falls from both roof and walls.
So the end of the universe is near, at the doors. For this reason countless misfortunes spread everywhere. If the Lord was already "near" then, He is much more so now.
If, four hundred years before this was said, Paul called that time "the fullness of times" (Eph 1:10), much more should the present time be called so. Perhaps for this very reason some do not believe. Yet for this very reason we ought all the more to believe.
For how do you know, O man, that the end of the world is not already near, and that what has been foretold will not soon come to pass? We call the end of the year not only its last day, but also its last month, though it has thirty days.
So I shall not err if, in so great a number of years, I call even the four-hundredth year the end. Thus already in his own time the Apostle foretold the consummation.
Let us humble ourselves, then, and live in the fear of God. If we live in carelessness and negligence, expecting nothing, the coming will arrive suddenly.
Explaining this, Christ said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man" (Mt 24:37). Paul also notes this, saying, "When they say, 'Peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains upon a woman with child" (1 Thess 5:3).
What does this mean, "as labor pains upon a woman with child"? Often pregnant women, while at amusements, or dinner, or in the bath, or in the marketplace, expect nothing ahead. Suddenly they are overtaken by the pains of birth.
Since our condition is also like this, let us always be ready. We shall not always hear about this, nor shall we always have the opportunity. "In the grave," says Scripture, "who will give You praise?" (Ps 6:5).
Let us repent here, then, so that in this way we may make God merciful to us on the coming day and receive forgiveness from Him. May we all be counted worthy of it, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.