Слово 81

(1) About spiritual work. – (2) What was this doing among the ancient saints? – (3) How can we also succeed in it? 1. Since other people have a high opinion of themselves (which it would have been better for them not to have) and consider themselves to be similar to the ancient saints and God-bearing fathers of ours in knowledge, deeds and perfection, as if they had acquired the same grace of the Holy Spirit that they were also honored with - while they present themselves as such only in words, without deeds, deceived by the spirit of conceit and vanity, then I considered it blessed to say in in simplicity, a few words about this, according to the commandment of God, which reads: you, too, are converted, strengthen your brethren (Luke 22:32), and according to the love that Christ commanded us to have for our neighbors. Do you want, brother, to hear what our holy and God-bearing fathers did while sitting in their cells? Read their lives and first study their physical work yourself, and then I will reveal to you what kind of spiritual work they went through. For those who wrote their lives described their more physical (visible) deeds, such as: having nothing, fasting, abstinence, patience, etc., so as not to retell everything and thereby lengthen the words; they only allowed their spiritual work to be seen somewhat through their bodily deeds, as in a mirror; so that only those who, like them, strive for labor and exploits, and with such deeds demonstrating faith similar to their faith, hope to become partakers of their gifts, can know and understand what spiritual gifts they have been vouchsafed. Those who do not imitate their exploits will not understand anything about their spiritual deeds. However, since we have become so foolish that we consider ourselves to have the same grace of the Spirit that the ancients had, without, however, doing the works that they did, we examine this subject, and, making sure how everything happens from the spiritual works of the fathers, we strive to imitate them, although we cannot hope to achieve them to the extent. 2. So, what did Anthony the Great do when he lived alone in the tomb, and moreover, when he did not yet know the perfection of spiritual work? Was he not imprisoned in the tomb as if he were dead? Did you have at least any of the things of the world with you and did you care about yourself at least a little? Didn’t he die completely and completely for the world and didn’t he look for the one God who could give him life and resurrection? Wasn't he content with just bread and water? Didn’t he bravely endure all evil from the demons, although they attacked him so much that one day he was left half dead from their beatings? When they brought him to church on this occasion, as if he were dead and could not move, then, having come to his senses, did he not return back and again fearlessly stand out against his enemies alone? – It seems like such a simple action, but how important it was! For if he had not returned to his enemies, but had remained in the world, and if he, having thus decided to endure to the end, had not willingly given himself up to death with all readiness, then he would not have been worthy to see the delightful face of Christ the Lord and hear His sweetest voice. But since he sought with all his soul, pushed with all his might, and endured to the end, he received a reward worthy of his patience. For, as I said, he died willingly for everything, love for the sake of Christ, and sat in solitude as if dead, until Christ, who gives life to the dead, came and brought him out of hell, that is, from spiritual darkness, and brought him into the wonderful light of his face, which, having seen, Anthony was freed from all sorrow and, filled with joy, cried out: Lord! Where have you been before?! In words: where have you been, Lord? – he showed that he did not know where the Lord was; by the same thing that he said: hitherto - he showed that he now saw, felt and knew the presence of Christ the Lord. So, if we do not want to renounce the world in the same way and do not choose to endure, like Saint Anthony, then how is it possible for us to be worthy to see God through the grace of the Holy Spirit and to be filled with spiritual joy, like him? No, this is not possible at all. So Arseny the Great immediately hated the world, what did he do? Didn’t he leave the royal chambers, and the kings, and the servants, and all his wealth, and didn’t he go to the monastery alone, like some poor and beggar, trying in every possible way so that they would not know what he was, in order to avoid the glory and praise of men and to gain glory before God? - What? Was he satisfied with this alone? No; but what did you do? He did not tolerate being placed on an equal footing with these poor ascetics, as a beggar and despicable, but he looked at himself as at a dog. For when the abbot threw him a piece of bread to test him and the bread fell to the ground, this blessed one himself threw himself to the ground and went to the bread, like a four-legged animal, on his arms and legs, but when he reached him, he did not take it with his hands, but with his teeth, as dogs do, and ate it. Then, when he was sitting in his cell, he not only worked patiently on handicrafts, for which he was not at all accustomed, but also conducted his work in such a way that he spent much less on his needs than what he received from handicrafts, and drank water that had already spoiled. In addition, when he worked on handicrafts, and when he prayed, he always cried and shed tears, stood in prayer from evening until dawn, and until the end of his life he endured poverty and misery. For what? In order to see and experience for yourself the same thing that the Great Anthony was honored to see and experience. But how, you ask, is it not written about him that he saw Christ? Indeed, perhaps he did not achieve such feats as Saint Anthony accomplished; or at least achieved such feats, but was not worthy to see God? No, not like that. And he was honored to see God in the same way as the Great Anthony, but the one who wrote his life did not say this explicitly. If you want to make sure of this, read the chapters written by Arseny the Great, and you will learn from them that he, too, saw God. 3. So, whoever imitates the saints with his deeds and exploits will probably be deemed worthy to receive equal grace. And this is as true as it is true that none of the holy fathers, either before receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit or after receiving it, could come out of spiritual darkness and see the light of the Holy Spirit without labor, deeds and sweat, without self-constraint, self-oppression and regret. For the kingdom of heaven is tedious and the needy (strengthened seekers. - Ed.) delight it, since through many sorrows it is necessary to enter into it (Matthew 11:12; Acts 14:22). This kingdom is the grace of the Holy Spirit, as the word spoken by the Lord shows: the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21), so that we strive to receive and have the Holy Spirit within us. So, those who shun constant self-constraint, self-bitterness and self-embarrassment, arbitrary poverty and self-inflicted deprivation, let them not say that they have the Holy Spirit within them. For without labor, sweat and painful feats of virtue, no one is given this heavenly gift. Why is the truth expressed by the general proverb that says: show deeds and seek rewards. I know a man who, having read the Divine Scriptures in the rightness of his thoughts and the simplicity of his soul and having vigilantly prayed for several days and nights without any special labors or feats, was granted such strong enlightenment from the grace of the Holy Spirit that it seemed to him as if he were outside the body, outside the house, outside this world. It was night when he saw this light, and suddenly it became as light as full day. But as soon as he received such wealth without labor, he soon began to neglect it, fell into negligence and lost all of it, to such an extent that it completely disappeared from his memory that he had once seen such glory. How, after this, do those who have never been worthy to receive or see such glory say that they have it in themselves? I'm perplexed. But oh the blindness and darkness of such! O insensibility and their vain conceit! How did they know this? And from what scriptures did you hear? Truly they have become futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts have been darkened, and they are still in Egypt, that is, in the darkness of their passions and lusts. For those who have desired to see the land of promise, which the meek, the humble and the poor (in spirit) are worthy to see, gladly take up every kind of oppression, sorrow, poverty, misery, and with all their might they abstain from all bodily pleasures, rest and honor, distance themselves from every person, both small and great, and run from them without hatred, in order to be worthy to enter into the land of promise before the flow of real life will be stopped, that is, before they die. Such people humble themselves a lot, and, considering themselves truly malicious, many sinners, enemies of God and transgressors of His commandments, they spend their lives in sorrow, sorrow and repentance, and try in every possible way to find out what else they should do in order to be reconciled and become friends with Christ the Lord. For this, the Lord finally grants them not only to know what they must do in order to be reconciled with Him, but gives them strength and patience and deeds to accomplish everything necessary in order to see and acquire the existing God over everything and in everything, and after that live as in heaven and have their own abode there, although they are in the mountains, in caves, in cells, in cities, and thus serve Him with pleasure and joy, with joy and joy unspeakable. This is what saints do! This is the action of those in whom the Spirit of God works! Such in our days was the holy and blessed Simeon the Reverent, who, like the sun, shone in the glorious Studite monastery. At first he lived in the world, among worldly affairs, among friends and relatives, worries, cares and worldly consolations, but then he became so detached from all this that he never remembered it at all. Living among many monks, he said such a blessed word: a monk has a duty to be in a monastery, both existing and non-existent, and non-appearing, and especially unknown. Explaining this word, he said: “as existing and non-existent, - as if he existed in body, but did not exist in spirit, and was invisible in this regard to others, excluding those who were made pure, by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, - and was not known, that is, had nothing with anyone (had no special knowledge and friendship).” O blessed words with which his superhuman, angelic life is preached! O worthy words, in which he himself confessed that by the grace of the Holy Spirit he had acquired residence in heaven, and at the same time revealed that he was one with God, precisely in words, so that the monk would have nothing with anyone: which no one can truly demonstrate in practice, which no one can even say if he is not completely united with God. If anyone says, he is deceiving himself. He who is not united with God and says that he does not sin is blind, completely blind and insensitive. He who has God within himself cannot sin, for His seed abides in him, as John the Theologian says (1 John 3:9). That reverent Simeon had all of God for himself, he spoke about this when he was alive, and after his death he loudly testifies in his writings, saying: “Get God as your friend, and you will not have need of human help,” and in another place again: “Get God, and you will not have need of books.” He showed this last thing in action, for he compiled a whole book with his own labors, or, better yet, with the grace of the Holy Spirit that dwelt in him, despite the fact that he did not go through the sciences. All this, together with Saint Simeon, my spiritual father, I confirm and confess with my testimony. This blessed and reverend father labored so much that he surpassed even the ancient saints in this, and endured so many temptations and sorrows that he became like many great and glorious martyrs. For this he was glorified by God and became impassive and holy and was worthy to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. Then, just as a cistern gives water from itself to the thirsty, which flows into it from the rains from the heavenly clouds, so our reverend father received from the fullness of our Master Christ and poured out living water from himself from the grace of the Holy Spirit. And again, just as someone drinks his fill of water that flows from a cistern and pours out from it, so his disciple received the grace of the Holy Spirit, which was always flowing and pouring out from this holy our spiritual father, drank from it, and washed his face, hands and feet, then washed himself completely, both in soul and in body, with this immortal water. O terrible and glorious mystery! And do not allow yourself, my brothers, not to believe this, because such a word is not actually mine, and what I said did not happen to us alone (that is, to him and his spiritual father). But listen to the Evangelist John, what he says about this water, or, better to say, about this Son, the living Word of God, from whom John was enriched in words. Anyone who drinks from the water of sowing, says the Lord, will thirst again; and whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will be in him a fountain of water flowing into an everlasting belly (John 4:13–14). Explaining what this living water means, John says in another place: “This is what the Lord said about Dus, whom the faithful wanted to receive in His name” (John 7:39). And the Apostle Paul says: we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is from God, that we may know that which is given to us by God, even as we speak (1 Cor. 2:12). It is with this water that all evil, all filthiness is washed away and removed from the soul, and without it, no matter how much you work and strive, you will not receive any benefit. Therefore, we, being unable in any way to hide the talent, that is, the gift of our Master Christ, and not to proclaim the grace of God given to Elder Simeon, we boldly confess the mercy of God shown to us through this reverend father of ours, who also fed us insatiably from the water he received from God, to the glory of His Holy Name. And lo, according to our strength, we, the last and indecent, glorified and glorify God, who glorified our venerable father Simeon the Reverent, and through this also him (the elder). Do not anyone think that I lie and speak to the destruction of my soul, praising my spiritual father, for I know that God will destroy all those who speak lies (Ps. 5:7). The divine Paul teaches me both (to praise and not to lie), saying: Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed is he; - I speak the truth, I do not lie... We know a person before the age of fourteen, - and so on. (Eph.1:3; Rom.9:1; 2Cor.12:2ff). And again: we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, that which is given to us by God, even as we speak (1 Cor. 2:12). “Besides, what benefit does praise bring to me or my spiritual father?” Of course, there is no benefit to us at all. But just as, speaking about the ancient saints, I did not bring them any benefit at all, but inspired the listeners to imitate them, so in the same sense I spoke, and will not stop speaking, about the Monk Simeon, and when it is necessary and necessary, I will add, not least about his disciple. The unbelief of those who, to the detriment of those who listen, say that in modern times it is impossible for anyone to become what the ancient fathers were, for anyone to achieve the measure of virtues that they showed, and for anyone to be worthy of the gifts that they received - this unbelief forces me to say something that I, without this, would never have said, and to present to everyone in the present world the love of God for mankind, to expose to everyone the negligence and laziness of those who speak such speeches. Blessed Simeon worked and strived so hard that he surpassed even many ancient saints with his labors and exploits, and endured such temptations and sorrows that he is like many eminent and great martyrs. For this he was glorified by God, became dispassionate and holy, and was honored to receive into himself all, so to speak, the grace of the Holy Spirit. Then, just as a father gives an inheritance to his son as a gift, so my spiritual father gave his disciple the grace of the Holy Spirit, without his own labor and achievement, but as a gift. And which of us can, I do not say, do the things that he did, even understand well what he said? “This is what, above all else, as an instruction, the saint wrote to us: “brother! complete removal from the world is the complete mortification and cutting off of one’s will.” O blessed voice, or, better to say, O blessed soul, deigned to become such and renounce the whole world! To such the Lord Christ says: You are not of the world, but I chose you out of this world (John 15:19). Come to Me... and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). But for those who walk in a different way and do their will, although in some small way, or in some only through apparently good deeds, it is impossible to see the life that those who are completely removed from the world and completely dead to their will see. So, my brother, if you don’t want to humble yourself and obey in everything, you don’t want to willingly endure sorrow, dishonor, humiliation and reproach, you don’t want to be like some senseless, unknown, beggar and abandoned person, you also don’t want to be despised by every person and revered as some kind of madman, then tell me, in what other way is it possible for you to become alien to your own will? If God commanded us all to endure everything that happens to us for testing, or, better said, for the purification of our souls, we do not want to endure it, but the earthly wisdom of the flesh lives in us, forcing us not to desire any deprivation and suffering, then how can we be dead to the world and to worldly things? No, that's impossible. If we do not put ourselves to death to the world and everything worldly, then how can we live a life hidden in Christ? How can we see God dwelling in us as light, as Saint Simeon said? No, my brothers, it is impossible for us to receive such a gift, and let no one deceive us. If you, venerating blessed Simeon as such, are ashamed to imitate his deeds, then imitate Christ and suffer willingly for your own salvation, as He suffered for you. And He, as you hear, was called demon-possessed, a flatterer, a drinker and a drinker, saying to Him: You have a demon (John 8:48), and again: this man is a drinker and a drinker, a friend of the tax collector and the sinner (Luke 7:34). Our reverend father Simeon heard the same thing, for me, or for all of us. Do you hear again how our Lord was taken and bound like a murderer and a villain, and presented to Pilate as some beggar and insignificant person, how he was strangled by a slave and thrown into prison, how he was dragged along by soldiers and how he was handed over from Pilate to the Jewish people with the words: take him and crucify him. Think about how Christ was among them, who is above all the heavens and upholds everything with His hand? How were you pushed from one side to the other? How was He struck and strangled and dragged to the judgment seat, Whom every creature does not dare to look upon, even the Seraphim themselves? How was he naked, tied to a column and received forty blows - as evidence that He was condemned to death? Then think about how He was dressed in mockery with a scarlet robe, how we hit you on the head and asked the soldiers: who is it that hit you? How he was crowned with thorns and received mocking worship, how he was mocked and spat upon and heard the mocking words: Behold the king of the Jews? How was he again dressed in his own clothes, how was he bound and dragged to death, how, carrying his cross, he went to the place of execution, how he looked at the planting of the cross in the ground, being left alone by his friends and disciples? After this, think again how He was naked and carried to the cross, how we were nailed hand and foot by soldiers, how we were soldered with bile, how we were reviled by a robber, how we were mocked by a crowd, and heard: you destroy the church and build it up in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross, and again: if the Son is God, let him now come down from the cross and we believe in Him ( Matthew 27:40 ; Mark 15:30, 32 ). Finally, think how, after He had endured all this, He thanked His Father and prayed to Him for those very ones who betrayed Him to such suffering and death, and how He gave His soul into the hands of His Father. Isn’t all this enough for you, my brother, to imitate? Are you ashamed to endure this and the like? - But what other works or in what other way can you be glorified with Him? Listen to what He Himself says: If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, I will also be ashamed of him before My Father who is in heaven (Luke 9:26; Matt. 10:33). And Saint Paul says: if we endure with Him, we will be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12). Why, if we are ashamed to imitate the passions of Christ, which He endured for our salvation, and to suffer as He suffered, it is obvious that it is impossible for us to be partakers and joint heirs of His glory. For in this case we are faithful only in words, and not in deeds; when there are no works, our faith is dead. But if faith without good deeds is dead, then it is clear that when faith is with bad deeds, then it is not called and is no longer faith. A dead body, if it has died recently, is called dead, but if it lies like this for a long time, it is no longer called a dead body, but a smoldering, decaying, deteriorated corpse. So it is here: since there are two kinds of works - some pleasing to God, and others hated, then if faith, as the Apostle James says, is dead without works pleasing to God, it is obvious that that faith, which not only exists without works pleasing to God, but also has works hated by God, can no longer be called dead, but should be called spoiled and decayed, or, more truly, unbelief and wickedness. It seems that Isaiah the Prophet means such things when he says that the wicked will not see the glory of the Lord. That is why I say, and will not stop saying, that those who do not imitate the passion of Christ through repentance and obedience and who do not become partakers of His death, as we have privately shown above, will not be worthy of being partakers of His spiritual resurrection, will not be worthy to receive the Holy Spirit, through Whom the spiritual resurrection of everyone occurs. I am not talking about the resurrection of bodies, which will take place at the end of the world (then the Angel will sound the trumpet - and dead bodies will rise), but I am talking about the spiritual rebirth and resurrection of dead souls, which happens spiritually every day, and which is given, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, by the One who once died and rose again for everyone, and again resurrects in all those who live worthily and as befits, and resurrects with Himself the souls who died with By his will and faith, and even from this beginning of life, he grants them through the Holy Spirit the kingdom of heaven, which may come to all of us, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; to Him belongs all glory forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: