Ephrem Syrus, Homilies

The First Teaching of the Holy Ephrem to the Monks The Psalms compel me to speak, and not my worthiness restrains me, that I might be silent. The pains compel me to utter, and my sins do not permit me, for I am held captive by these two... the better... that I might... relieve myself from the sorrows of my heart. My heart burns, and my eyes shed tears involuntarily, and I would weep unceasingly day and night for the wounds of my soul. For this steadfastness of ours, which is in these times of ours, for it is full of wounds and you do not know that the holy God may adorn us among ourselves, and we may attain to that promise of His, lest we dishonor that holy name which is called upon us, and lest the name of our God be blasphemed because of us. Now let us not despise ourselves and let us know that our name is similar to His name, for He is called Christ and we Christians. He is our God, and we are to be spiritual; where the spirit of the Lord is, there is nobility.

Now let us hasten, that we may attain to that nobility, and let us take heed, that which is worthy of life has made us, and we know that we are called to his wedding, that we might love one another, even as he loved us. But beware of your own selves, O wretched ones, lest two portions of judgment be laid upon us on that day of judgment, for we have renounced the world, and yet we strive after worldly things. We have abandoned wealth, and yet our heart desires wealth. We have despised the flesh, and yet we strive after the flesh. For this reason I am afraid. Lest that day suddenly come upon us, and we be found fearful and poor and unprepared. Then we would blame ourselves. Thus it was in the days of Noah: they ate and drank, they gave in marriage and were given in marriage, they traded and were traded. How came the destruction and annihilated all that pride? It does not permit the healing of its wounds, that it might cure that wound which was in the days of our fathers, who shone in this world and in all the earth like stars, and who lived as monks among thorns and brambles.

Of the heretics and the godless, those who were honored anthraces and chosen pearls by reason of their great purity and monasticism, their enemies and haters made them like themselves. Who saw their humility and did not turn to God? And their meekness and gentleness and did not repent? Or what rich man saw them in poverty for God's sake and did not despise this world? Or who was a plunderer, a usurer, and proud, and saw their life of purity, and did not at once turn to the Lord? Or who was a fornicator and defiled, and saw them standing in prayer, and did not turn and repent? Or who was evil and wrathful and met them, and did not turn to peace? Here they labored, and there they rejoice, for God magnified them among themselves, and men were astonished. But in our negligence we have abandoned the straight path and walk a pathless and difficult road. Now there is no one who for God's sake abandoned wealth, nor indeed anyone who for the sake of eternal life submitted to anyone. There is no one meek and humble, no one peaceful and gentle, nor is there anyone who would endure and suffer.

We are all wrathful and grudging, and we all desire to put on fine garments; we all love the glory of this world; we are all vainly boastful; we all love ourselves. For when someone comes to learn, he wishes that, before his own learning, he might teach others; and he becomes a teacher before others become teachers, and a knower of the law before others. And before learning the alphabet, he becomes skilled; and before being subdued himself, he subdues others; and before first commanding, he commands; and before another consoles, he consoles. If he is an elder, he commands harshly; and if he is a youth, he becomes a turner of words. If he is from the rich, he immediately seeks honor; and if he is from the poor, he desires consolation; and if he is a laborer, he immediately desires to hold his hands idle. Beloved, who would not weep at this our idleness? For we have been weaned from the world and we strive for the earthly. The laborers despise the earth, and those whom we consider spiritual, we turn to the earth. Do we not know, brothers, how far we are from excellence? Do we not know how far we are in debt, beloved?

We pretend to fast, and we desire many foods; we pretend to be humble, and we care about clothing; we pretend to be obedient, and we are all contrary; we pretend to be meek and gentle, and we are all wild beasts; we read books and do not understand, we hear with our ears and do not wish to accept; and if someone meets a man slain on the road, he is disgusted by the color of his face, but we read about the slain, the martyred, and the confessors and laugh, and what shall I say of the apostles and confessors! The very Word of God Himself hung upon the wood, died and rose for our sins. We hear and read of His sufferings, and we are amused and laugh. Then the sun could not bear to look upon that outrage of the Jews, and turned its own brightness into darkness, but we do not desire to turn from darkness and evil. That veil of the temple, which did not sin, was rent, but for our saints we do not even wish to incline our hearts.

The earth was terrified and trembled at the mere mention of the Lord, who is beneath our feet, so that we might fear God, but we were not even thus moved to turn to the Lord. Cities were destroyed and places were laid waste by the wrath of God, and we were not even thus afraid. The sun once and twice darkened in the south above us, and we were not even thus shaken. Wars with the pagans arose and devastated the earth, so that we might fear God and turn to repentance and repent of our sins. I desire repentance, not for one hour, nor for one day, nor even for one, but for many hours, yet we have not even thus turned to the Lord. Now let us repent, brothers, so that God may become our accuser for our sins. Let us beseech Him, for we have angered Him. Let us humble ourselves before Him, so that He may exalt us. Let us weep, so that He may gladden us; let us mourn, so that He may console us. Let us cast away from ourselves that custom of evil and clothe ourselves in virtue as in a garment; especially we, who have been deemed worthy of that image of the angels, O beloved ones!

Now let us take up that measure and rule of the good and perfect first fathers. Do not today fast, and tomorrow make a great feast; do not today drink water, and tomorrow seek wine; do not today wear a haircloth, and tomorrow a garment of fine linen; do not today go barefoot, and tomorrow seek sandals and shoes; do not today be humble and lowly, and tomorrow be haughty and proud; do not today be meek and obedient, and tomorrow be disobedient and rebellious; do not today be in tears and mourning, and tomorrow be in laughter and joy; do not today lie on the ground, and tomorrow on a bier, but take one rule for yourself, O beloved, by which you may be able to please God, so that it may be useful both for yourself and for your neighbor. For if you have mortified yourself and are alone, do not find heavy the service of another. If you are among many, hearken to your Lord, who said: As he wishes that you men do to you, so do you to them. If it is a burden for him to serve you because of the weakness of your flesh, beware lest you harm your neighbor. For this reason those perfect fathers laid the foundation of their own.

On that one rule they were wholly found, which they had begun, and on that same they were completed without hindrance, as long as they lived in this world, so that for a hundred years, or even for one year, they did not change their rule of life. This is the good and great fast: the fast of the tongue and of foods, lying on the ground, humility and meekness and faith, unchangeable love and the full exaltation of souls. After this, poverty for God's sake and estrangement from all the affairs of this world, humility and a holy life, wakefulness and prayer with weeping, while laughter, even to the point of a smile, was not with them. For pride was trampled by them, wrath and anger were diminished and vanished from them, gold and silver they held in contempt, and they themselves purified their own selves. For this reason God dwelt among them and was magnified by them; those who saw them and those who heard of them glorified God. And if someone does not purify himself from all evil and from abominable ill-will and from evil thought and from wrath and from malice and from anger,

from pride, from vain boasting and hatred, from opposition and evil-speaking, and from vain loquacity. And now, if I were to recount each of these things individually, everything that is abhorrent to the holy God, and you were to utterly reject them from yourselves, then God would dwell with you. Now tell me: if someone wished to cast you into a foul place, would you not be wholly there and not believe him? If you are a worm and cannot believe him, would not the holy God, who is pure and incorruptible, alone, who dwells among the saints, dwell with you, who are in that foul place and stench? Therefore, let us now purify ourselves, beloved, all together, for that work was wondrous, brethren. They saw those wild beasts, for they gathered together. Elephants coming from India and Persia, lions and tigers mingled together, and they did no harm to one another. Reptiles and winged birds came without pursuit, and they settled around that ark, and not for many times. And Noah himself hastened and prepared the ark and offered repentance to them, and no one hindered.

they saw the marvel of the wild beasts, and their heart was not moved, that they might repent. Now, beloved, let us be afraid, lest we too be caught in the same snare and perish, for those writings have been fulfilled and those spoken wonders have vanished, and there is now no other deficiency, but only the account of our adversary, the Antichrist, for at the end of the Roman kingdom all this shall be fulfilled. Now, whoever desires life, let him hasten; and whoever desires deliverance from the fire of Gehenna, let him strive without ceasing; and whoever does not wish to fall into the undying worm, let him keep watch without ceasing; and whoever desires consolation, let him mourn; and whoever desires elevation, let him humble himself; and whoever loves to enter with the bridegroom, he has a shining lamp and oil with him, who awaits that wedding, that he may put on a shining garment, let him prepare, for the city of the king is full of joy and gladness, and from it radiance and beauty, sweetness and eternal life issue forth, which are settled within it. If anyone loves the citizenship of the king, let him go up there, for the day is declining and you do not know what may befall on that road.

