An Instruction for the Tuesday of the Eleventh Week: On the Weightier Matters of the Law—Judgment, Mercy, and Faith (Mt. 23:23)

Human mercy almost always violates justice, and justice excludes mercy. On the contrary, in the divine law judgment and mercy appear in a wondrous union. This union constitutes the subject of spiritual contemplation for the mind overshadowed by divine grace. A mind admitted to such contemplation comes into sacred rapture and sings with David: “I will sing of mercy and justice to You, O Lord; I will sing praises to You” (Ps 100:1-2).

Why do human mercy and human justice stand in disagreement with one another, while mercy and judgment flowing from the Gospel stand in an inseparable union? Because human mercy and human justice are founded on fallen human reason, on his fallen will, on his fallen spirit. These mercy and justice bear upon themselves the mark of the fall; these mercy and justice emit consequences worthy of their character. Both human mercy and human justice lack correctness, lack purity, lack holiness, are defiled by sin. “Mercy and judgment” communicated to man by the Gospel teaching are founded on faith in God, on living faith, expressing itself in deeds and all conduct. “Mercy and judgment” are understood “in the way that is upright,” that is, are grasped only through unblemished, devout living. “The weightier matters of the law are judgment, mercy, and faith,” said the Saviour of the world to the blinded righteous, drawing them away from their own destructive righteousness, from actions by their own judgments and their own will, leading them to the saving righteousness of God, to actions by God’s will and understanding. Is it not necessary for us, brethren, to pay attention to the Lord’s instruction? Have we ever examined this “weightier matter of the law”—the most important in the law—“judgment, mercy, and faith”? Have we not moved through our life without guidance from the instruction to which the Saviour gave such significant importance? Has not our activity for this reason been a chain of errors, and has not our conduct not been a constant, unbroken delusion?

A life well-pleasing to God must be wholly founded on faith. “The righteous shall live by faith” (Heb 10:38), Scripture says; “by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth;” “all His works are done in faith” (Ps 32:4). “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11:6). “Faith,” says Saint Peter of Damascus, “is the foundation of all good, the door to God’s mysteries, effortless victory over enemies, the virtue more necessary than all other virtues, the wing of prayer, the cause of God’s dwelling in the soul.” Faith teaches us to direct all actions according to the Gospel commandments, not according to the suggestions of fallen will and reason. Activity directed according to the Gospel gradually liberates a man from the dominion of the passions. He ceases to be carried away and deceived; in his gentle disposition, undisturbed by neither anger nor lust, appears the dominion of the mind, restored by divine grace to power. “The Lord leads the humble in judgment, and teaches the humble His way” (Ps 24:9). Strangers to this blessing of God are those living a sinful life, possessed and slain by their own passions: “the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous” (Ps 1:5); they will not receive the spiritual wisdom which is granted solely to the servants of God, to whom in its time is crowned the endeavor of God’s servants. “O Lord, in Your strength the king will be glad”—the mind of Your servant, “and in Your salvation how greatly will he rejoice!” (Ps 20:2)—seeing himself as victor over the passions, seeing himself restored to power, seeing the feelings of the heart obedient to him. The submission of the mind to God is the cause of the submission of the heart to the mind. When the mind submits to God, the heart submits to the mind. In this consists gentleness. What is gentleness? Gentleness is humble devotion to God united with faith, overshadowed by divine grace: “the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he will not be moved” (Ps 20:8). The king—the mind—does not deviate from justice and prudence, as he deviated when in bondage to the passions; he is not carried away by anger or painful attachments, expressions of love sick with sin; he is not carried away by the flattery of vanity or the suggestions of self-conceit and pride; he does not weaken under the blows of sorrow and despondency. He remains wholly in the Gospel teaching and conducts himself in accordance with this teaching. From a correct view of himself, from correct action within himself, he obtains a correct view of mankind, begins to act correctly toward mankind.

Man was created good; holy peace of heart and constant goodness were his natural properties. They are shaken, they are disturbed by the fall, which admitted into the soul various fierce passions. Passions are the cause of disturbances. In the recreation of man by the Redeemer, in the bridling of our passions by His creative all-powerful might, together with the return of power to the mind over the heart, peace and goodness return to the heart. Like exiles from their homeland, after a long absence they return to the heart, rejoice with one another, greet one another: “Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Ps 84:11). We see a wondrous union of mercy with righteousness in the mode of action of the God-man: this mode of action is reflected in the conduct of true disciples of Christ. Disruption of goodness by anger and of heart’s peace by various passionate feelings always introduces the soul into an improper state, is always connected with the loss of the mind’s power, is always a violation of prudence, a departure from spiritual discernment. The one who through faith has acquired judgment, or spiritual discernment, through the mediation of spiritual discernment is clothed “in tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering” (Col 3:12), gives to his conduct God-pleasing correctness and righteousness, governing the powers of soul and body in accordance with the Creator’s design, cultivating his salvation and eternal blessedness by his deeds, deeds of faith, the inseparable companion and co-dweller of spiritual discernment. “There is discernment that precedes faith,” said the holy Isaac the Syrian, “and there is discernment born from faith. The discernment that precedes faith is natural discernment; the discernment born from faith is spiritual discernment.” As long as faith acts, as long as a person is guided by the Gospel commandments, so long does spiritual discernment shine in him. With the cessation of faith’s action, action according to Gospel teaching ceases; action according to one’s own judgments and the suggestions of the heart begins; the discernment descends from the height of the spiritual state to a carnal state; the feeling of goodness leaves the heart; the passions, irritated by their exile, enter it; peace is replaced by various disturbances. One who has experienced in his own soul the opposite states set forth here will experimentally know the essential importance of the Lord’s instruction, will experimentally know the union of faith with spiritual discernment and mercy. “The weightier matters of the law are judgment, mercy, and faith”. In the union of these virtues lies the renewal and salvation of man.

The instruction of the Lord, so spiritually salutary for each individual Christian, is especially beneficial and necessary for the Christian to whom God’s Providence has entrusted authority over his brethren. Without the observance of the three virtues mentioned, neither God-pleasing, nor prudent, nor generally beneficial governance is possible. A ruler becomes of necessity a plaything of his own passions and an instrument of the passions by which his associates are led, which they strive to satisfy through the ruler. Hence flow countless social calamities. Not rarely does the ruler himself perish under their blows; the society entrusted to him is always destroyed or suffers terrible destruction.

You mighty ones of the earth! Hear the instruction of the Lord, which was given to the righteous, the wise, and the mighty of the earth: “The weightier matters of the law are judgment, mercy, and faith”. Fathers of families, spiritual and civil leaders, teachers of the people! Hear the Lord’s instruction: “The weightier matters of the law are judgment, mercy, and faith”. Hear this instruction and follow it. A ruler is obliged first to establish lawful, God-ordained governance within himself, to gain authority over himself. Otherwise how can he refrain from actions suggested by partiality and passion; how can he refrain from acting according to improper concepts? The consequence of such actions is social disorder; the consequence of such actions is private and public crimes, often growing to enormous proportions. Having gained authority over himself, a ruler must gain authority over the passions of subordinate officials under him, so as not to be carried away by their passions, their falsely-named reason, their flattery, their calumnies, so as not to become a slave to those who should be slaves, so that strength might not become an instrument. Only in the light of spiritual discernment can he discern in his neighbors craftiness, deception, betrayal, malicious plots, slanders, self-interest. When a ruler is carried away by a neighbor’s passion, he immediately loses his authority in considerable degree, adopts improper views, judges with partiality and error, is put on a false course producing actions characteristic of him. And many rulers of the best heart, the purest good intention, even deep piety, having lost judgment and submitted to malicious and ill-intentioned influence, have committed crimes and become the cause of grievous and extensive calamities. There cannot be mercy where there is no judgment and justice. To perform deeds of mercy, one must be just; justice alone, having given all its proper significance, is capable of showing true mercy, and this “mercy”, this mercy alone, “boasts” over judgment “in God’s sight” (Jas 2:13). Partial actions, though they have the appearance of the greatest good deeds, in essence always have the significance of evil deeds: vice is crowned by them, virtue is trampled down, and private and public good are trampled down. “Do not judge by appearance,” said the Lord, “but judge with righteous judgment” (Jn 7:24). Do not be carried away by honeyed words or a paradisiacal smile shining on the lips; do not be carried away by any appearance; do not judge from carnal reasoning; give to your discernment correctness and holiness, and judge men by their fruits (Mt 7:16). “You judge by the flesh” (Jn 8:15)—from your falsely-named reason, from your sinfulness, and therefore you judge erroneously, to your own harm and that of your neighbors. “If I judge,” said the Lord, “My judgment is true” (Jn 8:16). Let us strive to become in our judgment instruments of God’s judgment; then our judgment will be cleansed of defects, and the more precisely we are guided by the Gospel commandments, the more will it be cleansed from them. The Gospel commandments both instruct man in correctness of judgment and convict him of deficiencies in his judgment. Justice flowing from spiritual discernment is filled with wisdom, calm, and goodness; it is free from harshness; it is not inflamed with anger toward sinful men; it compassionates them, has mercy on them; it firmly heals and restrains sins; it replaces senseless and inhuman punishments with measures that are more effective, measures that are wise. “O God, give Your judgment to the king and Your righteousness to the king’s son. He will judge Your people with righteousness and Your poor with justice. The king will judge the poor of the people and save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor” (Ps 71:1-2, 4). Judgment, or spiritual discernment, is a gift of God. Let us strive toward it by deeds of faith, let us ask it of God by the prayer of faith. The holy king asked God for spiritual discernment for himself and for his son. An action worthy of imitation! You earthly rulers! Ask this gift of God for yourselves and for your subordinates. Having obtained this gift, pour forth through it true blessings to mankind! Find your own happiness in the happiness of your neighbors! Through judgment restrain evil that attempts to seduce, deceive, entrap, and destroy you! Through judgment gain the capacity to evaluate virtue and true merit, gain the capacity to pour out mercy on those deserving mercy, gain the capacity to preserve yourself from a great moral crime: from approving and strengthening the enemies of virtue by pouring out upon them unreasoning and humanity-destructive mercy. Such mercy is a grave sin!

And each Christian can and should pronounce upon himself the prayer of the crowned Prophet. In the name of the king he can understand his mind, and in the name of the king’s son his activity born from the mind. In the name of people and the poor he can understand the soul’s qualities given to man by God, impoverished because of the fall. The slanderer is named the falsely-named reason and the fallen angel cooperating with it, the parent and source of falsely-named reason; they constantly strive to show virtues and vices in a distorted manner, contradict and oppose God’s Word, slander God’s Word, boldly strive to represent God’s wisdom as foolishness (1 Cor 1:18-25). “O God, give Your judgment to the king and Your righteousness to the king’s son:” for “the weightier matters of the law are judgment, mercy, and faith”. Amen.

Saint Peter of Damascus. On How One May Acquire True Faith. Book 1, Philokalia, part 3.

Discourse 84.