Слово на Сретение Господне. Святого Григория, епископа Нисского

Preparing for the reception of the King of glory a celebration worthy of the true feast of the Lord, the Apostle Paul arranges the ranks of the church meeting and says: 6army! Be not children in your minds: but be childish in malice, but have perfect minds (1 Cor. 14:20). For in this case (i.e. with a perfect mind) the sacred assembly will serve to the honor and glory of the All-Perfect God, Whom we celebrate today, from Whom is every gift and perfection, With whom we have become heirs and joint heirs. Just as when the troops are preparing a solemn procession for the king, it is fitting that the warriors chosen to carry it on spears should be adorned, and that an elegant image of his face should be carried before the king: so it is necessary for us to celebrate saving and spiritual holidays, being transformed by the renewal of our mind and putting aside the old man and bearing within ourselves, as far as is possible for people, the likeness of the Divine image. The very host of heavenly spirits, enjoying the salvation of people, celebrates together with the earthly ones, when the latter on earth kiss the angelic life. And then, when (if I may say so) on the beginning day of the present holiday, in the image of God and the image of a servant, He who accepted the law, fulfilling the prescription of the law, being a forty-day-old baby, comes to the church with the One who gave birth and brought the established sacrifices: then the rulers of the incorporeal, bowing their necks, like slaves, invisibly prepare a godly celebration and worship the ineffable wisdom, awaiting the revelation of the mystery hidden in God, who created everything. Now celebrating this remembrance, let us, like disembodied minds, be nourished by spiritual contemplations, let us become partakers of their dignity, not covering the eye of the soul with the shadow of the law, but looking with an open face at the glory of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). The saying of the law: every male sex, who opens his lie, is holy to God, could not be fulfilled on anyone else but on God incarnate. He alone, ineffably conceived, is the only male in the spiritual sense (representative of the male sex) and is worthily called a saint, just as (Archangel) Gabriel, preaching to the Mother of God about the life-giving Nativity, and also mentioning the law that pertained to Him alone, said (Luke 1:35): likewise that which is holy will be called the Son of God (for the name of the saint fully corresponds to the Divine miracle that opens the virgin womb). Although it is said about all firstborns that they are called saints (since they received this name through their dedication to God), but about the Firstborn of all creation the angel said: what is born is holy, for, according to the word of the Prophet, from his very birth He rejected evil and chose good (Is. 7:16). The Lord of all (having already predetermined the defeat of the firstborn of Egypt) commanded Moses: sanctify Me every firstborn, who reveals every lie in the sons of Israel, from man to beast (Ex. 13:2). This Divine command is so clearly stated in the book of Numbers: And every thing that opens up every falsehood of all flesh, that which is offered to the Lord, from man to beast, shall be unto thee: but let the firstborn of mankind be redeemed only by atonement, and the firstborn of unclean beasts be redeemed. And he redeemed him from one month, five shekels, according to the holy shekel... Moreover, the firstborn... of sheep, and the firstborn of goats, let them not be redeemed: holy are they: and their blood is shed at the altar (Num. 18:15-17). So, the Divine voice united the firstborn of Israel with unclean animals: since they did not have true purity and holiness in the subordinate service, although they thought that they were sanctified by the law-positive dedication, for it was established among them to give a ransom for people, as they give for animals recognized as unfit for sacrifice. This is because the Jews, being in a state of dumbness, were unworthy to offer verbal service and to be brought into spiritual fullness to the most mysterious altar of the New Testament. As a ransom for them, blood sacrifices established by law were usually made, and, of course, the intention of the legislator was directed towards spiritual perfection. The sacrificed animals, whose blood was ordered to be shed before the altar, were clearly called holy, and, of course, the truth was figuratively delineated in this: for He who gave Himself an offering and sacrifice to God for us as an aroma of fragrance (Eph. 5:2), our Lord Jesus Christ, is truly and truly holy. With a prophetic spirit, foreshadowing the rejection of the firstborn of Israel and the offering of bodily sacrifices, the prophet Micah says: In what will I comprehend the Lord, I will cut down my Most High God? Will I remove it from the single-year-old calf? Will the Lord receive food in thousands of rams, or in tens of fat goats? Shall I give my firstborn for my wickedness, the fruit of my womb for the sins of my soul (Mic. 6:6–7)? So, blessed Micah called the firstborn of Israel according to the flesh the firstborn of wickedness. But the incarnate God, together with His birth, put to death the offspring of the devil - sin, having created by Himself the condemnation of evil and accomplished by Himself the all-perfect destruction of it - and sanctifies to God and the Father not only the firstborn of men, but also the entire human race. Just as in ancient times the law-giving word transformatively brought to God, instead of the firstborn, the tribe that received sacred service as their