A traveler on the road, weary of the length of that road, lies down and falls asleep in idleness until evening, and then only awakens and sees that the day is declining, is startled and begins to walk on it. And immediately a cloud and hail, thunder and lightning, and great distress, and terror came upon him, and he could neither turn aside to that shelter nor return to his own place because of that great distress which came upon him. So also we, if we become idle at that time, we will fall short of the judgment of repentance, for we are guests in this world and it passes away. Now let us hasten, brethren, that we may be worthy to come with riches to that city of ours and to the world. We are spiritual merchants, brethren, and we seek that precious pearl, which is Christ our Savior, our boast, the price beyond compare; let us hasten to obtain it. Blessed and thrice-blessed are those who hastened and obtained it. But pitiable is he who became idle and did not obtain the Creator of all. Such a one gave himself over to destruction, for he did not wish to obtain Him, nor did He obtain him.

Do you not know, beloved, that we are vines from that true vine, which is Christ, our vinedresser? See that none of you be found barren, for the true Father is a worker and tends that true vine, and those that bear fruit he prunes so that they may bring forth more fruit. But those that bear no fruit he cuts off and casts out, so that they may be burned by fire. Therefore beware for yourselves, beloved, that you not be found barren and be cut off and given over to the fire for burning. We are good seeds which the householder sowed, and the reaper has now arrived, and the workers hold sickles ready, and they await only the Lord’s signal. Now see to it that none of you be found like a thorn, and be bound into a sheaf and given over to be burned eternally. Or do you not know, brothers, that a terrible abyss lies before us to cross, even for the perfect and the wise? The fathers hold lamps ready and walk with joy, when the wind blows upon them, so that they may cross that abyss and hasten to the haven of life.

But I and those like me eat and drink without ceasing, and we are insatiable, and we do not even become sober in our own mind, for an abyss lies before us. Therefore I am afraid, my brothers, lest the wind suddenly blow and find us unprepared, and seize us and thrust us into that ship, and there we weep for the days of our idleness and waste, seeing our companions in joy and merriment, while we see our own heads in distress and lamentation. For that place is a marketplace of merchants, and each one boasts and rejoices there in his own virtue. Do you not know, my beloved, that our Lord of lords has appointed us for the wedding of his son? Why are you idle and do not hasten, and do not here and now put on shining garments, and do not here and now have shining lamps and oil? Or do you not know that no uninvited person enters there, and if someone dares to enter and is not clad in wedding attire, do you know what befalls that one? That lord will command, and they will bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into that dark place, where there is weeping of eyes and gnashing of teeth. I am afraid, my beloved.

lest the passion of the flesh expel us from that bridal chamber, lest this outward form alone be pleasing to us, while within we harbour the passions of the flesh. For this outward form teaches us where our mind is, and shows us where our heart is. The adornment of clothing shows that we are of the earth; and the eating of many foods shows that we are gluttons; and pride shows that we are vainly boastful; the sweetness of foods conceals from us that we are fearful of glory; and idleness shows that we are lazy; and the acquisition of wealth shows that we do not have that envy of Christ; and hatred shows that we do not have love; the washing of the face and feet shows that we are slaves, afflicted by sin. From the tongue it is revealed, even as it corresponds to the heart, for whatever the heart devises, that the tongue utters, and the secrets of the heart become known through the lips, for our mouth is open and has neither door nor bolt, and our speech comes forth as it wills. From words the thoughts of our heart are disclosed, for the mouth does not keep the secret of the heart.

Therefore, because of this, the inner thoughts are concealed, and one thinks that the heart is within the inner entrails. From the tongue comes knowledge, for no one sees it, and it is revealed by words. The sweetness of an evil word reveals it, for we are filled with hatred. Let no one be deceived that there is anything in this outward form of the monks. For if any of the brothers should think that this outward form of the monks is without falsehood, they have cut off hope in this very thing, that he who is turned by the form of the monks, that inner falsehood is manifested. But if you wish to understand the thoughts of the heart, look to his face and learn from him whether he thinks of heaven or of earth, of spiritual things or of fleshly things, of eating or of fasting, of wealth or of poverty, of humility or of pride, of love or of hatred. For the face reveals the treasures of his heart, which question him, the lips of the tongue. And as a man is, he shows whom he desires in his heart toward Christ, or toward this worldly life. And that invisible soul is revealed by its own bodily deeds, whether it is good or evil.

The nature is good, but it is transformed by evil deeds through the power of one's own will. If someone says that the passions of the flesh are natural, they are blameless with respect to those who serve them. Beware of yourself, lest you thoughtlessly transform that good creation of the God who loves mankind, for God created everything purely good and adorned it with a good nature. What shall I say! If someone sleeps, as much as that nature is, it is not blameworthy, and if he sleeps in moderation; but if he sleeps excessively, he is condemned, for he has mastered himself and given himself over to sleep, and has become an inner betrayer of that nature and has overcome it by the habit of sleep. If someone eats by nature, no one blames him if he eats in moderation; if he eats beyond measure, he is condemned, for it is eating beyond nature. And if someone is thirsty, as that nature is, he is not blamed for it, and if he drinks in moderation; but if he drinks excessively, he is condemned, for it is drinking beyond nature, for habit and nature are both two-sided, for nature shows the enslavement of the flesh, and habit reveals the power of one's own will. Man stands ready on both sides, that will of his own...

Beware of one's own will, for it is a laborer. For evil habit is grafted onto nature, and good virtue, as one wills. Evil habit is grafted in this manner: in eating, gluttony; in drinking, great thirst; in sleep, drowsiness and excessive sleep; and in the sight of the eye, deceitful desire instead of truth. And then again, good virtue is planted in this manner: for eating, fasting; for drinking, patience; for deceit, truth; and for evil sight, good thought. For that power of ours is like a laborer: in the blink of an eye, it uproots evil habit and plants good virtue, as it wills, for it prevails even over nature. For nature is the land, and its own will is the laborer of it, while the divine books are the advisor and teacher, for they teach that laborer of ours which evil habit to uproot, or which good virtue to plant, however much it is diligent. And that laborer of ours, without the books of God, is weak and feeble.

But the study of the divine books gives him power and wisdom, and good virtues are granted to him by his own grace, so that he may implant his own nature together with it. What shall I say? It gives him and implants together with him faith, on account of his unbelief; love, in place of hatred; and knowledge, on account of his ignorance. Then again it implants together with him immortality, on account of his mortality, and divinity, on account of his humility. If that laborer of ours wills, and with his own haste abandons his own teachers and counselors, which we have called the divine books, he finds himself deceived and falls into evil thoughts. And he gathers within his own nature an evil habit, and implants a good habit upon the nature of his own flesh. What shall I say? Unbelief, cutting off of hope, hatred, envy, pride, vain boasting, self-love, gluttony, deceit, slander, and many such things, because he abandoned that lawgiver, and that one also abandoned him. If he repents and recognizes his own transgression, and returns to that lawgiver and says: I have sinned against you, O Lord, because I abandoned you.

The lawgiver himself, by his own love of humanity, receives him and gives him good understanding and power. And then again, a second time, he is made for that land of his own nature, and the evil habits are uprooted from him, and he is given good and virtuous habits, and he is granted a crown and praise. For the sake of this, he is received in this manner: if he is angry, that nature may be subdued, but he restrains himself; if he desires something, he endures; if his heart is troubled by something, he becomes patient; and if he is weighed down by sleep, he wakes up; and if he is inclined to psalmody, he opens his mouth to praise and sing the words of God. Then he becomes crowned with that crown, because he has experienced and overcome that nature. Then again he becomes praiseworthy, because he has acquired good virtue. Now, the greatness of his love of humanity. The praise and great beauty of his sweetness, and the striking of the hand in his mercy, for his is the greatness from the universe to the universe, amen.