19. Слово в неделю Ваий (Событие входа Господня в Иерусалим – исполнение пророчества «се царь твой грядет», а образом исполнения предвозвещается призвание язычников)

How the event now remembered took place, you, of course, know. It is known how, approaching Jerusalem, the Lord sent the apostles to take a donkey under the yoke from the nearest village and cast a lot with it, how, after bringing them, He sat on the lot, and the donkey itself followed, how the people solemnly met the Lord, and some spread out their vestments, others tore off the fronds and covered the path with them, and everyone, even the children, cried out: “Hosanna to the son of David.” (Matthew 21:9). - You are very aware of all this. As you can see, all the connections of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem are very simple. But by the very fact that they are very simple, and yet intentionally arranged by the Lord, one must think that they have a special inner meaning and meaning. Let us strain our reasoning so that, bypassing this shock of the city, this rejoicing and exclamations, we understand under this appearance something higher and more significant and take a lesson from it. Do not consider, says St. John Chrysostom, this event to be unimportant. Here the Lord reveals to us a great secret and presents two prophecies: He fulfills one prophecy Himself: “Behold, your King is coming to you” (Matthew 21:5), and by the way of its fulfillment He gives another again, namely, it foretells the calling of tongues. For the donkey and the lot signify two kinds of people. The donkey under the yoke is an image of the Jews, who were already tired under the yoke of the law and longed for relief from this burden, and the young lot signifies the pagans who lived according to their own will. The apostles freely untie the donkey and the lot - this means that Jews and pagans will be called into the new grace-filled Church through the apostles, whose preaching nothing can resist. Some of the Jews believed then, but others remained stubborn, in which they continue to this day. But this is only for the time being, as the Apostle teaches. They too will finally understand the glorious fate of the pagan believers, become jealous with zeal and turn to the Lord. This is expressed by the fact that the Lord will sit on the Lot, and the donkey under the yoke will follow Him. This is how Saint Chrysostom interprets the image of the Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem. So here's the prophecy, and you know how it's fulfilled. After the Jews, the Greeks, Romans and all other peoples of that time were called, and finally, we, the Slavic and Russian people. Therefore, the current celebration does not remember an event alien to us, but something that happened to us ourselves. Now, like all other languages ​​that have believed in the Lord, we too must remember how the preaching of the Gospel came to us, how we accepted it and submitted to the good yoke of Christ, remember this and glorify the Lord, who deigned to sit on us, according to the robes of the Apostolic teachings sent over us, to sit as king over our souls. This proclamation: “Hosanna!” may it be for us not only a memory of the delight that was then at the meeting of the Lord, but also an expression of our own blessedness, which we have been granted through faith, even in Christ Jesus, both in reality and in hope. The Lord will sit upon us, glory and thanksgiving to his mercy! Let us force ourselves, brethren, to gracefully carry the Lord and walk so quietly under Him that He rests upon us; Let us force ourselves to hold Him on ourselves until He, who is carried by us, brings us, who bear Him, into heavenly Jerusalem, as one who bears all things. Let us rest the Lord in complete submission to Him. See how the lot, not yet trained and not knowing the bridle, walks quietly and calmly under the Lord, who sat upon it for the first time! This is an image of the obedience and well-being that we should demonstrate in our lives. Let us keep the dogmas, fulfill the commandments, be sanctified and transformed by the sacraments and prayers of the Church, without any vanity or selfishness, with the simplicity of children who praised the Lord. What did we do throughout Lent, or what do those fasting, confessing and receiving communion do?! - They correct what they had the misfortune of losing the Lord they carried. The Lord came down from them. They again humbly bow under His yoke and accept Him upon themselves and into themselves. Here is a new turn of thought about the meaning of this day! The Holy Church, gathering us now after its cleansing, corrective and sanctifying actions on us, wants to reveal us all as Christ-bearers and God-bearers. We will show ourselves as such, and we will express our diligent readiness to show ourselves as such always, not like the Jews, who now: Hosanna, but in two days: crucify, crucify Him. This is not meant as a condemnation, but as a warning. After all, we all face many temptations. A few days will pass, brighter days will come. How could we not rejoice so much that the Lord would again descend from us, not finding His sitting on us at rest, for the sake of the riot of our feelings, words and deeds. To avoid this, we are reminded of the fickleness of the Jews and ahead is offered a complete picture of the Lord’s suffering, so that both of us can lead us to a determination as firm as death to be faithful to Him in everything forever. When we approach Holy Communion, what fear and reverence, and after communion - what joy and joy? But strength does not lie in feeling, but in strength of will. Were the Jews, who met the Lord with such a feeling, insincere, did they really not have the feelings that they expressed? And yet they crucified the Lord. You never know, it happens to us that when we receive the Lord in the Holy Mysteries, we show a lot of feelings, and when our feelings cool, we immediately weaken and do not resist even the first temptations. The influx of feelings is not reliable: you need to form a firm intention and keep it. It is true that a Christian life, pleasing to God, is primarily a life of the heart. And the Lord requires the participation of the heart in everything. If you pray, pray with your heart; If you give alms, give with compassion; if you fast, fast with the desire of self-sacrifice to the Lord. But there are flashes of feelings, and there is a constant and unchanging feeling for the Lord, and a heart completely devoted to Him. This is what the Lord demands when he says: son, give me your heart. And let us give it up, and now crying out: Hosanna, blessed is he who comes, we will arrange ourselves in our hearts so that from it comes a testimony to the All-Seeing: We want You to reign over us, and we will forever remain faithful to this Kingdom. So, brethren, whether we dwell on the meaning of the holiday itself, or on its relationship to what precedes and follows it, we hear one lesson from everywhere: be faithful until death. Let us answer the Lord: let us all persevere, encouraging each other. Let this be a living branch, vegetating from the soil of the heart and flourishing in it, which we will now bring in honor of the Lord, who solemnly enters Jerusalem, to suffer freely for us and die. Amen. You might be interested in: