131. Слово на память Преподобного Сергия

(Spoken in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, September 25; printed in the Christian Readings of 1836 and in the collections of 1844 and 1848) Returning to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, affirming the souls of the disciples, begging them to remain in the faith, and as through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:21–22). This legend of the Holy Evangelist Luke about the preaching of the holy Apostles Paul and Barnabas represents a rather unusual method of instruction. The purpose of the instruction, as you can see from the legend itself, was to confirm the souls of the disciples in the faith. What means do the God-Wise Mentors use for this? – They predict sorrows for believers, and necessary sorrows, because through them it is necessary to achieve the kingdom of God. “Through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter the kingdom of God.” Should we not have feared that this threatening truth would shake faith rather than strengthen it? Wouldn't it be better to hide the dangerous foresight of dangers? But no! The apostles do not hide their teaching about the sorrows that lie ahead on the path to the kingdom of God: apparently, this teaching is needed. They offer this teaching, wanting to confirm the souls of the disciples in the faith: apparently, there is power in this teaching to strengthen the faith. “Through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter the kingdom of God.” The apostles do not say: through much knowledge one must enter into the kingdom; although this, apparently, would be consistent with the “treasures of wisdom and understanding” (Col. 2:3) hidden in Christ. Apparently, much knowledge is useful, but not entirely necessary for achieving the kingdom of God. In fact, the Publican achieved justification, and consequently the near hope of the kingdom of God, not with much knowledge, but with much humility, not with lofty contemplations, but with a very simple prayer: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). They do not say: it takes a long time to enter the kingdom of God: although on earth much is not achieved quickly; and the sky seems further than the earth. Apparently, the length of time is not a strict condition for approaching the kingdom of heaven. In fact, the thief on the cross, in a few hours, and perhaps even in a few minutes, made the journey from the gates of hell to the doors of heaven. They do not say: through many labors and deeds one must enter into the kingdom of God: although it is true, according to the word of Jesus Christ Himself, that “the kingdom of heaven is in need” (Matthew 11:12). Apparently, the success of efforts to achieve the kingdom of heaven is not always determined by the burden of labor and the number of exploits. The ring of the son of the kingdom was given to the prodigal son sooner than he finished his work of finishing his repentant speech to the offended father. He barely had time to depict his unworthiness: “Father, I have sinned in heaven and before you, and your son is no longer worthy to be called” (Luke 15:21); but he had not yet had time to submit his requests: he was given more than he dared to wish and hope for. Not with much knowledge, not with much time, not with much labor, but, say the Apostles, “through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter the kingdom of God.” Apparently, sorrows, more than other means and benefits, are necessary and useful for achieving the kingdom of God. The mind, not quite subjugated by faith, not quite enlightened by it, cannot suddenly discern whether and why the path to the kingdom of God must necessarily lie through sorrow. What seems to be the need to make a person suffer in order to later make him blissful? From this a guess may arise whether the doctrine of tribulations for the sake of the kingdom of God does not apply only to the first Christians, who had to endure persecution from the Jews and pagans, before the establishment of Christianity in the universe. To these truly Christians, and in these circumstances, the Apostles Paul and Barnabas spoke of “many tribulations” for the sake of the kingdom of God, and, moreover, soon after Paul, before their eyes, in Lystra, was almost stoned to death for preaching Christianity. But that the teaching about sorrows for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is not only temporary and particular, but everlasting and universal in Christianity, this is not difficult to verify from the instructions of Jesus Christ Himself, not accidental and applied to special circumstances, but fundamental and universal. – How did He begin His teaching about the kingdom of heaven? - “Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are those who weep” (Matthew 5:3, 4). The feeling of poverty is more or less connected with the feeling of sorrow; and weeping, even pious, flows from the source of sorrow, although, however, there must be a time when, like Moses with the tree of the bitter water of Marah, Christ with the cross sweetens the sorrow of pious weeping. How does the Lord end His teaching on bliss? - “Blessed are you, when they revile you, and destroy you, and say all kinds of evil things against you, lies, for my sake” (Matthew 5:11). Don't you see that the Lord's teaching about blessedness began with sorrow, and ended with even greater sorrow? – What teaching could be more common for Christians than the teaching about following Christ? But what does this teaching consist of? – “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and come after Me. Whoever wants to save his soul will destroy it; and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24, 25). No matter how you reduce the power, no matter how you soften the meaning of these sayings of the Lord: in any case, it is impossible not to admit that they predict many sorrows for the follower of Christ. If you take up the cross and follow Christ, where will you come? – Obviously, He Himself went where He was going after taking up the cross; consequently to Golgotha, to suffering, to crucifixion. “To destroy your soul” for the sake of Christ, does it mean to suffer martyrdom for Him (which, however, is not a common lot, whereas, on the contrary, the Lord’s saying about the destruction of the soul is common to all those being saved); or this means stopping and killing in the soul the passionate movements that make up the life of the old man, drying up lust, quenching rage, curbing the impulses of one’s own will, rejecting addiction to one’s own wisdom: - the very expression: “destroy the soul,” which depicts these exploits of a follower of Christ, these spiritual transformations, makes it clear that many sorrows take place here, extending even to mortal struggle and feat. The Holy Apostle Peter teaches: “Christ who suffered in the flesh for us, arm you with the same thought” (1 Peter 4:1). Truly, the thought of Christ’s suffering for us alone can be sufficient to reconcile us with all sorrow and suffering for the sake of Christ and His kingdom. If Christ, who committed no sin, suffered: can we sinners grumble about suffering? If Christ suffered for us: what ingratitude would it be not to want to accept sorrow for the sake of Him and His commandments? If our beloved Savior drinks the cup of suffering: should not love for Him feel a thirst to partake of the cup of the Beloved? If it was “befitting,” it was necessary, in accordance with the wise, righteous and good destiny of God, “to suffer for Christ and bring him into his glory” (Luke 24:26); and this is “befitting” for our sake: how can one not believe that it is “befitting” for us too, must, decently, conform to the example and fate of our Hero of the Hero, - “through many sorrows to enter into the kingdom of God”? But if it is not enough for someone to simply believe, and, moreover, it is necessary to be confirmed by reasoning about the need for sorrows: we also have this method of instruction in the words of the holy Apostle Peter: “having previously suffered in the flesh from sin, not according to the lusts of men, but the will of God, to live in the flesh for the rest of the time” (1 Pet. 4: 1, 2). This reasoning of the Apostle is wonderful. It gives rise to the question: can a person really “cease from sin without suffering in the flesh,” while he has the freedom to choose the best, and, moreover, help for good from the grace of God? I will not be bold enough to answer this question decisively, to which the Apostle only hinted. But I note that the matter about which the Apostle speaks, of course, he knows better than us, both as a God-enlightened Apostle, and as an experienced ascetic who had already walked quite a lot along the path of suffering when he showed this path to Christians; and of course, his Divine enlightenment and his suffering experiences showed him the reason why a Christian must put himself in readiness for suffering: “having already suffered in the flesh, he has ceased from sin.” In fact, the sin that man has committed has made its way into his heart and into his being. If you, by an effort of free will, with the help of grace, drive him out, he tries to return along the beaten path. In the footsteps of previous sinful impressions, passionate and sinful movements again follow, excited by the memory or presence of tempting objects and habit. What should you do in order to more decisively free yourself from sin? “Not only to expel him, but also to block, destroy, and destroy the road he has paved. It is necessary to dig deep into the soil of the heart in order to destroy traces of sinful pleasure, in order to uproot the deeply penetrating subtle roots of sin. It is necessary to walk with fire along the paths of inner feelings in order to cleanse them of the remnants of sinful impressions. Consequently, sorrow and suffering are necessary, so that “he who has suffered in the flesh may cease from sin.” Having thus found that sorrows in the hand of Providence are a purifying instrument for man prepared for the kingdom of God, we should not be surprised if we find in the experiences of the Saints that the highest purification often corresponds predominantly to many sorrows. “Many is the sorrow of the righteous” (Ps. 33:20), says the Psalmist from observation; and also, from his own experience, he confesses before God: “Because of the multitude of my illnesses in my heart, your consolations have made my soul glad” (Ps. 93:19). “Deprived, sorrowful, embittered” (Heb. 11:37): - with these traits the Apostle described the Old Testament ascetics of the faith, without bothering to call them by name: so he found these traits to be common and ordinary! If it were necessary to depict the life of the New Testament ascetics of the faith, the Apostles, Martyrs, and Saints: again the same features would be suitable: “deprived, sorrowful, embittered.” Are these not the same features that mark the image of your life, our constant guide to the kingdom of God? - “Deprived, grieving, embittered.” Not only is he “deprived” of all earthly acquisitions, which may not be difficult for someone who has voluntarily deprived himself; not only “mourning” in worries about peace and the salvation of the brethren; but also “embarrassed”, either from the cowardice of the brethren who have been blessed by you, at a time of scarcity of needs, or from the “covetousness” of 577 his own brother: - “embittered” even to the point that he made himself an exile from the monastery, which owes both its existence and everything to you alone. So, your life also preaches to us that the word of the Apostle: “For through many tribulations it is fitting for us to enter into the kingdom of God.” Let us look, brethren, in two faithful mirrors - in the mirror of the word of God, and in the mirror of the lives of the saints - to see if we are moving towards the kingdom of God as it should be. “We glory in sorrow” (Rom. 5:3), the Apostle says about himself. It may be too early to demand this from us. Is another, lesser word of the Apostle being fulfilled in us: “enduring tribulation, remaining in prayer” (Rom. 12:12)? Are the sorrows with which we are visited by the destinies of God acceptable with patience, and when patience fails, do we strengthen it with prayer, so as not to fall into impatience or murmuring? On the contrary, aren’t we burdened by even the slightest and most common sorrows in life, the difficulty of certain tasks, the failure to fulfill certain desires, the deprivation of certain pleasures of life? – Doesn’t the small sorrow of an offensive word sometimes exhaust all our patience, so that instead of acquiring patience through its reward, we torment ourselves with the exaggerated and harmful sorrow of anger and remembrance? The Apostle said to the Corinthian Christians: “Now I rejoice, not because sorrow was quickened, but because I was offended in repentance, because I was offended by God” (2 Cor. 7:9). Do we also grieve for our sins, sorrow for God, the sorrow of repentance, so sincere and deep that the Angels rejoice over our sorrow, as a guarantee of our correction and salvation? Whoever does not voluntarily subject himself to the purifying work of internal sorrow, repentance and self-reproach, and does not accept external sorrows with patience and humility: he is not yet on the path that the Gospel points to the kingdom of God. “Through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter the Kingdom of God.” Amen. In the manuscript, author. and Chr. Read: lust for power. You might be interested in: