2:13)? Accordingly, let us together turn over the words of holy Micah, which we have likewise heard together. And would that, brethren, as we turn them over in speech, so we might fulfil them in works! For we have heard the words of a holy man, a just man, a pious man, a man anxious for his own salvation, a man who knew himself created by God, who considered himself to be under God: who, with great fear and trembling, awaited the divine judgment, in which he knew he would render an account before the tribunal of the just Judge not only of his deeds and words, but even of his very thoughts. Thinking, therefore, of the future judgment of God, of which we too all ought to be afraid, and to think in all our works with great dread of heart:
thinking of this, this holy and just man sought what he might do, or with what gifts he might entreat God the Judge. But he knew that Almighty God, who founded all things, who made all things out of nothing, who instituted nothing out of the need of poverty, but all things out of the abundance of goodness, seeks not our gifts alone, but also our works. Nay, he knew that God is especially delighted in our gifts in this, that we please Him by holy conduct and good works. Seeking, therefore, what should be offered by man to God, this man said: 'What worthy thing shall I offer to the Lord?' (Micah 6:6). And by this word, in which he does not say 'What shall I offer to the Lord?' but 'What worthy thing shall I offer to the Lord?'
he taught us that whenever we wish to offer a gift to God, we should seek something worthy, and offer this. But what can be worthy in an offering to God, except what is most excellent in creation? Now among all the creatures which the Lord made upon the earth, none better can be found than that creature which God made to His own image. And this creature upon earth is man. 2. Whoever, therefore, wishes to offer something worthy to God, offers nothing else first than himself; for God, who made man to His own image, delights that His own image be offered to Him, and commands that this very image be presented to Him pure and clean. Hence it is that our Saviour thus answered certain men tempting Him:
'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's' (Matthew 22:21). This is to say: 'O man, as you render his image to Caesar on the coin, so render to God His image in yourself.' Render, O man, to your Creator His image; render it just, not iniquitous; render it humble, not proud; not foul with avarice, not deformed by rapacity, not fickle with the vice of anger, not worn down by earthly love, not sordid with envy, not polluted with fornication; but whole with the weight of prudence, clean with the truth of faith, and splendid with good conduct and works. But how we are to render to God His image in ourselves, the most holy prophet admonishes, saying: 'I will show you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you.'
'Namely, to do judgment, and justice, and to love mercy, and to walk solicitously with your God' (Micah 6:8). 3. First, therefore, let us inquire what it is to do judgment, which the blessed prophet placed first. Judgment is called an assembly where the accusation and defense of any man is conducted: whence it is necessary that he who has been the guilty one depart condemned, and that he who is proved innocent go away the victor. Return, therefore, to yourself, O man. In yourself seek the accusation, in yourself seek the defense, in yourself seek the judgment. Nay, be yourself both accuser, and defender, and judge. Enter into the secret chamber of your heart, where the eyes of the Lord your God alone see you. There accuse yourself, that you may be able to be defended by accusation.
There convict yourself, that you may be able to obtain the victory. There condemn yourself, that you may deserve to be absolved. There punish yourself, if you wish to be freed from the punishment of eternal chastisement. Make in yourself, O Christian, a true and right judgment; carefully attend to the secrets of your heart. Set your evil deeds before your own eyes; whatever you had blotted out in the inmost book of your recollection, frequently review and reread; without any winking of connivance, examine your very self, and afflict yourself with the torments of your thoughts. Pronounce upon yourself a just sentence. Whatever evil you had done by sinning, punish truly by repenting; and, made a judge of your own sins, do to your iniquities that which judges are wont to do to capital criminals.
Do not show favor to your own person when you judge your own cause. But with severity examine your evils, with rigor pronounce the sentence of condemnation upon your sins, and slay the sins which you condemn in yourself. Now this is to slay sins: henceforth in no way to obey sins. Do not, therefore, be a doer of sins, and you shall be a slayer of them. But if you shall have been a just judge in respect of your sins, you shall stand absolved by the just judgment of God. But that you may be able to celebrate a just judgment upon yourself, hear the apostle Paul, who teaches what works you ought to mortify in yourself, that you may be able to attain to life. For he says:
'Mortify your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and avarice, which is the service of idols: on account of which the wrath of God comes upon the sons of unbelief' (Colossians 3:5-6). Behold, O man, you have what to judge in yourself, you have what to condemn, what to mortify in yourself. Judge these things, and you shall not be judged. Condemn these things, and you shall not be condemned. Mortify these things, and you shall not die. Here be the most severe judge, here be the most vehement executioner. Judge these things by rightly considering them, mortify them by casting them away. For if you shall have rightly considered your sins, you have judged; if you shall have cast them away, you have slain. Therefore, that you may defend yourself, accuse yourself; that you may absolve yourself, judge yourself;
and that you may bring your cause to victory, consider your conscience. Acknowledge your iniquity, mortify your concupiscence, correct your life, and by judging rightly you shall free your soul. 5. Behold, brethren, as far as the Lord has granted, we have said what it is to do judgment; what it then is to do justice, let us now say. To do justice is this: that what you do not wish to be done to you, you should not do to another; but also that you should do to another that which you delight to have done to you by another. Now you wish good to be done to you by every man: for this is just, that every man do good to man; because he acts against justice who does evil to man.
But by 'evil' I mean that work by which one sins through a depraved desire, not that by which punishment is inflicted upon sinners through charity. I now call 'evil' not that by which a neighbor is recalled from fault, but that by which the just God is provoked to wrath. I call 'evil' not what severity is wont to inflict well, but what iniquity has been accustomed to perpetrate wickedly. I now call 'evil' that which can never be just, but is always found unjust. I call 'evil' that by which one offends against God, not that by which one takes counsel for a neighbor. Therefore I now call 'evil' that which is so evil to all who do it, that it is good to none who suffers it. Man, therefore, will do justice if he does evil to none, and does good to all;
and let him do that evil to none, from which the blessed Apostle forbids us, saying: 'Rendering to no one evil for evil' (Romans 12:17). By which words he indeed commended to us full benevolence. For he did not say: 'Doing evil to no one,' but 'Rendering to no one evil for evil,' showing that it is too little for a Christian not to inflict evil, unless he learns also not to return it. Whence it is recognized how very wicked it is if we do evil to anyone, we who ought not to render evil for evil to others who do evil. 6. Preserve therefore, O Christian, justice according to the rule. Do good to every man; but neither do nor render evil to anyone. For if you shall have rendered evil for evil, you too without doubt shall be evil.
Then he who first did evil to you will not be the only evil one, because he will have you as an associate in malice. And when you shall have begun to render evil for evil, you shall be more culpable in this, because you imitate the evil which you execrate in others. But, having been made evil, you do not conquer evil, but are conquered by evil; and, what is worse, you are conquered not by another's evil, but by your own. For there is no way for you to become evil, except by falling away from goodness. Thus it will come about that you remain in yourself damnably conquered, if you have been depraved by the vice of your own will. Then, therefore, you will most certainly overcome the evil man, if you yourself remain good, if you render not evil for evils, but good for evils. On which account the Apostle, who says: 'Rendering to no one evil for evil,'
a little later says: 'Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good' (Romans 12:21). 7. Behold, that we render to no one evil for evil, we have heard together from the Apostle: that we should also do good to all, let us again likewise hear from the same apostle, who says: 'Therefore, while we have time, let us work good toward all' (Galatians 6:10). Then, therefore, we do justice, when we do to men those things which we wish to be done to us by men. This justice the Saviour Himself, commending it, says: 'All things whatsoever you wish that men should do to you, do you also the same to them' (Matthew 7:12). But what do you wish men to do to you, except good things? But if they do evil things to you, they do not do what you wish.
Therefore you also, if you render evil for evil, since you do not do to men the things you wish they would do to you, are certainly not doing what Christ commanded, but what the devil has persuaded. Wherefore, that you may do the justice which Christ commanded, bestow upon every man that which you desire to have bestowed upon you by all men. Thus will you do judgment and justice, concerning which the blessed prophet has admonished us. For you will do judgment if you condemn your sins by repenting, and by condemning your sins live well. And you will do justice if you render evil for evil to no one, but do good to all men. This is what the Apostle commends when he says:
See that none render to any man evil for evil, but always follow that which is good toward one another and toward all (1 Thess. 5:15). But because good works are then done well and profitably when they proceed from a good will, therefore, when the prophet had said that we ought to do judgment and justice, he added: And to love mercy. For the exalted above all owe mercy to the lowly, and the rich to give beforehand to the poor. Now this mercy is bestowed in two ways: when pardon is granted to one who sins and promises amendment, and when what is necessary is not denied to the needy.
To the offices of this mercy it belongs that the superior should not oppress the inferior, but defend him with justice; and that the rich should take nothing from the poor, but feed and clothe the poor; that he should not lie in wait for the poor, but rather console him with his benefactions. What then is it that frail and mortal man puffs himself up? Why is earth and ashes proud? Why does the proud rich man exalt himself over the poor? Why does he despise the poor? Why does he oppress the poor? Why does he, whether from stinginess, not give bread to the poor, or, from rapacity, take it away, and, when he ought mercifully to give much of his own to him, cruelly try to snatch away the little that the poor man has? He supposes that when he burdens the poor, he relieves himself:
he judges that when he afflicts the poor, he provides some good for himself. And he knows not that when he oppresses the poor, he lays upon himself a most grievous weight; nor does he consider that whatever he plots against the poor, he plots against himself. For he bestows good upon himself when he does good to the poor. But if he plots to do evil to the poor, he will harm himself more than the poor. Let the rich man therefore do good to the poor, and it will profit him. Let him love mercy, and always bestow it upon the poor, that he himself may find mercy in the day of tribulation (perhaps: of recompense). Let him so consider himself set over the poor man, that he may remember himself established under God the rich. Let him not therefore hesitate to show mercy to the poor man, which he delights to receive from God the rich.
Let him remember that God is judge, who holds eternal power over all. For He sees the deeds of all; He Himself will render to each according to his works (Matt. 16:27). Whence it is truly said that judgment without mercy shall be to him who has not shown mercy (Jas. 2:13), and Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matt. 5:7). Let us therefore do judgment and justice, let us love mercy. But when we do judgment and justice, when we love mercy, we walk carefully with our God. And he walks with God who advances in good morals and works, who prefers heavenly things to earthly and eternal things to temporal. But it is fitting that each one walk carefully:
that is, that he be not high-minded, but fear; that he flee pride, and attribute no good to his own merits, but in all that he does well recognize the grace of God. This carefulness makes a man walk with Christ by the way of humility and arrive at the height of the heavenly kingdom. Therefore, turned to the Lord, let us together beseech His mercy, that He may lavish upon us His grace, whereby we may be able to hold right judgment within ourselves, to show justice to others, and, loving mercy, not to oppress the poor but to cherish them: that in the sight of God, to whom we sing mercy and judgment (Ps. 100:1), we may be able to find mercy exalting itself above judgment.