inheritance: so now - in the bright image of the truth, we must know that the bishop and messenger of our confession, the reverend, blameless, distinguished from the sinner and above the heavens, is brought bodily to God and the Father in return for humanity redeemed by Him, and this is all the more advantageous since we see how all humanity turned out to be lower than Him as much as, without any contradiction, the one being blessed stands lower than the one who blesses (Heb. 7:7). In ancient times, the price of Levitical service was given only for the nation of Israel, and the Levites served as a ransom for the firstborn only (Num. 3:12, 41), Christ, the bishop of the good things to come, and not according to the order of Aaron, but according to the order of Melchizedek, changing the priesthood by the fact that he was from another tribe (for it is known that our Lord rose from the tribe of Judah), he also made a change in the law, bringing us from the shadow of the law to the Gospel of the kingdom of heaven; according to the order of Melchizedek, He brought Himself to the Father as a substitute, not for Israel alone, but for all nations, and became the bishop of confession of all people. The price of five shekels, assigned by the law for each of the firstborn, secretly indicates that each of us must devote to God every feeling and deed done through the senses, and bring them pure to the Creator, as a holy and legal ransom... We celebrate the remembrance of this sacred mystery today. So, the Savior was brought, according to the requirement of the law, to the church, apparently, spiritually he brought to the Father the firstfruits of our mixture and showed it all as holy and worthy to become an offering to God. In ancient times, the law aimed at this, and both the law regarding the firstborn and their replacement by Levites, as well as the evaluation of didrachms, were aimed at this. And while the night of ignorance covered everything, legal service, like the stars, gave a certain pale and small light; when the Sun of righteousness rose, the East appeared from above, and the day of salvation shone: the lamps of legal institutions were darkened by the radiant light of grace... But let us leave the Jews who were killed by the water of the letter of the law; and let us sing a victorious song to the Lover of Mankind. Having fed ourselves with truly heavenly food, having drunk water from the true stone, let us go to the mountain of God Horeb - to the high teaching of the Gospel, in order to listen to the voice of God's trumpets - the words of blessed Luke, proclaiming the secret guidance of the Holy Spirit. And when the days of purification were fulfilled by her, according to the law of Moses, He was taken up to Jerusalem, and set Him before the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male child, having opened his womb, shall be called holy to the Lord; And there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon: and this man was righteous and pious, seeking the joy of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was in him. And he was promised by the Holy Spirit not to see death, before he even saw Christ the Lord (Luke 2:22–27). What does this mean: the tea of ​​joy of Israel? - Waiting for the revelation of truth and the migration of the Israeli people to it from the legal shadow, in order to learn the first principles of truth and rise to perfection in it. And it cannot be said that, since the Jews were in misery and slavery, that Simeon expected them to return to freedom and their ancient state. They had all the ancient rituals in a flourishing state (both the church existed and sacrifices were made in it), and all the social structure characteristic of their tribe was preserved; the legal order of life from the domination of foreigners (Romans) over Israel did not suffer any harm that would prompt the righteous elder to expect consolation. For it happened that, just as a father betrays his disobedient son to be admonished by some harsh teacher, so Israel was often under the rule of foreigners. Thus, the very long stay of the people of Israel in Egypt is known; and the prophet Jeremiah, during the time of King Zedekiah, by the command of God, announced to him and the people under his control that they would be under the scepter of Nebuchadnezzar and submit to the Chaldeans. And not only was there nothing unusual in the fact that the Jews, worthy of an even harsher life, were under foreign rule, but also some of the righteous, of whom the whole world was worthy (Heb. 11:38), the long-suffering of God made the wicked subordinate, so that the glory of their piety would be more clearly revealed... So, the wise Simeon expected spiritual consolation for Israel, consisting not in worldly glory and greatness, but a real transition to true beauty: for it was revealed to him (Simeon) that before his relocation he would see the appearance of Christ the Lord. And Simeon came in spirit to the church: and when he had brought in the parent of the Child Jesus, he did according to the lawful custom concerning Him, and he received Him into his hand, and blessed God, and said: now do You let Your servant go, O Master, according to Your word, in peace: for as mine eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people: a light for revelation. tongue, and the glory of Your people Israel (Luke 2:27–32). Oh, truly blessed and blessed elder! How blessed is your truly holy procession to the church by which you walked towards the end of life! How blessed are the eyes of your soul and body, having perceived the visible Manifestation of God and knowing God the Word in the flesh! How blessed are your hands that have touched the Word of life! How blessed is your tongue, which preaches the revelation of the Light of life! And that I hasten to attach special praise to each of your members, when the Evangelist has already taught that you are entirely worthy of praise and serve as a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit! But come, O blessed father, by the Holy Spirit who speaks in you, open the treasure hidden in your few words (for the Word of God leads us for advice to you and those like you, adorned with gray hair from above in wisdom, the true elders and fathers, so that we learn saving instructions: ask your father, and your elders will tell you, and they will tell you (Deut. 32:7). So, the power of the Spirit, which then moved his tongue to theology, now give us a word for the opening of the mouth, says, Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, since Christ, having become man, destroyed hostile sin and reunited us with the Father, the repose of the saints is accomplished in the world, and the great David said: in peace. together I will sleep and rest (Ps. 4:9), pointing not to the present, but to what is to come after the coming of Christ; and since this hope (peaceful dormition in Christ) dwelt in the saints, Saint David says by the Spirit: for You, O Lord, have given me only hope (Ps. 4:9). The blessed elder Simeon, seeing the time had already come, said: now let Thy servant go, O Master, according to Thy word in peace, showing the fulfillment of the Divine promise. For you have seen, he says, my eyes, Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, that is, the salvation that was revealed through Christ to the whole world, and not to Israel alone. Why is it said above that Simeon looked forward to the joys of Israel, and now he proclaims the salvation of God before all people? - This is because Simeon then learned from the Holy Spirit that there would be consolation for Israel, when salvation was prepared for all people. See then the precision of Divine inspiration. The elder says: light in revelation with the tongue, and the glory of your people Israel, proclaiming in relation to Israel completely in agreement with the great Apostle Paul, who said: until the fulfillment of tongues will come. And thus all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:25–26). Therefore, he, putting the calling of tongues first, attributed to the end, according to prophecy, the conversion of all Israel, although the remnant had already been saved, thanks to those who resorted to grace from Judaism. Look also at the accuracy of sublime thoughts. Having said: light in revelation by language, he makes us understand the revelation of God's salvation, since in the complete darkness in which the nations were before the coming of Christ, there was no light of knowledge of God. But since Israel, although weakly, was enlightened by the transformative law, the elder did not speak about the light on him, but proclaimed his glory, remembering ancient history - that just as the wondrous Moses, having become an interlocutor of God, had glory on his face, so they, having become through faith interlocutors of the incarnate Light, will appear in glory, being transformed, according to the word of the Apostle, into the same image, as from the Lord Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). The words of the godly wise Simeon that the Lord is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel (Luke 2:34), by the similarity of thoughts with prophetic predictions, show that in the prophets and in the New Testament the same God and Lawmaker speaks. The prophetic word had previously spoken that the stone of stumbling and the stone of offense (Isa. 8:14; 1 Peter 2:7) will be the reason that whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame. So, He (the Savior) is a fall for those who fall through unbelief due to the humiliation of His flesh, but a rise for those who know the power of economy. And saying that a weapon will pierce the soul of the Mother of God herself, Simeon clearly prophesies about the passion on the cross: for, through what was announced and done from the glorious conception to the death of the Savior on the cross, the Mother of God had the highest and most decent concept of Him, (representing) as if one uncut body; In the shame of the cross, She suffered, as it were, some kind of wound, although the miracle of the resurrection completely healed the wound. However, Simeon points out that she is not the only one who will undergo such suffering, but predicts that wavering and double thoughts will be revealed from many hearts - then he predicts that, due to the difference of opinions about the Savior, the Virgin Mother of God will not be at all embarrassed... Now we learn from the Evangelist who and where the prophetess Anna was, why and when she was present in the church - and then - and what she said. So, blessed Luke narrates. And Anna the prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher, having matured in the days of many, lived with her husband seven years from her virginity. And that widow, who was eighty and four years old, had not yet left the church, serving with fasting and prayers day and night: and at that hour she came to confess to the Lord, and cried out for Him to all who hoped for deliverance in Jerusalem (Luke 2:36–38). Why does the Evangelist speak with such precision about this Prophetess, even remembering her father and her tribe, which we usually do not find in stories about anyone else. The reason for this accuracy is known, of course, by God alone and the saints, taught by His inspiration, according to the Divine Apostle, by the Spirit to speak secret things (1 Cor. 14:2); but we will also indicate it, as far as we are able to understand. At that time there were other women of the same name as this blessed prophetess (Anna) and had the same sacred activities with her, being in fasting and prayers; That is why, in order to more accurately define her person, the Evangelist adds to the mention of her father the name of his tribe - crowns her with great praises, which are completely reliable for the listeners to whom he spoke. Since the prophetess Anna speaks in her old age, weak and not very clearly audible, then, as if bringing the ear of our thoughts closer to her lips, we see what she also said to those awaiting deliverance in Jerusalem. According to the train of thought, it follows that she spoke about the Lord on the basis of prophetic words, since those to whom, according to the Gospel, she spoke, of course, learned to expect deliverance from the Divine predictions announced by the prophets. Of course, she was well aware of the words of the great Isaiah: A child was born to us, a Son was given to us, and His rulership was on His frame: and His name is called: Great is the counsel of the angel (Is. 9:6). Shine, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (Isa. 60:1); also the prophecy of the great David: You have seen the salvation of our God to the ends of the earth (Ps. 97:3); mercy and truth are greeted, justice and peace are kissed (Ps. 85:11). Before the sun abides His name: and because of Him all the tribes of the earth will be blessed, and the nations will bless Him, work for Him and worship Him (Ps. 71:11, 17); or then the honest and angelic voice of the wise Malachi: Behold, I send My angel, and he will look upon the way before Me: and suddenly the Lord will come to his church, and the Angel of the covenant, the same you want (Malachi 3:1). And from other mysterious flowers - from other prophetic sayings, she (the prophetess Anna) wove a divine and blissful crown, although with a weak and trembling hand, as if she had become exhausted in many days. It could not then fit into those listening to the exposition of lofty thoughts about the Lord, since, even after the appearance of signs and the proclamation of the inspired sacraments. Distributor of treasures of wisdom and knowledge - Christ said to His disciples: the imam has spoken many things to you, but you cannot bear them now (John 16:12). However, although the old woman and prophetess, who represented the law, aged, dilapidated and close to destruction, did not speak clearly about Christ, nevertheless, her speech was not useless for reasonable listeners, just like the foreshadowing of the great sacrament by the law in shadows and fortune telling. So, come, you, spiritual fathers and brethren, taught to celebrate in the renewal of the spirit, and not in the oldness of the written word (Rom. 7:6), having put off through the Divine rebirth of the holy baptism of the old man, which is decaying in the lusts of the deceitful, and have put on the new (Eph. 4:22-24), which is renewed in the mind according to the image of the Creator. Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us exclaim to God our Savior: let us precede His face in confession, and let us shout to Him in psalms (Ps. 95:1–2). Let us continue to offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of the lips of those who confess to His name. Let us not forget charity and fellowship: with such sacrifices God is pleased (Heb. 13:15, 16). Let us cleanse ourselves from all the filth of sin, and may our spiritual youth be renewed like an eagle, like the blessed elder Simeon, so that we too may peacefully and joyfully, in good faith and saving hope, flow towards the end of life, and not end this life with fear and shame - and not like those who are aware of evil deeds, for whom the coming of the king is unpleasant and painful. Let us imitate Anna’s diligent and continuous continuance in fasting and prayer, so that we do not turn out to be worse than a wife, and, moreover, who labored under the shadow of the law, where such examples are rare. On the contrary, as we are illuminated by the light of grace, supported by an immutable hope, strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, let us not move away from the holy teachings, from which the power that saves souls is usually born, as it is testified about that Anna that she did not depart from the church (Luke 2:37), - let us not turn our thoughts away from the fear of God, but let us nail it to the flesh and our minds. Let us listen to the great Paul, who teaches: I have betrothed you to one husband to present a pure virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), and let us not deny ourselves from the covenant with Christ by mixing with the corrupter of our lives by fulfilling his wishes, imitating in this the wisdom and monogamy of the Prophetess. Let us also bring to the highest altar, like a pair of turtle doves, purity of soul and body, or, like a pair of young doves, care for what is good not only before God, but also before men, so that we, having spiritually accomplished everything according to the Divine law, having succeeded in wisdom and grace and having come to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ, having become perfect in the inner man and having become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, return to Our true fatherland is the heavenly Jerusalem, in which we have been rewarded with eternal joy and the blessed kingdom in Christ Jesus. To him be glory and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen 116. In short. See Curs. Compl. Patrolog. edit. Migne, Tom. XLVI, col. 1151–1182; compare Church Led. 1900, no. 5. You might be interested in: