Слово в день Входа Господня во Иерусалим (о почитании страстей Христовых). Святителя Илии Минятия Кефалонитского

Hosanna, blessed is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord (John 12:13). When I see that Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem with such honor, glory and triumph, I can with all justice think that He no longer has anything to fear from the envy and hatred of bishops, priests and scribes. O Jerusalem, holy city, truly the city of God! Glorious words have been spoken about you (Ps 87:3) in past centuries, glorious things will be said about you in future centuries, for the sake of the love and affection that you show to your Benefactor. Friendly Jewish children! you take branches of olives and branches of dates, symbols of victory, and with them you meet as the King of Israel, the Wonderworker, the Son of David: you find such a disposition that you are ready to take up arms in order to defend Him every minute from the slander of the enemy. My Jesus! here in Jerusalem You no longer have anything to fear: it already serves as a place of refuge for You. If the whole city rose to meet You, then the whole city will also rise to Your defense. Scribes, priests and bishops of the Jews, you labor in vain: what are you planning in your meetings? What do you talk about in synagogues? You are completely powerless to cause any harm to this Nazarene, whom countless people receive with such triumph: Hosanna, blessed is the King of Israel who comes in the name of the Lord. But what am I saying? Oh, the vain expectations of men! Oh, the momentary servility of an ungrateful people! The city of Jerusalem, today a spectacle of solemn celebration, will in a few days turn into a spectacle of terrible disaster! The one who accepts Him as the King of Israel will nail Him to a tree like a criminal. The people who are now shaking their wreaths will prepare a cross for Him; whoever now shouts: “Hosanna” will shout: “let him be crucified” (Matthew 27:22). Today - such an honor, and a few days later - such humiliation. The very ones who now bow to Him will crucify Him... Yes. This is what Christ suffered then from the Jews, the same thing He now experiences from Christians, who on these holy days worship Him in words and crucify Him with deeds - with their lips they cry out: “Hosanna,” and in their hearts: “Let him be crucified.” Now I will preach about how Christians should honor the passion of Christ on these holy days. After the Last Supper, Christ, accompanied by His disciples, crossed to the other side of the Cedar Stream to Gethsemane. It was at the very beginning of the night. Leaving them there, He takes Peter, James and John with Him. He retired to pray, and when he began to reflect on suffering, His soul became sorrowful even to the point of death. I see a crowd of people approaching here with torches and candles. These must be good people: otherwise, why would they walk around at night with a light? Here at their head is a man who looks like your disciple, Jesus. I see them approaching, and this one greets You: Rejoice, Rabbi, even kisses You and kisses Him (Matthew 26:49). Where kisses and greetings are heard, where a disciple is present, where candles and torches burn, can anything bad be there? What really happened? These luminous people are the military guards, a crowd of servants who came to seize Jesus and drag Him to death; this disciple is the traitor Judas, who sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, and is now approaching to betray Him. That greeting is deceitful, and the kiss is a sign of tradition. Even if I despise Him, He is: have Him (Mark 14:44). One thing could be expected, but another happened! O great sorrow of Jesus! He has the right to say: My soul is sorrowful even unto death. Something similar happens on the day of Good Friday, when the memory of the holy and terrible passion of the Savior takes place... Whoever sees what is happening inside - in churches, and outside - in the streets and squares, may think that the whole city (like Nineveh, when it performed nationwide repentance to appease God) (imbued) with contrition, repentance, and that if on all other days of the year we sin, now - in Great heel we truly repent. However, it seems one thing, but something completely different happens: this huge gathering is only ostentatious solemnity. Of the entire crowd that came together to celebrate the passion of Christ, some did not go to confession at all. They see Christ on the cross, but this one has not yet broken his unclean connection, he has not yet returned someone else’s property, another has not forgiven his enemy, has not given up his bad habit, and has no intention of correcting his life at all. Others, however, repented, but temporarily; They repented that they sinned, but they will soon repent that they repented. Others intend to confess, but as soon as Christ is resurrected, the same hour will crucify Him, the second crucifying the Son of God within themselves and convicting (Heb. 6:6), as the Apostle Paul says. Oh my God! And Christians honor Christ in His suffering only with their lips, but their hearts are far away. This is how God complained through the mouth of Isaiah and Christ Himself in the Gospel. Hypocrites, Isaiah prophesied well about you, saying: this people draws near to Me with their lips, and with their lips they honor Me; but their heart is far from Me (Matt. 15:8; Isa. 29:13). Thus, if Christ was once crucified by the Jews on that Great Heel, then every Great Heel Christ is crucified again by Christians, for one thing seems to us, and another actually happens. And yet, it is then that Christians should show the greatest possible reverence and gratitude. The Antiochians rebelled against their king Seleucus, and he always escaped from the hands of the rebels who wanted to deprive him of his life in the same way as they deprived him of his kingdom. He alone secretly escapes from the palace, unrecognized (by anyone), leaves the city, walks all night and by morning reaches the shore, where he sits down to rest for a while. Tired in body, saddened in soul, he sighs deeply and thinks about his misfortune. But the rebels run in his tracks, overtake him in that very place, recognize him from afar, gallop towards him with a fierce look, with swords in their hands, attack him and thirst for his blood. They approach, and seeing here the king, their own soaring, completely alone, inconsolably grieving, without royal decorations, lying on the ground, shedding tears - they restrain their anger and (give up) their hands, regret him and repent of the rebellion they raised; console him with expressions of sympathy; they lift him from the ground, again bow to him as to a king; they ask him for forgiveness for the past, accompany him to the capital, elevate him to the throne, and reach out to him for the future in fidelity and submission. So, one sight of the unfortunate king struck the hearts of the barbarian rebels... Oh, Christians! The One whom we see on Great Friday crucified on a chair, crowned with thorns, disfigured by blows, bleeding from wounds, is the King of glory, is our King, in whose name we were baptized, in whose Gospel we believe, whose kingdom we await. Our sins brought Him to such a terrible state. This means that we have hearts of stone if, at the sight of Him, we are not crushed by pain. We should tell Him then, but say from the heart, with contrition: My Jesus, my Savior! Is it fair for You to hang on the cross while I lie on a soft bed? so that You wear a crown of thorns, and I have evil thoughts in my head!? so that Your side would be struck by a wound, and in my heart I would have eternal hatred against my neighbor!? for Your hands and feet to be nailed, and my hands to be full of injustice, my feet to flow along the path of destruction?! so that Your purest flesh would be cut by the blows of the scourge, and mine would be defiled in so many impurities. I should have had to bear such a cross, I should have undergone such suffering, I should have suffered such a death! But if I can no longer die for You, then at least I should repent! If I can’t shed my blood, at least I can shed my tears! If I cannot give my life for Yours, then at least repay with my love for Yours! You, sinless God, have done so much for me, a sinful man. What could be less than loving You, or at least not falling into guilt before You again? So, I repent, I put aside my previous failures and sins, and I swear for the future to forever love Your name and obey Your law! We should say and do this on Great Friday. This is exactly what our Holy Church means, annually reminding us of the suffering and death of Christ. The holiday of Christians, says the Divine Chrysostom, especially on these holy days, “should consist in the discovery of good deeds, a reverent (mood) of the soul, and a strict lifestyle.” – Discovering good deeds, not candles and torches; reverence of the soul, real, not ostentatious; the rigor of the way of life, and not just an idle spectacle. Otherwise, if one thing seems to be happening, but in reality something completely different is happening, do you know what we should do? - listen. King Saul died by his own hand in the war against the Philistines. Hearing about this, David tore his clothes, raised a great cry and said to all the people: Men of Israel! King Saul died; So, be silent, do not reveal this to anyone, so that your enemies do not hear about it and rejoice. Do not proclaim in Geva, tell below at the origins of Ascalon. Let not the daughters of foreigners rejoice (2 Samuel 1:20)... Holy and Great Friday is coming, and our Holy Church reminds us that the Son of the living God, the God-man Jesus, our King died on the cross out of love for us. So, be silent; Lock up the churches, priests, hide the Crucified One and the Cross in the interior of the sanctuary, let the enemies of the faith not see or hear this, and do not rejoice at it. But how? - Carry a cross from one end of the city to the other, paint the image of the Crucified One in the streets and squares, openly preach that He suffered this painful and shameful death for our sake - and at the same time not show any sign of heartfelt condolences, except for external solemnity, nor true piety, love and gratitude? What will the Jews who crucified Him say then? They will say: “Christians believe that He is the Son of God; Christians confess that He was crucified out of love for them. That's all they do for their Benefactor. One of two things: either what Christians believe in doesn’t really exist, or Christians themselves don’t really believe in Him.” If the Son is God, let him now come down from the cross, and we believe in Him. And now the Jews will blaspheme the suffering of Christ, as they did then. Thus they will mock the hypocrisy of Christians. Therefore, I repeat, it is better, priests, close the churches, hide the cross and the Crucified One, so that this is neither seen nor heard, so that the enemies of the faith do not rejoice: let not the daughters of foreigners rejoice. Let that which is revealed on the outside also be in reality, and let the inner reverence be the same as the outer one. Together with candles and torches, let love burn in our hearts for the One who died out of love for us. From His crown of thorns let us feel contrition and tenderness; from His wounds may the determination to humble our flesh be kindled in us; from His cross we must learn patience, from His death we must understand what a great evil sin is. Let the day of the Great Heel be the day of our repentance. Let the procession of the cross be “a revelation of good deeds, reverence of the soul, austerity of the way of life”! Yes it will! Amen 180. Sermons of Saint Elijah Minyaty of Cephalonite. Publication of St. Trinity. Sergius Lavra. 1902, pp. 164–169. You might be interested in: