Слово в неделю Цветоносную. Св. Иоанна Злаmoуcтогo, архиепископа Константинопольского

Let us go from miracles, brothers, to the miracles of the Lord, and we will ascend as if from strength to strength. For just as in a golden chain of intertwined links, one is held by another and each of them sequentially touches one another: so the miracles of the holy Gospels pass from one to another, being united by the Holy Spirit, and feed the Church of Christ not with perishable food, but with that which endures to eternal life. So, let us, beloved, approach with heartfelt disposition and listen with attentive ears to what Christ God tells us through the prophets and evangelists about this holy holiday. Truly, He speaks peace to His people, and to His saints, and to those who turn their hearts to Him (Psalm 84:9). Today, the prophetic trumpets awakened the universe, illuminated and crowned all the churches of Christ, taught them to sing to the Lord a new song of peace, called together all ages and, most amazing of all, young gentle babies and infants were given the honor of beginning to praise the Lord, as before Miriam - the people coming out of Egypt: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (John 12:13). Today, brethren, David rejoices with joy that the babies preceded him with the harp, and, rejoicing and having fun with them, jumping, as once before the ark of God, he sings: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Tell us, Prophet: who is this one who comes in the name of the Lord? Today is not my teaching, he says: for today He has given this to babes, who from the mouth of a child, and of those who piss, has given praise to destroy the enemy and the local (Psalm 8:3), to turn the hearts of the father to the children, and the contrary in the wisdom of the righteous (Luke 1:17). Tell us, children, where did you get this new and joyful song? who taught you? who taught you? who collected it? what kind of teachers? where are the study books? Come, they said, to our joy, and you will learn what Moses did not know. So, since we are invited and accepted by children to participate on the right side, let us go there, beloved, we will be jealous of this kind and godly face and with the apostles we will accompany Him who ascended into the heavens of heaven, to the East, and who sat on the earth, as He deigned, on the yoke, we will take up the branches with the babies and with the fronds we will meet Him, so that we too may be inspired by the Holy Spirit and sang the godly song: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest. Today Zechariah the prophet goes ahead of the babies and preaches to Jerusalem, saying: Rejoice greatly, daughters of Zion, preach, daughters of Jerusalem: behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and saving, He is meek, and always on the yoke and the young stallion (Zechariah 9:9). Today the stallion is prepared like a throne, and the youths precede with angelic faces, and people spread their clothes, and the tree spreads its branches. and the King of glory travels through the earth, and the earthly ones enter into communication with the inhabitants of heaven in songs: above - blessed is the glory of the Lord from his place (Ezek. 3:12); below - blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. When this happened in this way, the disciples rejoiced over all the signs that they saw, and said: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (John 12:13), and in heaven: glory in the highest to God, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14), and the babies and the people themselves, unanimously, as if with one mouth, praised and unanimously cried out: Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest (Matthew 21:9), - the whole city shook, saying: Who is this (-21:10)? Oh, the madness of lying teachers! The children recognized the Creator, and the fathers said: who is this? The youth praised God, and the elders asked: who is this? The infants praised God, but the elders blasphemed; children gave honor, and elders - dishonor; the youths bowed, and the priests were indignant. O you who disbelieve the prophecy of the righteous! Turn your hearts to your children, ask them and learn the mysteries of God. Rejoice with your children; let your children have a joyful song; learn piety from them; find out which of their teachers taught them these songs, or who instructed them, and what this new theology is, and understand what is written about this in the law. So, double your joy, since you have been honored to be the fathers of such youths who, being instructed by God, sang what the elders did not know; Turn your hearts to your children and do not close your eyes to the truth. If you do not understand this, then you are more foolish than babes: they will be your judges, according to the word of the Lord (Matthew 12:27). Therefore the prophet Isaiah spoke well of you, saying: Jacob will not now be ashamed, neither will Israel now change her countenance. But when their children see My works, for My sake they will sanctify My name, and sanctify the Holy One, and fear the God of Israel. And those who err in spirit will understand the meaning, and those who murmur will learn to listen, and the silent nations will learn to speak peace (Isa. 29:22-24). Do you hear, crazy Jew, how at the beginning of his speech the Prophet and the Father speak about your unbelief? Learn from him how he calls the song of your children devoted to God, about which blessed David foretold, saying: from the mouth of a child and withered you have uttered praise. So, if you see that your children are doing this, then you too be accomplices of their holiness and God’s providence. If you are so life-loving and hate goodness, then release your children to us with honor, and we will rejoice with them, celebrate a holiday with them, sing with them an angelic, God-devoted, godly song. And they will begin to us, they will sing a new song that the Lord taught them: for this is the honor of this day. For once the elder Simeon met Christ and took the eternal God into his arms as if he were a baby, and confessed Him as God. Today, instead of the elder, the foolish children met the Savior, like Simeon, and laid down the branches, and as God they glorified the One who sat on the lot, as on the throne of the cherubim, exclaiming: Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed be God of God, the eternal King of glory, who became poor among His own without poverty for our sake, in order to enrich us; blessed is he who came in humility and who comes again in glory, first on the colt from Bethany, and then on the clouds from heaven, first meek and praised by infants, and then formidable and surrounded by angelic Powers. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. – Who are these youths taught by God? (For it is time to speak about this and become partakers of the mysteries, just as you were made through us). These are the words of David, the faithful king of Israel; This is the jingling of the spiritual harp of one who, with spiritual words and reason, praises the King and Lord who comes from him. Therefore we also sing and sing sweet songs, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. He covered the treasure with writing, saying: O Lord, save: O Lord, hasten. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. God is the Lord, and appear to us (Psalm 117:25–27). We find a treasure, and we open the letters correctly, not falsely, simply, not predatorily, and we preach wealth to everyone. Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: God in the name of God, the Son in the name of the Father, the true King in the name of the true King, and not an impostor. The good, good Shepherd, not clothed only in sheep's clothing, but inside is a wolf and a predator, but a true Shepherd, cheerfully and vigilantly shepherding Israel: the Son of David on earth by carnal origin, the Son of God in heaven by natural presence always with the Father. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Who is this? This is God going against the devil, the King against the tyrant, the Lord against evil and criminal flattery, the true against the liar, the Savior against the destroyer, the guardian of peace and the root of peace against the warrior, the shepherd against the wolf, the lover of mankind against the misanthrope. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord, generous and merciful, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord, the Savior of lost man, who came to destroy flattery, enlighten the darkened, drive away darkness, stop idolatry and lead to the light of the saving knowledge of God, sanctify the whole world, free from disease and from the impurity of vain cares and destroy all unclean growths that spoil all life. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord is one for many, delivering the poor from the hands of those who are strongest and the needy from those who admire him. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord came to heal our illness, to save us who had fallen into thieves, and poured oil and wine on our wounds. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. The Lord came to defeat our captor - the devil. Who is this? The Lord is strong and strong, the Lord is strong in battle (Psalm 23:8), about whom Moses in ancient times cried out first to the Jews, and then to the pagans and to the whole world: The Lord will overcome you, but you will remain silent (Exodus 14:14). Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. For the Lord has come to bind him who overcomes us and to snatch away his vessels, and to free us from mortal incorruption into eternal life. Blessed is He who comes to save us by Himself, as the Prophet said about Him: no intercessor, less than an angel, but the Lord Himself saved them (Isa. 63:9). The theology of infants is euphonious, because it was inspired by the true Teacher, and the good fruit of good seeds is worthy of praise - and the honeycomb is diligently and zealously collected: for their words are not false, and their testimonies are prophetic. Let us consider, beloved, the rest of what the Evangelist said. He says: And Jesus came into the church, and cast out all those who sold and bought in the church (Matthew 21:12). Now, the beginning of the cleansing of the whole world was the cleansing of the church. But the lawless priests, not tolerating the Lord’s power and being wounded by envy, approached Him, saying: Do you hear what these are saying? Jesus said to them: she. Amen I say to you, for if these remain silent, the stones will cry out. For it is fitting that everything written about Me should be fulfilled (Matthew 21:16; Luke 19:40). It is common for madmen to ask this way, that is: “Aren’t You burdened,” they said, “by the fact that You are glorified as God? Do you hear what they say?” He said: “Yes, I hear. For this reason the youths glorify Me, to put you to shame, who adhere to the law and read the prophets, but reject Me, preached by the prophets, and renounce the truth through resistance and unbelief. Or have you not read: from the mouth of a child and those who piss you have made praise, your enemy for the sake of destroying the enemy and the local (Psalm 8:3 )? He honors his enemies, but does not honor the local - and this local is you: for you think to take revenge under the guise of piety, not understanding God's glory, since by rejecting Me you reject God (John 15:23). For I came from God and came to you, and I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:10), and My glory is the glory of My Father." Then those who spoke were convicted and, again meeting together, held a meeting against Him. But we will sing: Great is our Lord, and great is His strength, and His understanding is without number (Psalm 146:5). All this was so that the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the whole world (John 1:29), would voluntarily come to the saving suffering and be recognized at the judgment seat - so that the traitor would appear, and those who bought would surround the priceless one who redeemed the whole world, and Christ would sacrifice our Passover for us - and so that His honorable blood would be sprinkled, like thresholds, on the lips of the faithful, and the destroyer would depart, and death would be destroyed, and the resurrection appeared. This is the true Son and God; Let us believe in Him and worship Him 163. He took flesh from the Virgin and appeared in Zion as the God of gods, and the glory of Lebanon blossomed, and all the trees of the grove rejoiced at His presence, for it is said: God is in the assembly of gods, and in the midst the gods will judge (Psalm 82:1). It is He who will separate the tares from the wheat and gather the wheat, that is, the righteous into the highest barns, into ineffable kingdoms, into holy abodes, where there will be no sorrow or sighing, and will leave the wicked, like worthless tares, in the threshing floor. When He desires to come at the second coming, then, as it is said, a river of fire will flow before Him, bubbling and sinking into the vale of sorrow, into the lake where weep and gnashing teeth (Matthew 8:12). Let us try, beloved brethren, to get rid of this through repentance and deeds, fasting, prayer, almsgiving and other godly deeds; let us move away from harmful passions; Let us move away from exaltation, that is, pride, because of which the chief of the ethereal Forces, that is, Satan, initially fell, with the angels who fell away with him. Let us avoid envy: apparently, it is nothing, but harm comes to the one who has it, although what he envies soon decays. Let us avoid greatness and glory, which drive away the knowledge of the truth. Let us avoid envy and slander: for that one incited the priestly elders and scribes of the Jews to kill Christ, and this one made the priestly elders and scribes more reckless than their children. Let us not imitate Jewish mockery, but let us be jealous of the gratitude of children, not the ingratitude of elders, but the glorification of infants, not the ignorance of envious people, but the good knowledge of praisers, not the enmity of murderers, but the kindness of infants. Be not children in your minds: but be childish in malice, but have perfect minds, said the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 14:20). And our Lord Jesus Christ says: unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself as a child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3-4). So, let us be like children, without malice (let us not love evil, writing it on our hearts); but with all purity and without any sign of evil, let us accept the pious faith, so that we may be written and enter the kingdom of heaven. Let us take for the Lord the branches of mercy and love for mankind, in order to meet Him when He comes on that day on the clouds of heaven in joy, with great power and glory, and will expose the madness of the Jews and reward them with eternal torment for the fact that they repaid Him evil for good; and He will reward the pagans who have done His will and good deeds and preserved the right faith with holiness and an endless kingdom. May we all receive this kingdom, through the grace and love of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the ages of eternity. Amen 164. This ends the text of the present word according to the Greek original and according to the Slavic lists; the rest to the end of the word is, in all likelihood, a later addition. Comp. placed above (pp. 759–767) the word of St. Methodius, Bishop of Patara. “The Pochaevskaya Bee” Pochaev. 1884 Part one, countries. 86–93. Comp. Complete collection of works of Chrysostom, in Russian. translation vol. VIII, pp. 899–905. You might be interested in: