By St. Cyril of
Alexandria (early 5th Century)
Many are the faults of
the Pharisee: first of all he is boastful, and without
sense, for he praises himself, even though the sacred
Scripture cries aloud,
“Let a neighbor praise you, and not
your own mouth: a stranger and not your own lips.” (Proverbs
27:202)…
Our virtue, therefore, must not be contaminated
with fault, but must be single-minded and blameless and free
from all that can bring reproach. For what profit is there
in fasting twice a week, if you so doing serve only as a
pretext for ignorance and vanity, and if it makes you
supercilious, haughty and selfish? You tithe your
possessions and make boast of it; but in another way you
provoke God’s anger, by condemning men generally on this
account and accusing others. And you yourself are puffed up,
though not crowned by the divine decree for righteousness,
but on the contrary, heap praises upon yourself. For I am
not, he says, as the rest of mankind. Moderate yourself, O
Pharisee: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, and a strong
door about my lips.” (Ps 140:3)
You
speak to God Who knows all things. Await the decree of the
Judge. None of those skilled in the practice of wrestling
ever crowns himself; nor does any man receive the crown for
himself but awaits the summons of the arbiter. Lower your
pride, for arrogance is both accursed and hated by God.
Although, therefore, you fast with puffed up mind, your so
doing will not avail you; your labor will be unrewarded; for
you have mingled dung with your perfume. Even according to
the law of Moses a sacrifice that had a blemish was not
capable of being offered for sacrifice, “there must be no
blemish therein.” (Leviticus 22:21) Since, therefore, your
fasting is accompanied by pride, you must expect to hear God
saying, “This is not the fast I have chosen.” (Is 58:5)….You
offer tithes, but you wrong in another way Him Who is
honored by you, in that you condemn men generally. This is
an act foreign to the mind that fears God
