49. Слово на Рождество Христово (В самый час рождения Христа всякая тварь, и разумная, и неразумная, славословила Христа. Радующиеся этой святой радостью не захотят знать других радостей. О современных увеселениях на Рождество)

Glory to Thee, Lord! – We have waited for the bright days of the Nativity of Christ: now let’s have fun and rejoice! The Holy Church, deliberately in order to increase our joy in these days, instituted fasting before them - a certain constraint, so that, entering them, we would feel as if we were going into freedom. With all this, however, she does not want us to indulge only in the pleasures of the senses and only carnal pleasures. But, having from time immemorial called these days holy days, he demands that our very joy during them be holy, just as the days are holy. So that no one would forget while having fun, she put into our mouths a short song in praise of the Born Christ, with which it calms the flesh and elevates the spirit, showing it the activities worthy of their days. “Christ is born - glorify”, and so on. - Glorify Christ, and glorify so that the larynx, soul and heart are delighted with this praise, and thus the urge to any other business and occupation that promises some kind of joy is drowned out. Praise Christ. – This is not like composing long songs of praise to Christ. No... But if, thinking or listening about the Nativity of Christ the Savior, you involuntarily exclaim from the depths of your soul: glory to Thee, Lord, that Christ was born, that is enough. This will be a quiet song of the heart, which will, however, pass through the heavens and enter into the ears of God. Reproduce a little more clearly what the Lord has done for us, and you will see how natural it is for us to make such an appeal today. To make this easier for you, compare the following cases to this. The Tsar promised freedom to the one imprisoned and shackled... The prisoner waits for a day, another, waits for months and years... does not see the fulfillment, but does not lose hope, believing the Tsar’s word. Finally, signs appeared that soon; his attention is sharpened, he hears the noise of those approaching with cheerful talk; then the door locks fall off and the deliverer enters. Glory to Thee, Lord! - the prisoner involuntarily exclaims. The end of my imprisonment has come, I will soon see the light of God! Another case. The patient, covered with wounds and weakened in all parts, tried all the medicines and changed many doctors. His patience was exhausted, and he was ready to indulge in desperate grief. They tell him: there is also a most skillful doctor who cures everyone, and precisely from diseases such as yours; we asked him - he promised to come. Having believed, the patient arises in hope and waits for what was promised... An hour passes, another, more, - anxiety again begins to sharpen the soul... In the evening someone has already arrived... is walking... the door opened - and the desired one enters... Glory to Thee, Lord! - the patient screams. Here's another case! A menacing cloud hung over, and darkness covered the face of the earth; thunder shakes the foundations of the mountains, and lightning cuts through the sky from end to end: this makes everyone afraid, as if the end of the world has come. When the storm then passes and the sky clears, everyone, sighing freely, says: Glory to Thee, Lord! Bring these cases closer to yourself, and you will see that they contain our history. A terrible cloud of God's wrath was over us... So the Lord the Reconciler came and dispersed this cloud. We were covered with wounds of sins and passions. Here the Doctor of Souls came and healed us... We were in the bonds of slavery... Here the Liberator came and loosed our bonds... Bring all this closer to your heart and perceive it with your feelings; and I think you cannot resist exclaiming: Glory to Thee, Lord, that Christ was born! The father of the Forerunner, Zechariah, heard this news and cried out: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for you have visited and created deliverance for your people; and raise up the horn of salvation for us,” and so on (Luke 1:68). The Most Pure Virgin heard and sang: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46–47). Elizabeth and the baby in her womb heard... and they rejoiced. At the very hour of the Lord’s birth, heaven and every creature, rational and unreasonable, were moved to praise. The shepherds, the wise men and Simeon the Righteous and Anna the Prophetess sang glory to the Born God, perceiving in their hearts that by His birth He “created deliverance for people.” . Perceive this feeling too, and your heart will rejoice, and you will have this joy not only for these days, but for the rest of your life, such joy that you will not want to look for other joys, and if they come, you will meet them and dwell on them in passing, as if it were an adjunct and accidental matter, if not superfluous. I do not try to instill such joy in you with my word; it is beyond the reach of any word. The work accomplished by the Born Lord concerns each of us. Those who enter into communication with Him receive from Him freedom, healing, peace, possess them and taste their sweetness. To those who experience them in themselves, there is no need to say: rejoice... for they cannot help but rejoice, and to those who do not experience it, needless to say, rejoice; for they cannot rejoice. Bound hand and foot, no matter how much you tell him: rejoice at your deliverance, he will not rejoice; covered with the wounds of sins, where will the joy of healing come from? How can one who is terrified by the thunderstorm of God’s wrath breathe freely? To such we can only say: go to the Midwife, lying in the manger, and seek from Him deliverance from all the evils that beset (depress) you, for this is the Savior of the world, Christ. I would like to see all of you rejoicing in this holy joy and not wanting to know other joys. But not all that are of Israel are Israel. Empty amusements will begin for you - violent, inciting lusts: ogling, circling, werewolves. No matter how much you say to those who love this: humble yourself, they close their ears and do not heed, and they will always bring the bright holidays to the point that they will force the merciful Lord to turn His eyes away from us and say: all these festivals of yours are an abomination to Me. And in fact, it is true that many of our public amusements are truly pagan abominations, that is, some are directly transferred from the pagan world, while others, although they occurred later, are imbued with the spirit of paganism. And as if on purpose, they are invented in large quantities during the days of Christmas and Easter. Being carried away by them, we give the prince of the world - our tormentor, the enemy of God, a reason to say to God: what have you done to me with your Christmas and Resurrection?!., everyone is coming to me! But, brethren, more often let the words of the 50th Psalm flash through the depths of your heart, that the Lord will be justified in His words and will conquer, never to judge Him. We are fascinated by enlightened Europe! Yes, there for the first time the pagan abominations that had been expelled from the world were restored. And from there they have already crossed over to us and are moving on. Having breathed in this child of hell, we are spinning like crazy, not remembering ourselves. But brothers, let us remember the year 12. Why did the French come?.. - God sent them to destroy the evil that we had adopted from them until then. Then Russia repented, and God had mercy on her. But now, it seems, that lesson has begun to be forgotten. If we come to our senses, of course, nothing will happen, and if we don’t come to our senses, who knows, maybe the Lord will again send us our teachers to bring us to our senses and put us on the path of correction. This is the law of God’s Truth: to heal from sin, the one who is attracted to it. These are not empty words, but a deed affirmed by the voice of the Church, as you will now hear in prayer at the molieben. Know that God cannot be mocked and, knowing this, rejoice and rejoice in these days with fear. Sanctify the bright holiday with holy deeds, activities and amusements, so that everyone, looking at us, will say: they have Christmastide, and not some riotous games of those who do not know God - wicked and debauched. Amen. You might be interested in: