Четверг

(Heb. 10, 35–11, 7; Mark 9, 10–16) History flows and seems to inexorably determine particular events. How many preparations there were for the reception of the Savior!.. Finally, His closest guide, John, came, but what happened? They “did with John as they wanted”; and the Son of Man was humiliated and suffered (Mark 9:12–13). The tide of events could not be reversed: it took its toll. So, the current story always carries everything along with itself. The question now is: where is freedom? And what will she be like in this order of events? Nothing more than a ghost. This is how fatalists usually reason. But this all-determining necessity of the course of events is only apparent; in fact, all human events, both general and private, are the fruit of human free endeavors. The general flows exactly this way because everyone or the majority wants it; and the particular enters into an agreement with the general, because both in particular want it. The proof of this is obvious: among the good generalities there are particular bad ones; and among the bad things in general there are particular good ones. And one more thing: among the firmly established generalities, particulars arise, which, growing and strengthening more and more, overpower the former generality and take its place. But these particulars are always a matter of freedom. What does Christianity have to do with the character of the time in which it was born? It is seeded with several persons who were not the product of the necessary course of history; it attracted those who wanted it, expanded rapidly and became the common cause of the humanity of that time, and yet it was a cause of freedom. The same goes for the bad: how has the West become corrupted? He corrupted himself: instead of the Gospel, they began to learn from the pagans and adopt their customs - and they became corrupted. The same will happen with us: we began to learn from the Lord of the West, who fell away from Christ, and transferred his spirit into ourselves; we will end up, like him, recoiling from true Christianity. But in all this there is nothing necessary and decisive for the cause of freedom: if we want, we will drive away the Western darkness; we don’t want to, and we’ll plunge into it, of course. You might be interested in: