Поучение 88 101 . Во вторую неделю по Воздвижении. О том, чтобы внимательно и разумно слушать Священное Писание.

Brothers and Fathers? We all, people, have eyes and ears, but we do not see and hear everything; only a few have obedient ears and seeing eyes. Therefore, the Lord said in the Gospel: “having ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9). About those who do not hear, the Prophet says: “God give them the spirit of compunction, eyes not to see and ears not to hear” (Rom. 11:8). So, let us listen to the reading of the Holy Scriptures carefully, and not simply and as it happens, so as not to fall under the rebuke and wrath of God, but, on the contrary, so that we can say in accordance with the Scriptures: “the punishment of the Lord opens my ears” (Is. 50:5). Whoever listens in this way understands the psalm of David, which says: “Rejoice, ye righteous, in the Lord” (Ps. 33:1). Such a one considers all the things of real life to be a shadow that runs and does not stand, and imputes all the means of being, so that he may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8). For we hear the Lord, who says to His disciples: “I will not leave you, orphans: I will come to you. It’s still a little while, and no one in the world will see Me, but you will see Me, because I live, and you will live” (John 14:18-19). And he also says: “I am the true vine... you are the birth” (John 15:1-5). And again: “You are my friends by nature, and if you do, I command you. To whom I say you are servants, for a servant does not know what his Lord is doing; But others said to you, that all that I have heard from My Father I have spoken to you” (John 15:14-15). And again: “You... have been with Me in my adversities. And I bequeath to you an everlasting covenant, that you may eat and drink... in My kingdom” (Luke 22:28-30). Hearing this and the like, a God-loving person not only rejoices, but is also affirmed to die daily for the love of Christ. This is how all the saints lived, and this is how they showed love for God. The prophet Jeremiah said: I have not labored to follow You, O my God, nor have I desired the day of man, O my Lord (Jer. 17:16). David says: what will the Lord repay for all that he has repaid us (Ps. 115:3)? And the Apostle Paul says: For we have been given the gift of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but to suffer for Him (Phil. 1:29). In a similar way, the other Apostles, having suffered beatings for Christ, rejoiced and said that they were deemed worthy to endure beatings and dishonor for the name of Christ (Acts 5:41). And in a word, each of the saints said similar things and showed the love that they had for Christ. Let us, brethren, be obedient to what the Holy Scripture says, let us love God who loved us, always giving thanks for all the good things that He has created for us, since from the beginning for our salvation and sanctification He wanted through this blessed and holy image to show mercy to us, and granted us to maintain the Orthodox faith, and to worship Him, and not to be in error. For how many people are there who have gone astray through human deceit? How many are lost through the wiles and cunning of charm! How many are there who suffer hunger and thirst, not the hunger of bread, nor the thirst of water, but the hunger of hearing the word of the Lord, as the Divine Scripture says (Amos 8:11)! And we, Christians, are offered a meal filled with all sorts of precious dishes - this is the teaching of the saints. And listening sometimes to this and sometimes to another reading, and delighting our word, as if with some delicious meal, and decorating it, on the one hand, with some golden tale from the Divine Scripture, or on the other with other Divine praises, we truly must say with the Apostle Paul: if God was after us, He did not spare His only begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all; Why not give us everything with Him? Who will take the elect of God; God justify. Who dares to condemn us? Christ Jesus died, and even more so also rose again, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us (Rom. 8:31-34) before God the Father, who will also give us his eternal kingdom, for to Him belongs all glory forever and ever. Amen. See Patrolology, vol. 99, p. 642. You might be interested in: