The Lives of the Saints
1. THE HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, AND MUCH-SUFFERING JOB
Job was a descendant of Esau, the grandson of Abraham, and he lived in Arabia about two thousand years before Christ. His father's name was Zareth and his mother's Bosora; his full name was Jobab. He was an honorable, God-fearing, and exceedingly wealthy man. But in the seventy-ninth year of his life, God permitted heavy temptations to fall upon him through Satan, as is described in detail in the Book of Job. And in a single day Job lost all his enormous possessions, and his sons, and his daughters. Then a grievous illness fell upon him, from which his entire body was covered with sores from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and Job lay upon a dung heap outside the city and scraped the pus from his wounds with a piece of broken pottery. But Job did not murmur against God; rather, he patiently endured all his afflictions to the end. Therefore God restored his health and gave him wealth far greater than he had before, and again seven sons and three daughters were born to him, as many as he had had before. And Job lived in all two hundred and forty-eight years, ever glorifying and praising God. Job is considered the model of patient endurance of every suffering that God sends upon us, and a prefiguration of the suffering Lord Jesus.
2. THE HOLY MARTYR BARBARUS
Barbarus was a soldier in the time of Julian the Apostate. When the emperor's general Bacchus led the Roman army against the Franks, in that army was Barbarus, a secret Christian. On the battlefield there appeared a certain champion from the side of the Franks, resembling the ancient Goliath, who challenged the Romans to send someone out to fight him in single combat. General Bacchus counseled Barbarus to go out. Barbarus prayed in his heart to the living Lord, went out, and defeated that giant. At this the Frankish army was thrown into confusion and fled. Then the general arranged a great celebration and ordered that sacrifices be offered to the idols. But during this sacrifice the general learned that Barbarus was keeping himself apart. When he asked him about this, Barbarus declared that he was a Christian. The general reported this to the emperor, and the emperor ordered that Barbarus be subjected to the most severe torments. But Barbarus endured everything with rare courage and composure. During his torture many miracles were manifested, and many soldiers seeing this accepted the faith of Christ. Among them was the general Bacchus himself, together with Callimachus and Dionysius. All three of them were beheaded for the name of Christ, and after them Barbarus also, in the year 362. Their souls departed to the kingdom of Christ the immortal King.
3. SAINT BARBARUS THE ROBBER
After many crimes he repented and condemned himself, first, to walk on all fours and eat with the dogs for three years, and second, to live in the forest for twelve years without clothing, without shelter, and without any food except grass and leaves. He received word from an angel that his sins were forgiven. Merchants were traveling through the forest, and seeing Barbarus from a distance, they thought him a beast and not a man; they aimed their arrows and shot him. As he lay dying, he begged them to send word to the nearest priest about him. The priest came and buried him with honor. And from his body there flowed a healing myrrh that cured people of various diseases and afflictions.
“After many crimes he repented and condemned himself, first, to walk on all fours and eat with the dogs for three years.”
Hymn of Praise
Tell me, brother, what canst thou endure,
And I shall tell thee how much of a man thou art.
Righteous Job, rich and most glorious,
Was cast by Satan upon a dung heap,
And covered with pus and sores —
A terror to dogs and men!
All he had perished in a day
Save faith and save endurance.
But with the weapons of faith and endurance
Job conquered the fearsome Satan.
God watched the unequal struggle,
And granted the righteous man the victory,
With victory all other blessings,
And put the envious devil to shame.
“Tell me, brother, what canst thou endure, and I shall tell thee how much of a man thou art.”
Reflection
Abba Isaiah said of himself: "I see myself like a horse wandering without a rider. Whoever finds it mounts it and rides it at will. When one rider leaves the horse, another mounts it and does the same, and then a third, and so forth." This great ascetic, of whom all spoke with admiration as one who had attained perfection, said this of himself either out of humility or from the memory of the time of his imperfection. The main point is that this saying is true in relation to every Christian who walks spiritually unbelted and unbridled. No sooner has one passion dismounted from him than another has mounted him. No sooner has one exhausted him and left him in despair than another has mounted him with the deceptive hope that it will make him happy. Such a man has no rider who would guide him on the right path without turning either left or right. The only friendly rider, whom one should welcome with open arms, is the holy and mighty Christian spirit.
Contemplation
Contemplate the Ascension of the Lord Jesus, namely:
1. How He first rose bodily, and then ascended bodily,
2. How the souls of righteous men after death first ascend to heaven, while their bodies await the general resurrection, the general transfiguration, and the general ascension.
Homily
On the Power That God Gave to the Prophetic Words
Behold, I will make My words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them (Jer. 5:14)
See, brethren, that the effect of the word of God is different for different people! The word of God is like fire, which gladdens the righteous man who has grown cold in the chill of this world; and the word of God is like fire, which burns up the unrighteous man whom this material world has overheated. Experienced spiritual fathers have left us testimony that the very name of Jesus, which brings power, joy, and refreshment to the faithful — that this name burns evil spirits like living fire. So it is with every word of God. In some it creates consolation, in others irritation; in some it calms anger, in others it increases it; in some it evokes reverent awe, in others mockery. To the healthy it is honey, but to the sick, honey is wormwood.
But why should the people be like wood that shall be burned? Is the people to blame if godless rulers and false prophets lead them astray? The people are not to blame to the same degree as their rulers and false prophets, but they are nonetheless guilty to a certain degree. For God has given the people also to know the right path, both through conscience and through the preaching of God's word, and the people ought not to follow blindly their blind leaders when these lead them along false paths and away from God and God's law. God is righteous, brethren, and He knows the measure of everyone's guilt, and He will not allow the unlearned and the lowly to suffer as much as the learned and the great.
O all-seeing Lord, save us from being either blind leaders or blindly led. Strengthen our hearts, that both as leaders and as those who are led, we may always be Thy servants, and Thy servants alone. To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
“The very name of Jesus, which brings power, joy, and refreshment to the faithful — that this name burns evil spirits like living fire.”