To Eusebius, Bishop of Persian Armenia, on Taking the Helm

Whenever something happens to the helmsman, either the officer in command at the bow or the highest-ranking seaman takes his place. He does not make himself helmsman on his own authority; he is looking out for the safety of the ship. So again in war, when the commander falls, the chief tribune takes command, not in an attempt to lay violent hands on power, but because he cares for his men. So too the thrice-blessed Timothy, when he was sent by the divine Paul, took his place. It is fitting, then, for your piety to accept the duties of helmsman, of captain, of shepherd: gladly to run every risk for the sake of Christ’s sheep, and not to leave his creatures abandoned and alone. It is rather your part to bind up the broken, to raise the fallen, to turn the wanderer back from his error and keep the whole flock in health, and to follow the good shepherds who stand in front of the folds and make war on the wolves. [a]

Let us remember too the words of the patriarch Jacob: “By day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. The rams of your flock I have not eaten. What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.” These are the marks of the shepherd; these are the laws of tending the sheep. If the illustrious patriarch took such care of dumb cattle, and offered this defense to the man who had entrusted them to him, what ought we not to do, who are entrusted with the care of sheep endowed with reason, and who have received this trust from the God of all, when we remember that the Lord gave up his life for them? Who does not fear and tremble on hearing the word of God spoken through Ezekiel? “I judge between shepherd and sheep, because you eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, and you do not feed the flocks.” And again: “I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you do not speak to warn the wicked man from his wicked way, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.” The words the Lord spoke in parables agree with this: “You wicked and lazy servant… you ought to have put my money with the bankers, and then at my coming I would have received what was mine with interest.”

Up then, I beg you, let us fight for the Lord’s sheep. Their Lord is near. He will surely appear, scatter the wolves and glorify the shepherds. “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.” Let us not grumble at the storm that has arisen, for the Lord of all knows what is good for us. That is why, when the Apostle asked to be released from his trials, the Lord would not grant his request but said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” So let us bravely bear the evils that come upon us. It is in war that heroes are recognized, in contests that athletes are crowned, in the surging sea that the helmsman’s skill is shown, in the fire that the gold is tested. And I beg you, let us not look out only for ourselves. Let us rather think ahead for the rest, and much more for the sick than for the healthy, for this is an apostolic command that cries out, “Comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak.” Let us then stretch out our hands to those who lie fallen, tend their wounds, and set them back at their post to fight the devil. Nothing will vex him so much as to see them fighting and striking blows again. Our Lord is full of loving-kindness. He accepts the repentance of sinners. Let us hear his own words: “As I live, says the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” So he began his words with an oath, and he who forbids oaths to others swore one himself, to convince us how much he desires our repentance and salvation. The divine books, both the old and the new, are full of this teaching, and the precepts of the holy Fathers teach the same.

But I have not written to you as though you did not know these things. Rather I have reminded you of what you know, like people who stand safe on the shore and help those tossed by the storm, pointing out a rock to them, or warning them of a hidden shoal, or catching a rope that has been thrown and hauling it in. “And the God of peace will soon bring Satan under your feet,” and will gladden our ears with the news that you have passed from storm to calm, at his word to the waves, “Peace, be still.” [g] And you too, offer prayers for us, for you who have faced danger for his sake can speak with greater boldness. [h]