121. Великое

We see that people regard many things as great. But for Christians, only that which is great is that which is Divine and eternal. For they see and think that everything earthly and temporary, like a shadow, passes away, and therefore for them it is everything, like nothing. This is a right opinion, this is an invincible truth. People consider it great to be born of the Tsar and to be and be called a child of the Tsar. But for Christians it is great to be born of God and to be called and to be a child of God. The holy apostle is surprised at this and says with surprise: Look what love the Father has given us, that we should be called and be children of God. The world does not know us because it has not known Him. Beloved! We are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be. We only know that when He is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is (1 John 3:1-2). And to those who accepted Him (Christ), who believed in His name, He gave the power to become children of God, who were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of a man, but of God (John 1:12–13). For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus; as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:26–27). Therefore, the Lord says to the apostles and other His faithful: I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God (John 20:17). Therefore, He commanded us to call His Father Father and pray to Him like this: Our Father, who art in heaven (Matthew 6:9). Christian! It is truly great to be and be called a child of God, this is a great honor and glory, it incomparably surpasses all and every glory of this world, but it is despised by those who love this world. Christian! Seek this great thing - and you will truly be in honor and glory. Children are born similar to their parents. Christians also need to be like God if they want to be children of God. Be holy, for I am Holy (1 Peter 1:16; Lev. 11:44; 19:2). Be merciful, just as your Father is Merciful (Luke 6:36). Imitate God as beloved children (Eph. 5:1). People consider it great if a low person talks to the King. But it is great for a Christian to talk with God, the Heavenly and Eternal King. And truly, how great is it for a man who is earth and ashes (Sir. 13:31) and also a sinner, to approach God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who lives in the unapproachable light, to approach, I say, and stand before Him, and offer your conversation to Him! This is what Archangel Gabriel boasts about: I am Gabriel, standing before God (Luke 1:19). Truly, a Christian stands before God and converses with God when he truly and sincerely prays to Him and sings praises to Him (See Ps. 145:1–8; 37:10; 18:15). The angel’s job is to stand before God and sing praises to Him. Angels stand before God and sing: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts! (Isa. 6:3). People also imitate angels when they sincerely pray to God and praise Him, as Christians sing at the Liturgy: “Who secretly form the Cherubim, and sing the thrice-holy hymn to the Life-giving Trinity,” and so on. You see, Christian, how great it is to pray to God and praise Him. But many Christians do not care about this great thing, many abandon it, many do it, but with extreme carelessness, for either with great haste, as the tongue can cope, or without any understanding, they pray and sing, and, so to speak, they do not know to whom and for what they are praying, to whom and about what they are singing. The word of God befits such: These people draw near to Me with their lips, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me (Matthew 15:8). Therefore the prophet says to those who sing to God: Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing, for God is the King of all the earth; sing wisely ( Ps. 47:7–8 ). Christian, do you want to always stand before God and talk with Him? Always be with your mind and heart with the most kindly God, and with your heart and mind worship Him, and pray to Him, and praise Him - and you will always stand before Him and talk with Him. It will be possible for you to do this in any place and always, day and night, morning and evening, and whenever you want, in public and in solitude, in business and without business, on the road and in the house, standing, walking, sitting and lying on a bed, in a word, always and at all times, and everywhere. Because God is everywhere, and always, and everywhere ready to listen to you (See Job 19:23; Ps. 33:16). The doors to Him are always open. But whoever wants to stand before God in prayer with benefit, and talk with Him, and praise Him, and so to do what is characteristic of the angelic title, must imitate the Angels in both purity and virtues. People consider it great to see the earthly King, therefore, where he is, everyone rushes to see him. But for Christians it is great to see the Heavenly King, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the One who is co-natural and co-essential with God the Father. The Word of the Father and His Only Begotten Son, the King and King, the Son who is in the bosom of the Father, deigned to become man, and lived on earth with people, and suffered, and died for people, and rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father in the glory of the Father. It is great for Christians to see this King, for to see Him is extreme bliss and eternal life, and joy is greater than all joy, and sweetness is greater than all sweetness. Seeing Him is angelic food and sweet drink for God’s chosen ones. When will I come and appear before the face of God? (Ps. 41:3). When will I come and see the One who for my sake, a poor sinner, came into the world and suffered, and suffered, and died, and so redeemed me from the devil, death and hell? When will I come and see you loving me so much, my Benefactor, my Redeemer, my Savior? What's in heaven for me? And without You, what do I want on earth? My heart and my flesh fainted, O God of my heart and my portion, O God, forever (Ps. 72:25–26). I want and desire nothing, neither in heaven nor on earth, except You alone, the Word of God and the Virgin Son, Jesus Christ, my God, God of gods, Lord! Christians! Let us wish to see this King, and let us purify ourselves with repentance, and let us make our robes white in the Blood of Lambs, so that we may enter His glorious palace and see this King of ours, and to His kingdom there will be no end. People consider it great to receive the king of the earth into their home. But for Christians it is great to welcome into the home the hearts of their Heavenly King, Jesus Christ. And truly it is great. What glory, what honor, what joy and joy will be in that house into which this Heavenly and glorious Guest will come, it is impossible to say. There is heavenly peace and joy there, and the kingdom of God is there. For where Christ is God, there is the kingdom of God and His blessedness. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20). Oh, goodness, oh, Thy love for mankind, Lord! What is the benefit to You, who sits on the Throne of Your glory and lives in the unapproachable light, from the fact that you want to enter the houses of our humble souls? Is not the church of Your glory sufficient for You? Your kingdom is the kingdom of all ages, and Your dominion throughout all generations (Ps. 144:13). But the Humane-loving Lord says: Here I stand at the door and knock, and so on. For He, as the Good and Humane One, wants and seeks our benefit, not His, our bliss, not His. Our salvation and bliss are His beloved self-interest. The king of the earth, at the request of his subject, enters the house of his subject and uses the benefits prepared by the owner. The Heavenly King Jesus Christ is not like this: He Himself comes to the doors of our hearts, and knocks on the doors, and wants to enter us. And, having entered, he does not demand our food from us, but He Himself brings His own food, sweet heavenly food, and does not use our benefits, but gives us His invisible heavenly benefits. Praise the Lord, my soul (Ps. 146:1). But human poverty and damnation lie in the fact that man does not feel this Great and Most Precious Heavenly Guest. He comes and knocks on everyone’s doors, but the poor soul, deafened by the love of this world and various carnal whims by the noise, does not hear His sweet voice, and so the Humane-loving Jesus, standing at the door without success, leaves with nothing. Human! It is a shame not to let the king of the earth or any lower-ranking ruler who wants to enter our house. It’s all the more shameful to not let the King of Heaven in. Woe to the soul without Christ! It is like a house without an owner; like a city ravaged and devastated by enemies; like a ship sailing on the sea without a helmsman; like a sheep wandering in the desert without a shepherd; like a man who has turned aside from the right path and has gone astray; like a sick man abandoned by the doctor and others. But the soul itself is to blame for not having Christ living within itself. He who loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him, says the Lord (John 14:23). Beloved Christians, let us love Christ and each other, and with the Father and the Holy Spirit this heavenly and most kind Guest will come to us and make his abode with us. Then we will be truly blessed, although the whole world will hate us. People consider it great to defeat a multitude of people and take impregnable cities. But for Christians, it is great to overcome oneself, that is, one’s own desires, self-love, love of money, impurity, envy, anger, love of glory and other evils hidden within the heart, or, as the Apostle wrote, to crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24). Here is a glorious victory, here is a glorious winner and warrior of Christ! Many conquer many people, and the strong take cities, but they cannot defeat themselves, and become prisoners of their passions. A man who is long-suffering is better than a strong man, and a man who has understanding is better than a great landowner, and one who holds back anger is better than one who conquers a city (Prov. 16:32). Christian, let us try to conquer ourselves - and we will achieve a glorious victory. The Spirit says to the Churches: To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God; and again: to the one who overcomes I will give to eat the hidden manna (Rev. 2:7–17). Yours, O Lord, is the victory, Yours the triumph, Yours the glory, for You are the praise of our strength. Therefore, I will boast much more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest in me (2 Cor. 12:9). People consider it great to have a healthy, strong and thriving body. But for Christians it is great to have a healthy, strong and prosperous soul. Goodness is also physical health. But what is the use of having a healthy body, but a weak and weakened soul? What good is it for a Christian man that his body sees well, but his soul is blind in the knowledge of God and His holy will and itself; his body hears well, but his soul is deaf and does not hear the word of God; the body is straight, but the soul is crooked and hunched; the body is not lame, but the soul is lame; the body is strong and moves and walks, but the soul is relaxed and motionless for any good deed; the body does not shake with fever and does not burn with fever, but the soul shakes and scorches with anger and rage; the body is not tormented by demonic violence, but the soul is raging with passions and sins. A fierce demon is passion and sin. What good is it that the body is clean, but the soul is leprous and stinks from the wounds of sin; the body is beautiful and comely, but the soul is vile and ugly? The body is mortal, but the soul is immortal. Bodily health only serves us until death, and after death it will crumble into dust, like something weak. Look here, man, what is the beauty and beauty of the body! Truly, you cannot know whether the body was healthy or weak. But the health of the soul is inseparable from the soul, and in that age it departs with it, and accompanies it, and appears with it before God, and is favorable to His holy eyes. God loves a healthy and holy soul. Weakness and weakening of the body threatens with temporary death; but weakness and weakening of the soul threatens with eternal death. It rarely happens that a healthy soul lives in a healthy body, but for the most part, and almost always, in a weak one (2 Cor. 12:10). The health of the body opens doors for a person to many whims and sins, but the infirmity of the body closes it. A fierce and untrained horse goes berserk, and often strives for its own destruction, but with the bridle it restrains itself, and beats, and suffers, and becomes dejected, and thus becomes meek. Our flesh, through sickness and infirmity, is like a bridle, restrained, tamed, and submissive to the spirit. Oh, what great mercy God shows to those who are sick! He crushes his body so that his soul becomes healthy; gives over the flesh to destruction, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 5:5). Everyone who is sick, and even more so those living celibate, know and acknowledge this truth. The rich man of the Gospel was healthy, and dressed in purple and fine linen, rejoiced brightly all the days, but after his death he went into the fiery flame and, after temporary amusements, into eternal torment. Lazarus was poor and in pus, and lay in front of its gates, but after his death he was carried by the Angels into Abraham’s bosom (See Luke 16:19–25). So one, after temporary suffering, passed into eternal rest, and the other, after temporary amusement, passed into eternal torment. The same thing is happening now: many even now perceive their blessings in their lives, but suffer there; and many suffer here, but are consoled there. What is the use of having a healthy body, but a weakened and weak soul? It is great to have a healthy soul, an immortal soul created in the image of God, even if the body is weak and rotten. We all really want to have a healthy body, but we don’t know how to have it. It is better for the body to smolder and rot when it pleases God and is useful and necessary for us, as long as the soul receives its health. The Word of God and the Holy Faith teach us that when a healthy soul is united with a body, it will be healthy, strong, beautiful, spiritual, incorruptible, immortal and prosperous forever. But if our outer man is decaying, then our inner man is being renewed day by day (1 Cor. 15:42–44 and 53; Phil. 3:21; 2 Cor. 4:16). People consider it great to have the wealth of this world. But for Christians it is great to have spiritual wealth within themselves, that is, living faith, the grace of God and spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control (Gal. 5:22–23). Christians consider this treasure of the soul great. The wealth of the world only serves man, but at death it departs from him, and he departs into that age as one of the poor and wretched. Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich or when the glory of his house increases, for when he dies he will take nothing and his glory will not go away with him (Ps. 49:17-18). A person carries a spiritual treasure here within himself, and in that age he departs with it, and with it he appears to the Heavenly Father, and shows evidence of himself that he is a Christian in name and in essence. And the rich man, who has a lot of material wealth, but does not have spiritual wealth, what will he go away with in that age and what evidence of himself will he show that he was a Christian in this world? Is it because he had a lot? Both the Turks and the idolaters have a lot. Or that he confessed the name of God? And the demons believe and tremble (James 2:19). What is the use of having chests filled with substance, but an empty soul? The rich man is poor who does not have spiritual treasures inside, although he has everything outside himself. People please him, because they see a lot of things in him, but before God he is accursed, for God sees nothing in him except poverty (Rev. 3:17). Christian! Let us try to have spiritual treasure within us, and we will be truly rich. Let us acknowledge our poverty - may God Himself enrich us with His grace. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Wonderful poverty that enriches us, wonderful wealth that comes from poverty! This is the work of Christ, for for Him who, being rich, became poor for our sakes, all things are possible. But it is also written: All things are possible to him who believes (Matthew 17:20; Mark 9:23). People consider it great to be a free person, to be noble, to serve no one, but to command and command others. But for Christians it is great to be free from sin, to have a noble soul, not to serve any sin, but to serve God alone with faith and truth. This is wonderful freedom and this is true nobility! All external nobility and freedom serve only man until the grave, but there he departs from him, and he becomes like one of the lowly. Here it is impossible to know where the slave is, where his master lies, and who the slave is and who the master was is not visible. What if a vile soul lived in a noble body, and the one whom people served was in slavery to sin, for everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8:34). What should such a person come with at the World Court? With sin? This is scary. It will not be the same there as it happens here: there will be no partiality there; noble and vile, masters and slaves will stand side by side before the Judge. Not so much spiritual freedom. She is here with man, and comes from this world with him, and accompanies him, and stops the lips of slanderers, and appears before God, and intercedes for him. This is how great spiritual freedom and nobility are! And although Christians are not without sin, they are not deprived of their freedom and nobility, since, feeling and seeing their weaknesses in themselves, they continually sigh to the Heavenly Father and, recognizing their sins, they raise their voice to Him in agreement: Father! Forgive us our debts. And they get what they ask for, and so they are not deprived of their freedom. You see, Christian, both the external human freedom and the internal, and the nobility and Christian nobility of this world. Judge for yourself that there is no benefit in being free outside, but inside being vile and a slave; accept service from people with your body, but serve sin with your soul. Noble souls stand against all sin, and fight against it, and do not allow it to possess them. It is better to serve man than to serve sin and the devil. If the Son frees you, then you will be truly free, says the Lord, our Liberator (John 8:36). Here is glorious freedom, our true nobility, our dignity, our honor, our glory, our beauty, our kindness and our eternal bliss! Bring back, O Lord, our captives, like streams drawn by the south wind. Those who sow in tears will reap with joy. Those who leave went away and wept, throwing away their seeds, but those who came will come with joy, gathering their sheaves (Ps. 126:4-6). Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity (Ps. 50:3). This and other things people consider great. But for Christians, only that which is great is that which is invisible, spiritual, divine, eternal. Anyone who considers something great desires and seeks it with zeal. Faith alone is the guide to invisible, spiritual and heavenly things. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). She represents the invisible as visible, and the future as the present. Therefore, a faithful soul with living faith sees all this and strives for it, with little or no thought about the present. But whoever does not have such faith considers only what is great and desires and seeks what he sees. Christians, let us try to have the lamp of faith in our hearts, and it will show us everything invisible, spiritual, divine and eternal - and then we will be Christians. The whole essence of Christian bliss depends on living faith. You might be interested in: