Слово на Преображение Господа Бога и Спаса нашего Иисуса Христа. Св. Димитрия, митрополита Ростовского

Jesus sang His disciples Peter, James and John, leading them to a high mountain alone, and He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, His robe was white like light. Moses and Elijah appeared to them, speaking with Him, and Peter said: Lord, it is good for us to be here (Matthew 17:1-4). St. Peter did not say: Lord, it is good for us to be here when he was with the Lord in Cana of Galilee; neither did he say this when he was with the Lord in the house of Simon the leper; I did not say this to the Lord even when I was in the house of the sisters Martha and Mary; but speaks only on Mount Tabor. God revealed the apostle. Peter the small well of His Divinity, and therefore he says: Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let our conversation be about this in honor and glory of the transformed Lord, and for us, the listeners, for spiritual benefit. The Apostle Peter saw only one transfiguration of Christ the Savior, and said: Lord, it is good for us to be here; and we see five transformations. The first transfiguration of Christ our Savior is humble, when He left heaven, came to earth, left the throne of the Cherubim, deigned to recline in a manger among the dumb... Pious listeners! See how Christ the Savior humbled Himself. If any king of the earth left his throne and royal purple and, taking on beggarly clothes, walked the earth in this form, who would not marvel at such a king, and who would not say about him: “It was a king; and look how he humbled himself! But much more marvelously did Christ the Savior, our God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, humble himself. Leaving the throne of the Cherubim and Seraphim, He deigned to lie down in a beastly manger, did not disdain our mortal flesh, took it upon Himself, hid His Divinity and, thus humbling Himself, for the sake of our salvation, walked the earth. Who wouldn’t be surprised by such a humble transformation? Surprised by this, the Apostle Paul said: not by admiration was it not possible to be equal with God: but He made Himself a little less, taking on the form of a servant, and became in the likeness of mankind, and was found in the likeness of a man (Phil. 2:6–7). How many examples there were in ancient times! Job had patience, Abraham had faith, Jacob had love, Moses had humility, Elijah had zeal, David had meekness, Joseph had purity: all these were different models. Which of them did the Lord look upon? - Only for the humility of His Servant, Who was the most blessed Virgin, the Most Holy Theotokos. She had great humility when she said: look at the humility of Your Servant (Luke 1:48). The Lord God immediately looked upon Her: He deigned to be incarnated by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became a man for our sake. Oh, humble transformation! Let's look at ourselves, why we are proud. Christ the Savior deigned to humbly transform himself and teaches us, saying: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). Let us be transformed, pious listeners, from pride into humility and let us no longer be proud. The Holy Apostle says: if anyone imagines that he is something, he is nothing before God. (Gal. 6:3). And the Lord Himself says: On whom will I look with My eyes? Against no one but the meek and silent, and the one who trembles at My words (Isa. 66:2). This is the first transfiguration of the Savior Christ God. The second transfiguration of the Savior Christ our God is merciful. Christ Himself speaks about this merciful transformation: take, eat: this is My body..., drink of it, all of you: this is My blood (Matthew 26:26-28). Where on earth will you find such mercy? - truly, nowhere. Some mothers are merciful to their children, but not always: they feed them with milk, and sometimes they suffer from hunger; some mothers, during famine, even killed and ate their children. Is this what Christ our Savior does? - Not so: He Himself sacrifices Himself for everyone and gives Himself as food, saying: take and eat. He wants to have us in His arms, but we ourselves tear His arms away from ourselves. He draws us to His breasts, saying: take and eat: this is My body..., drink of it: this is My blood, - He wants to have us in His womb, saying: He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I am in him (John 6:56); but we gnaw His womb with heresies. Do you see this merciful transfiguration of the Savior Christ our God!? As we approach this sacrament, I pray that we will be transformed by tearful repentance from evil deeds to good deeds. Listen to what the Divine Scripture says: do not let the saint become a dog (Matthew 7:6); and the Holy Church cries out every day: “holy to the saints,” and not: “to sinners.” But many approach this sacrament unworthily. I marvel at how they dare to unworthily approach this terrible sacrament, which even the angels want to partake of. It was scary to touch the ancient ark: there was a commandment not to touch the sanctuary, so as not to die (Numbers 4:15). Once on the way, priest Uzziah, wanting to straighten the ark of the Lord, touched him, and since he touched without command, he was struck with death (2 Sam. 6:6-7; 1 Chron. 13:9). Even beside that ark lay the rods - the rod of Moses and the rod of Aaron, as if to defeat sinners. If it was so scary to touch the ancient reliquary, then it is even more scary now to touch the most honorable sacrament. That ark was this, and now it is the truth itself: the Most Pure Body of the Lord and His Precious Blood. I marvel that God did not lay down a rod to defeat sinners who approach unworthily. However, there are wands here too. What kind of rods are these? These are the words of the Apostles: he who eats the body of the Lord and drinks the blood of the Lord is unworthy; he who eats and drinks judgment will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:27, 29). But, truly, there are many who are careless about communion: they despise sugar, the most pure Body, and devour sinful faces; they despise honey, the dearest Blood, and drink sinful wormwood. The third transfiguration of Christ our Savior God is dishonest. The prophet Isaiah says about this transformation: there is no appearance lower than kindness (Is. 53:2); from head to foot, all wounded, all wounded, Christ our Savior God. Where is the head that the seer John the Theologian saw in Revelation, crowned with seven crowns (Rev. 1:13)? now the crown of thorns is placed on her. Where are the God-speaking lips that preached to the Church of God? And those lips are now silent. Where are those hands about which the Psalmist speaks: Thy hands made me, and created me (Ps. 119:73)? Those hands are now nailed to the cross. Where is the heart that loved us completely? That heart is now pierced by a spear. If the Savior Christ God suffered so much for our sake, then we will suffer with Him. He is our Head, and we are His uds, according to the saying of St. Apostle Paul: you are the body of Christ, and partake of it (1 Cor. 12:27). The creature, seeing its Creator suffering, suffered with Him: the sun, seeing its Creator suffering on the cross, hid its rays and leaned into the darkness, and so compassionated with Him; the earth, seeing its Creator suffering, shook in its foundations, and so had compassion for Him. If the creature was so compassionate, then it is more fitting for us to suffer for the One who suffered for our sake. The Apostle Peter speaks about this: Christ suffered for us, He left us an image, that we might follow His footsteps: Thou shalt not commit sin, lest flattery be found in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:21-22); and the Apostle Paul says: let us strive with patience for the fight that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Author of our faith and Finisher (Heb. 12:2). I pray to your piety: let us suffer with Him as our head: let us turn our minds away from earthly things and soar to heavenly things, always reflecting on how much the Creator suffered for us. Let us suffer with Him with our eyes: we will turn them away from dissimilar views and lift them up to heaven, according to the saying of the Psalmist: I have lifted up my eyes my sorrows to the Lord. (Ps. 121:1). Let us suffer with Him through our lips: let us keep our tongue from all evil, especially from idle talk and slander; Let us praise and give thanks for everything with our lips. Let us suffer with Him and with our hands: we will keep them from theft and robbery, we will stretch them out to give to those asking, and most of all we will reward them to God, according to the psalm saying: let my prayer be corrected like an incense before You, the reward of my hand (Ps. 141:2). Let us suffer with Him and our feet: let us keep them from the evil course, according to the psalm saying: My feet have been forbidden from every evil way (Ps. 119:101); Let us establish them in all-night standings and vigils. Let us suffer with Him and our hearts: let us open our hearts with love for Him, and if we suffer like this with Him, we will be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:17). The fourth transformation is immortal, about which the Apostle Paul speaks: Christ died and rose again, and to no one dies: death has no power over him (Rom. 6:9). Beloved listeners! The Apostle Paul also speaks about how death brought Christ the Savior from corruption to incorruption, from death to immortality, from dishonor to glory: He endured death on the cross (Christ), and thereby God exalted Him, and gave Him a name that is above every name (Phil. 2:8). Now, listeners, we are not afraid of the death by which we die: for He will also bring us from corruption to incorruption, from death to immortality, from dishonor to glory. And the Apostle, in his letter to the Corinthians, says: likewise is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption: it is sown not in honor, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power: it is sown in a natural body, it is raised in a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:42-44). If anyone wants to be convinced, look at the garden trees in winter: winter makes them all dead, and, looking at them, one cannot know whether they will bear fruit or not: for they are as if dead. But look: when spring comes, those trees all come to life and flourish. Likewise, death, like winter, eats us all with frost; but when spring comes, the terrible second coming of Christ, then we will all rise, we will all come to life, we will all prosper; let's say even more. The Savior Himself said to His disciples: unless a grain of wheat falls on the earth, one remains; but if it dies, it produces much fruit (John 12:24). Likewise, if we do not die, we will remain alone; and if we die, we will bear much fruit. Truly, we are wheat, and death for us is like a sower: it takes us all and throws us into graves, coffins. Do you know what she does? -Preparing us for the harvest. The fifth transfiguration of Christ our Savior is the glorious one, about which St. Matthew: “Jesus gave drink to Peter, James and John, and He led them up into a high mountain alone, and He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His robe was as white as snow, and behold, Moses appeared to them, and Elijah spoke with Him. Peter answered the speech of Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if you want, let us make three canopies, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. I also said to him, behold the cloud of the light of their autumn, and behold a voice from the cloud saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: listen to him.” See, beloved listeners, what a glorious transfiguration this is, and listen now to what conversation on Mount Tabor: The Father speaks of the Son: This is My beloved Son, and the Father also testifies of the Son: Hear ye Him, - and so he proclaims with His voice like thunder. Oh, my merciful God! Why did You not proclaim: This is My beloved Son then, when the people persecuted Him? There, would You have proclaimed: “This is My beloved Son, why are you persecuting Him?” Likewise, why didn’t You proclaim at that time when the lawless Jews cursed Him, hitting Him in the face, spitting on Him and doing all kinds of dishonor to Him? At this point, should You proclaim with Your voice, like thunder, to frighten Your enemies: “This is My beloved Son, why do you curse Him?” But there the Lord God does not proclaim anywhere - neither to Herod, nor to the Jews, but only on Mount Tabor He thundered with His voice like thunder: This is My beloved Son: Hear ye. For what? - Let every scripture be fulfilled if it is about Him. You heard me tell you about the five transfigurations of the Savior God. Peter saw only one transformation, and said: Lord, it is good for us to be here. We see the five transfigurations of the Savior God and say with Peter: it is good for us to be in them. The first transformation, you have heard, is humble: let us also be transformed from pride into humility, so as not to be proud of our body. The second transformation, you have heard, is merciful: we too will be transformed into mercy to give to the poor and especially to our enemies; The Lord Himself speaks of this: be merciful, just as your Father in Heaven is merciful (Luke 6:36). The third transformation, you have heard, is dishonorable: (how much our Lord suffered for our sake!): we will suffer with Him, for if we suffer with Him, we will be glorified with Him. The fourth transfiguration, you have heard, is immortal, that He died and rose again: and we also believe this, that God will bring with Him those who died in Jesus, according to the word of the Apostle (1 Thess. 4:15). The fifth transfiguration, you have heard, is glorious - when the disciples, seeing the transfiguration and hearing the voice, fell on their faces to the ground, but Jesus raised them up; and Peter, having risen, saw only Jesus alone. When Jesus raises us up from this temporary life, we will see only one Jesus coming on the clouds to judge us. We pray to Him now: “Thou art transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, who showed Thy glory to Thy disciples, as unto a man, that Thy ever-present light may shine upon us sinners as well. Through the prayers of the Mother of God and the Apostles, Holy One, grant us to see Your light forever, and make us heirs of the kingdom of heaven.” That is the kingdom I wish for you, which may we all receive in Christ Jesus our Lord; to Him belongs all glory and honor forever and ever. Amen 160. From an ancient handwritten collection of sermons by St. Dimitry, Metropolitan. Rostovsky. For the first time the real word of St. Demetrius was published in “Soulful Reading” for 1883, Part III, countries. 78–87. You might be interested in: