Crops And Blessings

Γενηθήτωσαν ὡς χόρτος δωμάτων ὃς πρὸ τοῦ ἐκσπασθῆναι ἐξηράνθη, οὗ οὐκ ἐπλήρωσεν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ὁ θερίζων καὶ τὸν κόλπον αὐτοῦ ὁ τὰ δράγματα συλλέγων, καὶ οὐκ εἶπαν οἱ παράγοντες εὐλογία Kυρίου ἐφ' ὑμᾶς εὐλογήκαμεν ὑμᾶς ἐν ὀνόματι Kυρίου. Τοιοῦτοι και οἱ τοῦ κόσμου σοφοὶ δοκοῦντες δι ὦν φρονοῦσι καὶ πράττουσι, τὴν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης οἴκησιν ὑπερβεβηκέναι ζωῆς. Διὸ καὶ θᾶττον ξηραίνονται, μήτε εἰς χέρσον τὰς αἰσθητὰς βάλλοντες ῥίζας, μήτε μὲν ἀντὶ χόρτου νοητὴ φυτεία σπεύσαντες εἶναι. Ὅθεν καὶ πρὶν ἐκσπασθῆναι, ξηραίνονται δι' ἀπιστίαν· Οὐκ ἀναστήσονται γὰρ οἱ ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει καὶ Ὁ μὴ πιστεύων ἤδη κέκριται. Οὔτε δὲ χεῖρα οὔτε κόλπον πληροῦσι, τῷ μὴ πααλαμβάνεσθαι, πρῶτον μὲν εἰς κόλπον Ἀβραὰμ, εἶτ' εἰς κόλπους τοῦ θερίζοντος ἀγγέλου· τοὺς γὰρ θεριστὰς ἀγγέλους ἠρμήνευσεν ὁ Σωτήρ. Ἐν δὲ τῷ προφήτῃ φησίν· Διὰ τοῦτο ἀπεθέρισα τοὺς προφήτας ὑμῶν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἄλωνα αὐτοῦ, τῇ μὲν ἀποθήκῃ τὸν σίτον διδοὺς, τῷ δὲ πυρὶ τῷ ἀσβέτῳ τὸ ἄχυρὸν. Οἱ δὲ μισοῦντες Σιὼν, καὶ οὐδὲ χόρτος, ἀλλ' ὠσει χόρτος ὄντες, εἰσὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐπισπαρέντα ζιζάνια τῷ καλῷ σπέρματι, ἄπερ ἐν καιρῷ θερισμοῦ πυρὶ παραδίδοται κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τὸν μέλλοντα, σημαίνοντα τοὺς αἱρετικοὺς, πρὸς οὔς ὁ λόγος, τὴν ἁνθρωπίνην ὑπεραίρειν πολιτείαν δοκοῦντας, τὸ Ἴνα τί ἀνέβητε πάντες εἰς δόματα μάταια; Οἱ πολῖται δὲ τῆς Σιὼν ἐπὶ δόματος ὄντες, μὴ καταβήτωσαν ἇρει τὰ ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅπερ ἤκουσαν εἰς τὸ οὖς, κηρυξάτωσαν ἐπὶ τῶν δομάτων, ἵνα σπέρμα καλὸν διαμείναντες, καρποφορήσαντες συναχθῶσιν εἰς τὴν ἄλωνα τῆς σωτηρίας. Οἱ δὲ αἱρετικοὶ ἐπεὶ μέχρι τῶν προσκαίρων τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ τε βίου καὶ τοῦ φρονήματος ἔσχον, παράγοντες εἴρηνται, μόνους ἑαυτοὺς νομίζοντες, εἴναι μεγάλους, καὶ μηδενὶ προσφωνοῦντες εὐλογίαν, Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς οἱ τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου εὐλογοῦντες, πρὸς πάντας ἔχοντες ἀγάπην, εὐλογίαν προσφωνοῦμεν τοῖς πρὸς οὖς ὁ λόγος ἡμῖν. Ἥ καὶ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ὁ λόγος· Οὐ γὰρ εἶπαν οἱ παραγοντες, Εὐλογία ἐφ' ὑμᾶς. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ εἶπαν, Εὐλογήλαμεν ὑμᾶς ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίοῦ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΡKΗ´ Source: Migne PG 39.1585a-d

Let them be as the grass on the rooves, which does not sprout up but withers, never to grasped in the hand of the reaper, nor to fill the lap of the binder, and the passers by do not say, 'The blessing of the Lord upon you, blessed are you in the name of the Lord.' 1 Such are the wise of the world, who in mind and deed seem to surpass the heights of the houses of human life. Whence they wither swiftly, neither on high putting down roots in the earth, nor being eager for the planting of spiritual crop. Therefore, before they sprout up they wither, on account on disbelief, for 'The impious shall not rise in judgement,' 2 and 'He who does not believe has already been judged.' 3 Nor shall they fill the hand or the lap, because they are not first taken up in the lap of Abraham, and then shall not be in the lap of the reaping angels, those angels which the Saviour declares to be reapers. 4 And in the Prophet we read: 'Whence I slew your prophets.' 5 And He purges His threshing floor, gathering the wheat into the barn and burning the chaff with inexstinguishable fire. 6 They who hate Sion are not wheat but they are like wheat, nothing else but the weeds which the enemy sows in the midst of the good seed, which in the time of harvest are cast into the fire for eternal burning, 7 by which are designated heretics. And to those who affect to surpass the ways of men this line is given: 'Why have you all gone up on to your houses in vain?' 8 But to the people of Sion who were on the rooves, 'Do not go down to take anything from the house.' 9 'But what you have heard in the ear preach on the rooftops,' 10 that you tend the good seed and gather the fruit of it for the threshing floor of salvation. For while heretics have the gospel of life and soul but for a time, they are said to be passers by, because they have no great repute, nor do they salute any one with a blessing. We however bless the name of the Lord, fervant with all charity, blessing all we meet. Concerning which is this statement: For the passers by do not say, a blessing upon you; they do not say, 'We have blessed you in the name of the Lord.' Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 128 1 Ps 128.6 2 Ps 1.5 3 Jn 3.18 4 Mt 13.39 5 Hosea 6.5 6 Lk 3.17 7 Mt 13.25-30 8 Isaiah 22.1 9 Lk 17.31 10 Mt 10.27