16. Слово о нетлении святых мощей, на память Преподобного Сергия

(Said in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius on September 25; printed in the collections of 1821, 1822, 1835, 1844 and 1848) And your bones will become fat, and they will be like a heap of water, and like a spring whose water never fails. In the days of the Prophet Isaiah there were people, as there probably are today, who complained about God, for which He did not reward their piety. “Why was it that I was still and did not see you?” (Isa. 58:3) The Prophet responds to this that “fasting and Sabbath”, and pious deeds, and spiritual celebration are pleasing to God if people on “the days of their fasts do not obtain their wills, if they do not do their desires on the holy day” (Is. 58:3); and, as a reward for this unfeigned piety, he promises, among other things, that “even the bones” of such people “will become fat, like a watered hill, and like a spring whose water never fails.” - An unexpected promise! The bones of this corruptible body do not seem to become fat from the feats of fasting, or from spiritual subservience. - Similar to this, another God-enlightened man, “praising glorious men,” among other things says: “And let the bones of the ten Prophets prosper from their places” (Sir.49:12). But the bones of these Prophets had long been resting in graves when the son of Sirach wrote this about them. So, do the bones of those who please God “grow fat” in the mortification of the flesh, and “prosper” in the tombs? Truly they “grow fat and prosper”! The bones of the pious become fat and prosper during their life, spiritually, when, “like fatness and ointment,” their soul is filled with joy (Psalm 63:6) in God; when “the righteous, like a phoenix, flourishes” (Psalm 91:13) with good deeds that bear fruit in holiness; - become fat and prosper, despite the fact that their flesh withers and dries up from the feats of abstinence; for “even if their outer man decays, yet their inner man is renewed all the time” (2 Cor. 4:16). After death, the bones of the pious become fat and prosper with the glory of their virtues, so that they, having often been diminished and forgotten in life, are great and famous after death, so that their tombs are more magnificent than the dwellings in which they lived. But besides this, in the sacred remains of the Righteous One before us, we see with our own eyes another image, just as in the tombs the bones of the righteous “grow fat and prosper.” And all human bodies, after their death, like seeds buried in the ground, and plants during winter, through a slow, imperceptible vegetation for us, in the midst of decay itself, gradually vegetate and prepare for the life-giving spring of the general resurrection. But some of the bodies of the righteous will be like laurel and some other trees, which clearly grow and turn green during winter itself; “Their bones, preserved by the Lord” (Psalm 33:21), and after death, reveal in themselves, “like fat and ointment,” the spiritual power of life, miraculously pouring out onto what surrounds them; their bodies, before the general resurrection, “flourish” with the firstfruits of incorruption. What is this from and for what? Why are the bodies of the righteous incorruptible? Why does God give them this incorruptibility? Reasoning about these questions can explain one of the rewards of piety, and one of the incentives to piety. “God,” as the Wise One says, “created man into incorruption” (Wis. 2:23). His spirit lived by the Word of God, and therefore enjoyed blissful immortality; his body was nourished from the tree of life, and thus had to be preserved in painless incorruption. “By one man,” - this is how the Apostle explains the sad change in this state, “by one man sin came into the world, and death came into the world by sin, and so death came to all men, in whom all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). So, the reason why a person is mortal and his body is perishable is sin - a poison that a person initially took with his soul, but which, in its further action, poisoned the body 125, a slow in part, but generally a deadly poison. From this it is not difficult to see that a person’s return “to incorruption” is possible only when he stops poisoning himself with sin. But is this possible after “sin is everywhere” in the “whole world”, when we “are conceived in iniquities, born in sins” (Psalm 50:7) and, as if by natural necessity, “we drink unrighteousness like drink” (Job 15:16)? Moreover, to heal someone infected with poison, something more is required than just stopping the use of poison. No one can be the creator of himself: someone who is mortally ill or dead cannot grant himself health or life, the source of which is closed in him. If even in his intact state, man lived, as we said, by the word of God: how much more can nothing but the Creative Word of God raise a mortal into immortality, and a corrupted one into incorruption? The Creative Word was again spoken into God’s creation, damaged by sin, for its restoration, and was brought down in it to the depth to which men had fallen by sin. “The word became flesh” (John 1:14). Now everything that has fallen and is alienated from the life of God receives a new, reversible move. The Divine Source opens again in the depths of human nature and internally pours into it grace-filled light and strength. Here the human soul receives medicine, cleansing and healing, which destroys the deadly poison of sin in it, and at the same time strengthening and protecting medicine, which does not allow this infection to renew and intensify with new falls. The life-giving effect of grace, just like the once deadly effect of sin, extends throughout the entire human being from spirit to body; and since the power of God is certainly more powerful than the power of sin, which is actually weakness, it is not surprising that grace, in the words of the Apostle (Rom. 5:20), “abounds,” more so than “the multiplied sin,” that it actually heals and restores rather than sin infects and destroys. “If by the sin of one,” the Apostle argues, “many have died, the grace of God and the gift of the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abound to many” (Rom. 5:15): “Even as sin reigns in death, so grace also reigns through righteousness into eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21). ). Thus, the Word of God, descending to the incarnation, opens the way for the flesh itself to ascend to incorruption and glorification; Jesus Christ becomes our “resurrection” (John 11:25), and when He indwells our hearts by faith, then in our very bodies, purified and sanctified by faith, the power of His resurrection shines forth more or less quickly. Notice in the whole existence of the human race how the manifestation of this resurrection power has always been proportionate to the gradual revelation of the incarnate Word of God. In the first centuries, when we find the whole mystery of Christ contained in one word, “about the seed of the woman, crushing the head of the serpent,” and we see the power of resurrection in one Enoch, who, like a solitary eagle in renewed youth, soars incorruption over the whole world, through the prevailing moral corruption approaching general natural corruption. In the time of the Prophets, when the promise of Christ as “the seed in whom all nations will be blessed,” repeated many times, and more explained, more palpably aroused faith, and therefore more abundantly instilled in the hearts, although still deeply hidden, the power of Christ, and the power of resurrection not only, in the likeness of Enoch, appeared in Elijah, when he was taken to heaven, but in addition, during his earthly life, it was revealed in Elijah and Elisha, by the resurrection of the dead; and even - which constitutes the only example in sacred legends before the coming of Christ, but consistent with numerous similar phenomena after the coming of Christ - the power of resurrection beyond expectation once acted through the bones of the already deceased prophet Elisha. “It came to pass,” the book of Kings narrates (2 Kings 13:21), “it came to pass that they were burying the man, and behold, they saw the soldiers, and” – out of fear – “they cast down the man in Elisha’s tomb; When, so long predicted and gradually prepared, the incarnation of the Word of God finally took place; then, who does not know with what rapid streams the power of resurrection flowed across this still unrenewed earth? In accordance with the purpose of this discussion, one case in particular should be pointed out here. When Jesus Christ, through our free suffering for the sake of salvation, allowed Himself to be brought down into the region of death in order to introduce there His own power of life, and thus destroy the kingdom of death at its very foundations: then His power immediately penetrated everything, and in that which was capable of receiving it, it immediately marked itself with a life-giving effect. Here is an explanation of the fact that at that time “the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:52). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, the same forever” (Heb. 13:8). He, like God, “works all in all” (1 Cor. 12:6), works now, just as he worked from the beginning, and will work until the end; acts in the small as well as in the great, acts both in the entire Church, which is His body, and in all believers who are His members. He is “imagined in them” (Gal. 4:19), “lives in them” (Gal. 2:20), and just as in Himself “all the bodily fulfillment of the Godhead lives” (Col. 2:9), so, according to a certain image of this Divine sacrament, He also deigns to live in His chosen ones even bodily, since He finds them capable of internal communion with Him. Does He acquire a mind constantly turned to Him with reverence and prayer? He is “imagined” in the mind, and fills it with His light, His truth, “His unknown and secret wisdom” reveals to him (Psalm 50:8). Does a heart that is open to Him with repentance acquire faith and love for Him? He “dwells in the heart” (Eph. 3:17), and with Himself brings into it new life, instead of the carnal, spiritual 126, instead of the earthly, heavenly, transforms human love into Divine, and human properties into Angelic. Does the body finally acquire, in conformity with the soul, constantly purified by abstinence and deeds, and therefore capable of receiving and preserving in itself, as it were, certain imprints and traces of the inner movements of grace? And it, in some way, even in earthly life, begins to be God-bearing. No matter how strange the thought of the God-bearing body of earthly man may seem to some, I will not repent that I uttered it; for I do not compose this image by guesswork and consideration, but I find it through experience itself, which the Apostolic times presented, and about which the times of the Saints reverently preserved the tradition. Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer was so accustomed to nourish his heart with the loving remembrance of the sweet name of Jesus Christ that this deep spiritual impression was sensually imprinted on the bodily organ, and when, after his martyrdom, his heart was cut open, they saw in it the literally depicted name of Jesus Christ (Ch. Min. Dec. 20). Just as a vessel in which a fragrant ointment is stored for a long time borrows from it the power of fragrance: so the very body of a Christian, in which the grace-filled power of Christ constantly dwells, is permeated by it in its entire composition, and even smells fragrant with it for others. And since the “power of Christ” is incorruptible, it is natural that it, “dwelling” (2 Cor. 12:9) in people, “who are Christ’s” (Gal. 5:24), imparts incorruption to their bodies; since the power of Christ 128 is omnipotent, it is in accordance with its nature that it works miracles through them, when it pleases the Lord 129, just as it once worked miracles through the “chief heavy men and ubrustsy” who were on the “body” of the Holy Apostle Paul, and took into themselves his “sweat” (Acts 19:12), and through one “overshadowing shadow" of the Holy Apostle Peter (Acts 5:15). What a wondrous reward for piety, brethren, that not only is the human spirit raised to grace-filled communion with Christ, but also the body itself, with which we perform these small feats of fasting, prayerful genuflection, and brotherly service, is thereby made partaker of the grace-filled power of Christ, life-giving and miraculous! And if this is still on earth, then in heaven what life, what power, what glory awaits the pious! Meanwhile, we can note that not all the pious, and not even all the Saints, participate in this “first”, so to speak, “resurrection” (Rev. 20:6), which consists in the miraculous 130 incorruption of their consecrated bodies on earth; just as in the initial appearance of this first resurrection, “many bodies of the saints who have fallen asleep have arisen” (Matthew 27:52), but not all the bodies of the saints who have fallen asleep. What does this mean? Isn’t God just to His Saints, increasing the measure of grace for some and decreasing for others, bringing immortality closer to some and further away from others, glorifying some and hiding others? Without a doubt, no one who knows God can imagine this. So what does the apparent inequality of the visible reward given to the Saints mean? Perhaps it corresponds in some way to the degrees of their internal sanctification, according to which, let’s say in the words of the Apostle, just as “star differs from star in glory, so does the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15:41-42), both the last, complete, and the first, initial: but with greater thoroughness from the inequality of this preliminary reward to the Saints, we can conclude that this reward is given to them not so much in reward for them, but for another purpose, consistent with the wisdom and goodness of God. In fact, for those who do not seek human glory, and who are confident that they will reign forever in the glory of God with Christ, is it great to have or not to have the temporary firstfruits of this glory on earth? - But just as with the resurrection of Christ, “many bodies of the departed saints arose” in order “after His resurrection to be brought into the holy city, and to appear to many” living, to ascertain them about the revealed power of the resurrection: so even to this day the bodies of the departed Saints appear incorruptible, with miraculous and life-giving power, for us living, for confirmation - if to To the shame of the times, there are also such unbelievers among us - for confirmation of the resurrection of Christ and in our future resurrection, for strengthening the weak in exploits against sin and death, for rousing the inattentive and careless to the exploits of piety. “Remember your teachers,” teaches the Apostle to Christians of his time, remember your teachers, “who spoke the word of God to you, and as they look to the end of their lives, imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7). As if he were reasoning like this: “We are not content to teach you with our word; not all souls are quite open to it, and not all retain it when they accept it. For this purpose, we also point out to you the example of “your mentors,” and in this example, what strikes the senses more powerfully and penetrates the deeper into the soul—the “end of their life,” imprinted with clear signs of faith.” The spectacle is truly edifying, and in silence it speaks more abundantly to the spirit! But as the word finally falls silent; so the example finally disappears: and the memory of deceased mentors may fade. What is God doing, “who wants all men to be saved and to come into the understanding of truth” (1 Tim. 2:4)? He, so to speak, perpetuates the edifying death of mentors accomplished in piety. Several centuries pass, and we still see it with our own eyes, looking at their incorruptible remains. This incorruptibility, this healing and life-giving power emanating from them, the words teach us more clearly and convincingly about piety, and encourage us to “imitate their faith.” What more is my meager word? – Enough for us, brothers, is the incessant teaching that this silent tomb brings. Is it possible not to hear this teaching? Is it possible to hear it and not understand it? “Look,” says our deceased Mentor himself, “look at the end of my life,” which I have been presenting for so many centuries before the eyes of my disciples and all those who require guidance. You all acknowledge that the end of my life is blessed and blessed; I hear in my God how you please it; I see how you flock to celebrate it. Are you celebrating my death for me? Your pleasures will not increase my bliss in my God. But if you please my death, then please also the life that led me to this death, and please it for your own bliss. The one who, seeing the path, deviates into error, is purely inexcusable; Seeing a good example, he becomes rigid in evil. It is purely disastrous to suffer shipwreck and drowning near a refuge, to deserve punishment at the sight of a reward, to die at the sight of bliss. The only increase that you can give to my bliss is to give my love for you the joy of your salvation. Please yourselves 131 by imitating my faith with all the fruits that the grace of my Christ and yours has produced from it.” What do we say to this, brethren? - Hey, God-bearing Our Father and Mentor! “Be with us according to your command.” Amen. In collection 1821 and 1822: which a person, having initially accepted with his soul, sent out his body as a result. In collection 1821, 1822 and 1835: a new life, instead of natural, grace-filled, instead of carnal, spiritual... In collection 1821, 1822 and 1835: imagination... In collection 1821, 1822 and 1835: she... In collection 1821, 1822 and 1835 these words do not exist. In collection 1821, 1822 and 1835: in a wonderful and illustrious... In collection 1821, 1822 and 1835: Please me, please yourselves. You might be interested in: