Беседа на День Святого Духа. (О том, что всякая душа, желающая наследовать царствие Божие, должна возродиться от Святого Духа). Преподобного Макария Великого (Египетского) 232

Those who listen to the word must show the effect of the word in their souls. For the word of God is not an ineffective word; it must produce an effect in our soul. That is why it is called effective (Heb. 4:12), because it must work in those who hear. So, may the Lord work the truth in those who hear, so that His word does not remain unfruitful in us. Just as the shadow precedes the body and shows the body: so, since truth is the body, and the word is, as it were, a shadow of Christ’s truth, the word precedes the truth. Carnal parents give birth to children from their being, from their body - and, having given birth, with great care they raise them as their own children until they reach perfect age and become their successors and heirs. This is where all the desires and concerns of parents are initially directed, to give birth to children and to have heirs in them; and therefore, if they do not give birth, they fall into great sadness and sorrow, but if they give birth, they rejoice and share their joy with their relatives and neighbors. So our Lord Jesus Christ, having taken upon Himself the care of human salvation, first carried out house-building through the Patriarchs, through the Law and Prophets; Finally, He Himself came and, despising the dishonor of the cross, suffered death. All of His work, all of His care tended to give birth from Himself, from His own nature, to spiritual children whom He wanted to give birth from above, by the power of His Divinity. And just as earthly fathers grieve if they do not bear children: so the Lord Jesus Christ, having loved people as His image, and having desired to beget them from His own Divine seed, and having suffered for their salvation, grieves if anyone does not want to accept such a birth, that is, to be reborn from the loins of the Spirit of God. The Lord wants all people to receive such a birth: for He died for everyone, and called everyone to life; but life consists in being born from above, from God, without which the soul cannot live, according to the words of the Lord: unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). On the contrary, those who believe in the Lord and, turning to Him, receive such a birth, arouse great joy and joy in their parents in heaven. All the Angels and holy Powers rejoice over the soul that has been reborn from the Holy Spirit and has become a spirit. Our body is like a soul, and the soul is the image of the Holy Spirit; just as a body without a soul is dead and cannot do anything: so the soul, without a heavenly soul, without the Divine Spirit, is dead to the kingdom, and without the Holy Spirit cannot do anything pleasing to God. A painter painting a portrait of the Tsar must look carefully at the Tsar’s face, and if the Tsar’s face is turned directly towards him, then he will quickly and accurately paint the picture; if it is turned in the other direction, then he cannot write, because the face is turned away from him. So the wise painter, Christ, in those who believe in Him and unceasingly look at Him, quickly paints, in His image, the heavenly man, and from His Spirit - from the Hypostasis of His ineffable light - paints a heavenly image, and bestows on the soul a high and precious betrothal. But in the one who, looking at Him, turns his gaze to other objects, the Lord does not write His image. Therefore, we, believing in the Lord, must burn with love for Him, despise everything and listen to Him alone - we must constantly look at Him, so that He writes and imprints His heavenly image in our souls, and so that in this way we, bearing Christ within ourselves, can inherit eternal life and, in full trust in it, find peace. If a gold coin does not have the Royal image on it, it cannot be used in trade, and is not put into the royal treasuries, but is thrown aside. So, if the soul does not have the image of the heavenly Spirit, Christ, imprinted on itself, then it is unworthy of the heavenly treasuries and is thrown out of them by the distributors of the kingdom, the holy Apostles. For he who was called, but did not have the wedding garment, as a stranger, was cast into utter darkness (Matthew 22:13), because he did not have the heavenly image, which is the sign and seal of the Lord placed in souls, the Spirit of ineffable light. Just as a dead person is no longer needed for anything and is useless for those living on earth, why is he taken out of the city and buried: so, if the soul does not have in itself the heavenly image of the Divine Light, which is the life of the soul, then, as a dead soul, it is rejected, because a dead soul, not having in itself the luminous and Divine Spirit, is useless to the city of Saints. For, just as in this world, the soul constitutes the life of the body: so in the eternal and heavenly world, the Divine Spirit constitutes the life of the soul. So, he who seeks the kingdom must approach the Lord with faith and pray to Him to grant him the Divine Spirit, Who is the life of the soul. The Lord came for this purpose, to give life to the soul—His Spirit. He said: until you have light, believe in the light (John 12:36): the night will come when no one can do anything (John 9:4). Therefore, if anyone has not sought and acquired life for his soul, the Divine light of the Spirit, he, upon separation from the body, will be cast into terrible places of darkness, and will not enter the kingdom of heaven, but will be cast into Gehenna, along with the devil and his angels. Just as gold or silver, when thrown into the fire, becomes purer and more precious - and nothing there can change it, not hay, not reeds, for fire embraces and consumes everything that sticks to it: so the soul, being in spiritual fire and Divine light, does not tolerate any evil from evil spirits; if it attacks her, then it is consumed by the heavenly fire of the Holy Spirit. Or, just as a bird, having flown to a height and being in safety, is not afraid of either hunters or beasts of prey, and, as long as it remains at a height, laughs at both: so the soul, having received spiritual wings, has flown to the heavenly heights, and being above all, laughs at everything. When Moses divided the sea, then carnal Israel walked along the bottom of it: likewise Christians, having become children of God, walk above the bitter sea of ​​evil forces, because the body and soul of such people are the dwelling place of God. On the day when Adam fell, God, walking through paradise, so to speak, burst into tears when he saw Adam and said to him: “What evil have you chosen instead of such good? What disgrace have you fallen into after such glory? Why are you so gloomy now? Why is it so ugly? Why is it so stinking? What darkness surrounds you after such light? But the Creator was not the only one who wept for Adam when he fell and lost his Divine life: his death and fall were mourned by the Angels, all the powers, heaven, earth and all creation: for they saw that their king had become a slave of unclean and evil forces. A terrible and fierce darkness covered his soul; for he has fallen into the power of the prince of darkness. In this state, he became like a man wounded by robbers and left half dead on the way from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30). And Lazarus, whom the Lord raised, and who stank so much in the tomb that no one could approach him (John 11:39), was the image of Adam, whose soul was filled with a great stench and was covered with darkness and darkness. However, when you hear about Adam, about the man who fell into the hands of robbers, and about Lazarus, do not be exalted in thought, but go deeper into yourself, into your soul, because you too have the same wounds, the same stench, the same darkness. We are all children of this darkened tribe, and we all participate in this stench. We all, like Adam's seed, have the same wound that Isaiah speaks of: neither a scab, nor a sore, nor a burning wound, nor a plaster to apply, nor oil, nor a bandage (Ex. 1:5, 6): and our wound is so incurable that the Lord alone can heal it. He Himself came because none of the ancients, neither the Law itself, nor the Prophets could heal her. He alone, having come, healed this incurable wound of the soul. So, let us accept God and the Lord, the true Physician, who alone, having come to us and endured great labors for us, can heal our souls. He constantly knocks on the doors of our hearts so that we open them to Him, and so that He, having entered, rests in our souls - so that we wash and anoint His feet, and so that He can abide in us: for the Lord condemns the one who did not wash His feet (Luke 7:44); and in another place he says: Behold, I stand at the door and speak: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20). For this reason, He endured great suffering, gave His body up to death and freed us from slavery, so that, having moved into our soul, He would establish His presence in it. That is why the Lord will say at the judgment to those standing at His side, condemned together with the devil to Gehenna: You are strange, and you did not know Me; you are hungry, and you will not give Me food: you are thirsty, and you do not give Me a drink (Matthew 25:42, 43). For His food, drink, clothing, home and rest are in our souls. If He continually knocks, wanting to come to us, then let us receive Him and bring Him inside us; He is our food, life, drink and eternal life. Every soul that has not received Him within itself and has not given Him rest will not rest in Him, will not inherit the heavenly kingdom with the Saints, and will not enter the heavenly city. But You, Lord Jesus Christ, lead us into it, glorifying Your name with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen 233. See Spiritual conversations of our venerable father Macarius of Egypt, in Russian. translation Published. 3rd. 1880 Moscow, pp. 300–307; compare Christian Read 1839, part II, pp. 317–327. 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