140. Едящие и пиющие на трапезе, и прочие алчущие, не допускаемые к ней за свою вину

It happens that in a certain house some people eat and drink at a meal and are consoled, but the master of the house does not allow others to join that meal because of some guilt, and so they are overcome by grief and sadness, because they want to eat and are not allowed to do so. They see others eating and drinking and being comforted, but they themselves are hungry and thirsty, and so are consumed with sorrow. The same will happen to sinners. They will also be overcome by grief, sadness and unbearable torment, and they will regret it, but it is late and useless when they see the righteous in consolation, honor, glory, eternal bliss, eating and drinking at the Lord's table, while they themselves are deprived of all that bliss and are in great torment. And this is what the Lord says to the Jews: There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourself being cast out (Luke 13:28), and so on. And through the prophet he says: Behold, My servants will eat, but you will hunger. Behold, My servants will drink, but you will thirst. My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. Behold, My servants will rejoice with gladness of heart, but you will cry out in the pain of your heart and weep out of contrition of spirit (Isa. 65:14). So the rich man of the Gospel saw the poor Lazarus, comforted in Abraham’s bosom, while he saw himself suffering in the fiery flame, he saw and cried out: Father Abraham! Have mercy on me, and so on, but I heard in response: Child! Remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; and above all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us (Luke 16:24-26). The same answer will be heard by other unrepentant sinners who are now comforted by the blessings of God, but forget God and despise the wretched Lazarus. Especially the sorrow and unbearable illness of the masters, princes and nobles, who abhorred their slaves, and had them as footstools and as cattle, will be overcome especially, but they will be seen in glory, and they will see themselves in dishonor; will embrace the rich when they see the poor and wretched, despised by them, in the kingdom of God, but themselves outside of it; will embrace all scolders when those who here in the world were reviled, slandered, scolded, dishonored and, as it were, considered rotten, will see themselves in unspeakable glory, and themselves in dishonor and reproach. And this is what is written in the book of the Wisdom of Solomon: Then the righteous will stand with great boldness in the face of those who insulted him and despised his labors. Those who see will be troubled by a grave fear and will be horrified by his glorious salvation and, repenting and sighing from the oppression of the spirit, will say to themselves: “This is the same one who was once among us as a mockery and a byword for reproach. Madmen, we considered his life to be madness and his death dishonorable! How is he numbered among the sons of God, and his lot is with the saints? So, we have lost our way from the true path, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not shine on us. We were filled with lawless deeds and destruction and walked through impassable deserts, but we did not know the way of the Lord” (Wis. 5:1-7). Christian! We see in the Holy Scriptures that sweet meal, depicted in various ways for our encouragement and consolation. We see those eating and drinking at that meal; We see those who are hungry and thirsty for that meal, but by the righteous judgment of God they are not allowed and expelled from it. There recline in faith and righteousness those who served the Lord and pleased Him; the holy patriarchs are reclining, the prophets are reclining, the apostles are reclining, the saints are reclining, the martyrs, hermits, saints, and all the saints and righteous are reclining. But sinners look at that meal from afar; they want to come to her, but are not allowed; they desire to eat and drink, but it is not given to them; they repent and regret, but it’s too late. And so they are overcome by grief and distress, sadness and sighing, but it is too late and useless. Christian! We, thank God, still live in this world, our hope has not yet perished, the doors to this meal are still open, and everyone is called to it by the Merciful Lord. So, let us not neglect ourselves, lest we be driven away from that sweet meal. Let us repent, and through faith and righteousness we will please our Lord Jesus Christ, and He will make us fellow members of that table. And since many sorrows meet those who go to that consolation, we will not return back, oppressed by them, but will endure them. He who endures to the end will be saved. Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 24:13; Acts 14:22). And a voice from heaven testifies about those reclining at that table: These are those who came out of great tribulation (Rev. 7:14), and so on. The hope of the desired good encourages one to achieve feat and confirms one in achievement. The hope of gaining the wealth of a merchant encourages and strengthens to wander in foreign countries, the hope of gaining the fruits of a farmer to work and sweat, the hope of gaining the understanding of a student to study in schools and endure every need, the hope of victory of a warrior against enemies encourages and strengthens. So, most of all, may the hope of future bliss motivate us and strengthen us in our feat to the end. For the good end fulfills our blessedness, according to what has been said: Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life, says the Lord (Rev. 2:10). You might be interested in: