Беседа о честном Кресте. Св. Иоанна Златоустого, архиепископа Константинопольского

We are on the eve of the Feast of the Cross: let the face of the angels rejoice! The spectacle of the Cross is approaching - let the mortal race worship! The divine power of the Cross rises - let the hordes of demons take flight! Oh, divine Cross, indescribable contemplation of angels, praise of mortals, power of kings! As with a living person, I want to talk with you, the originator of joy and the victorious weapon of our salvation. By you the closed doors of paradise are opened, by you the power of death is crushed, by you hell is deprived of its spoils, by you the dead are worthy of life, by you the thief rejoices in paradise, by you the heavenly things are united with the earthly, by you the knowledge of the truth is given, by you the baptism of regeneration has been granted, by you the remission of sins has been granted to people, by you you have sealed the gift of the Holy Spirit, The churches marked by you are called houses of God, by you we are honored with the Body and Blood of Christ, by you we are worthy to be sons of God and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, by you our holidays and celebrations are enlightened and brightened. No language could depict all that Christ God has given through you to the human race. Knowing and remembering this, oh, consecrated and reverent congregation, with pure hearts let us begin to kiss with pure lips the revered and life-giving tree on which Christ our God was exalted, on which He stretched out His hands, pierced by nails, on which the murderers of Christ pierced His Divine ribs with a spear, on which they gave Him vinegar mixed with gall, and those passing by nodded their heads and said with mockery: wow, can anyone save himself (Mark 15:29, 31)? If the Son is God, let him now come down from the cross, and we believe in Him (Matthew 27:40, 42). This is what the ungrateful and blinded Jewish congregation, having enjoyed the benefits of His Divine miracles, dared to do! We will worship with faith the life-giving passion of Christ, His crucifixion, His tomb, His three-day rise from the dead, so that together with Him we will be resurrected and glorified, even if we suffer, as the vessel of election - the divine Paul - predicted (Rom. 8:17). This is precisely what the All-Holy Cross, celebrated today, calls us to do; He offers this incorruptible and ever-living food to all of us equally - in homes, in markets, day and night, in cities and in deserts. And so, in gratitude for such great benefits brought to us, let us joyfully accept and endure real fasting, not darkening our faces like the hypocrites, according to the word of the Lord (Matthew 6:16), but with a bright and joyful soul. We must fast with a fast that is pleasing to the Lord. True fasting is moving away from evil, curbing the tongue, putting aside anger, taming lusts, stopping slander, lies and perjury: the impoverishment of all this constitutes true fasting. Let us rejoice in the Lord by diligently paying attention to the words of the Spirit, fulfilling saving laws and everything that tends to our spiritual benefit. May the fast with which the Lord threatened the Jews pass from us: these days are coming, says the Lord, and I will send a famine on the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11). The Lord saw that their minds were languishing without the food of true teaching, and their outer man was becoming fat and nourished, and therefore brought such hunger upon them by His righteous judgment. Let us take care to remove from our homes for this time all the vanity caused by serving the womb, as if to some inexorable goddess. Let the belly give rest to the lips for a while: it will also give it what it always demands and is never satisfied—it takes one day, but does not remember the next day. Fasting has no concept of debts, the fasting person’s meal does not remind of excess; the children of one who observes fasts do not strangle orphans and do not weave nets for them like spiders. On the other hand, fasting is a source of pleasure and makes one appreciate the subsequent permission to eat; occupying the middle and interrupting the continuous enjoyment of food, it is a pleasant change for you, just as a break in the journey is for a traveler. Don’t you notice that the sun is brighter after the night, and wakefulness is more pleasant after sleep, and we value health especially when we experience the opposite state? Of course, the meal after fasting will bring more pleasure to all of us, and, moreover, to those who are content with food prepared simply and without fuss, no less than to those who keep a rich and refined table. However, fasting is not only useful for the future life: its benefits are felt for the flesh itself. The very complexion of a fasting person is natural: he is not exposed by shameless beauty, but is adorned by chaste pallor: his gaze is modest, his gait is sedate, his face is meaningful, not disfigured by incontinent laughter, there is moderation in his speech, and purity in his heart. Remember the saints from the beginning of the century, of whom the whole world was not worthy, as they walked in clothing, and in goatskin, deprivation, sorrow, embitterment (Heb. 11:38. 37): imitate their life if you want to share bliss with them. What brought Lazarus to Abraham's bosom? isn't it a post?... And John’s life was all one fast: he had neither a bed, nor a piece of cultivated land, nor bread, in a word - none of the ordinary comforts of life. That is why among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist rose up (Matthew 11:11). Paul, by the way, raised Paul to the third heaven (2 Cor. 11:27; 12:1–4). But the chapter on the spoken, our Lord Jesus Christ, having strengthened the flesh by fasting, which he took on for our sake, in this very state repelled the temptations of the devil, teaching us to exhaust ourselves with fasting and admonish ourselves to fight temptations. Just as in a competition the support given to one tends to defeat the other, so exactly the one who takes the side of the body thereby fights against the spirit, and the supporting spirit enslaves his body to himself. After all, they (spirit and body) are constantly at enmity with each other, so if you want to make your spirit strong, curb your flesh by fasting. This is what the Apostle says in these words: Although our outer man decays, yet our inner man is renewed all the time (2 Cor. 4:16), and: for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10). Are you truly unable to despise this perishable food? Do you really not desire a meal in the kingdom of heaven, which in any case is prepared by fasting here? Or don’t you know that the more you satiate your body, the more abundant food you prepare for your tormentor - the worm? And spending your life in a glut of food, how can you maintain communication with the grace of the Spirit? Moses, in order to receive the second tablets, had to fast a second time. The Ninevites, if they had not extended the fast even to irrational animals, would not have escaped the misfortune that threatened them. And the wise Daniel would not have received revelations if fasting had not made his soul more receptive and enlightened. From abundant food, some dirty fumes seem to rise and, like a thick cloud, block access to our soul to the rays emanating from the Holy Spirit. Fasting is a weapon for fighting demons: this kind does not come only through prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21). Fasting brings us so many benefits. Amen 7. In short. This conversation was delivered before the holiday in honor of the Cross of Christ. See Full. collected. works of St. John Chrysostom, in Russian. translation St. Petersburg. 1902, volume 5, pp. 858–863. In Curs. Compl. Patrolog. Migne this creation belongs to the category spuria. You might be interested in: