180. Слово на вечерне дня Святыя Пасхи

(Said March 26; printed in the Works of the Holy Father of 1844 and in the collections of 1844 and 1848) The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (John 20:20). Seeing the Lord, without a doubt, is a joy incomparable to anything. The angels in heaven know no higher bliss than to see the Lord. The joy of seeing the risen Lord in the disciples of the Lord had even more special power because before that, from the height of joy, they were suddenly cast into the abyss of sadness, and now from the abyss of sadness they were also suddenly raised to a degree of joy higher than before. The more they rejoiced before, when in the Divine words and miraculous deeds of the Lord Jesus they began to “see His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14), when “and all the people rejoiced over all the glorious ones who were from Him” (Luke 13:17): the more they should have grieved when He was delivered into the hands of his enemies, condemned, mocked, martyred, died, Only out of unexpected compassion did he receive an honest burial, and even in the grave he was pursued by enemies. But the deeper and darker this sadness: the more solemn the joy that again rose over it, when in a secret, out of fear, meeting of disciples through closed doors, “Jesus came” (John 20:19), victorious over death, and consequently, over everything that is hostile to Him and His followers, having received all power in heaven and on earth, giving the Holy Spirit, truly beginning the kingdom of Heaven on earth, which is near proclaimed until then. And we now continue this joy of the first disciples of Christ: because we are also disciples of Christ, although perhaps the last, and perhaps even more recent in dignity than in time. Is it not possible for us to see the risen Lord in order to rejoice in Him with complete joy? Or, if not, can we rejoice in Him with complete joy? To this last question we have a comforting answer from the lips of the Risen One Himself. When Thomas, despite sufficient evidence of the resurrection, did not want to do without the vision of the risen Lord: then the Lord, although he condescended to make a bold demand, did not approve of this demand. He allowed Thomas to see Himself and touch the wounds of the cross: but at the same time he praised those who do not require vision: “they have not seen blessedness and yet believed” (John 20:29). This is a wonderful lot that nothing prevents us from taking! We can believe in the risen Lord without seeing Him, and be blessed, and therefore have complete joy. In bliss lies complete joy. The Apostle Peter in his epistle speaks specifically about the joy of those who do not see and believe, and moreover, not only as possible, but as actually belonging to Christians: “Him,” that is, Christ, “having not seen, and now not looking at Him, but believing, you rejoice with joy unspoken and glorified” (1 Pet. 1:8). What a short path to prosperity, Brethren! What an easy way to become blessed! Without seeing Christ, believe in Him, love Him, and rejoice, and be blessed! But it is impossible not to admit that the achievement of the vision of the believer should increase the joy of the believers; then it is not possible to suddenly abandon another question: is it not possible for us, on the day of resurrection, to achieve a vision of the Risen One, just as the Apostles achieved this, although not quite quickly - “I am present later in that day” (John 20:19)? Let us not dare to demand this stubbornly, like Thomas, nor threaten with unbelief for refusing the vision; because this threat would not threaten anyone except the one who threatens. But is there anyone to whom, like the once pious Greeks to Philip, we could turn with a humble prayer: “Lord, we want to see Jesus” (John 12:21)? Who better to go to if not to the Mother Church? And do you hear? She already responds to our desire, and not only promises us a vision of the Risen One as possible, but also announces it as already real. She sings: “Having seen the resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus.” If we have seen the resurrection; then they also saw the Risen One: because the resurrection is visible only in the Risen One Himself. If we assume that the Mother Church primarily has in mind her worthy and perfect children, and in their face she says so confidently: “we have seen the resurrection,” then we, imperfect and unworthy, remain at least with the hope that we too can be worthy of the same if we are jealous and strive to become worthy and perfect. So that the word of the Church about the vision of the resurrection does not seem to contradict the Apostolic word we cited about belief without vision, let us explain. It is another matter, given sufficient grounds for belief, to demand a vision as if in advance, in order to then believe. This is not consistent with the very essence and dignity of faith, just as among people, they believe poorly when they demand a deposit. This is insolence. This is almost disbelief, although perhaps not completely alien to the desire to believe. This is not approved in Thomas. It is another thing to believe without vision, and as a result of obedience to faith, to receive a vision as a gift, as a reward, as reinforcement, as life-giving medicine. So the First Martyr Stephen believed, confessed his faith before his persecutors, put himself in mortal danger for his faith, and then “he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). There are also visions that desire did not seek, faith did not call for, but through which God’s foreknowledge and mercy seeks the future son of faith. So the Lord appeared in the open heavens to blind Saul the persecutor with the light of a vision and reborn him into Paul the Apostle. It is another thing to see with the physical eye, another with the spiritual. The Apostle says about the sensory vision of Christ: “It is not by seeing, but by believing, you rejoice.” The Church speaks of a spiritual vision, of course: “Having seen the resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus.” There is, as the Apostle puts it, “the spirit of revelation” (Eph. 1:17), which is given to more than one prophet and apostle. There are “enlightened eyes of the heart” with which the inner man, in his state of health and perfection, looks into the invisible Kingdom of grace, just as the outer man, with bodily eyes, looks into the visible kingdom of nature. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, extending his speech generally to “the faithful in Christ Jesus,” says that he offers the following prayer for them: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your heart being enlightened” (Eph. 1:17–18). From this it is clear, firstly, that every true believer can be granted the gift of spiritual contemplation, and secondly, that one of the means to achieve this gift is prayer. When the incarnate Son of God left earthly life, and the Apostles had to be deprived of His sweet vision: then, in preliminary concern for the reward of this deprivation, He offered and promised them replacements for natural vision in contemplation of grace; and on this occasion he pronounced the law and order of contemplation common to all: “If you have My commandments and keep them, you are the one who loves Me: and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father: and I will love Him, and will manifest myself to Him” (John 14:21). The experiences of those who love the Lord show that He appears to them, depending on their need and ability, sometimes figuratively and visually, in His deified Humanity, and sometimes not figuratively, but nevertheless significantly and truly, giving them His peace, surpassing all minds, His joy, unspeakable and glorified, His inner gracious light, the dawn of the non-evening day, the reflection of eternal glory. Now do you see the path to the vision of the risen Christ? - Have His commandments, keep them, love Him with living and active love: and His Father will love you, and He will love you, and “He will appear to you.” This is as true as the word of Christ is true. Is it not this way, that is, is it not the way of living love that all those whom we see in the Gospel achieved this on the very day of the resurrection achieved the vision of the risen Christ? What attracted the Myrrh-Bearers with the aromas to Christ when they still did not have enough faith in the resurrection; because myrrh and aromas are for the dead, and not for the resurrected body? What else but love for Christ, which did not die in them with His death? She drew them to His tomb, and at the same time attracted His love to herself, and He “appeared to them Himself.” What gathered the Apostles and imprisoned them in one church on the day of resurrection, to which faith in them awakened later? Is it fear of the Jews? - It is true that fear forced them to lock the doors of the church: but if the main agent was fear from enemies, then he would not have allowed them to form a meeting in which they could more easily be noticed by enemies than separately; he would scatter them separately, along different paths to personal safety. No! Love for the Crucified One, awakened earlier than faith, gathered the stricken Shepherd into one scattered sheep, and the fearful groanings of this love were heard by His love, and He “appeared to them Himself.” Was it not the same love for the Crucified One that appeared in the sad eyes of the travelers to Emmaus, and in their irrepressible conversation about adventures, which were hard to remember and not safe to talk about? Love, past knowledge, found the Beloved close to itself and felt His closeness in flaming hearts, before “the eyes were opened dumb, and He was known in the breaking of bread” (Luke 24:31, 35). Brethren! Accept these Gospel instructions. Seek the risen Lord with living faith and active love. In the likeness of the Apostolic assembly, seek Him with love in the Church assembly. In the likeness of the travelers of Emmau, seek Him with love in conversation about Him, at home, or on the road, with a pious friend, or even just with your own soul. In the likeness of the Myrrh-bearers, seek Him with love in deeds of compassion and charity. And may He also love you, may He enlighten the eyes of your heart, and may Himself appear to you in holy contemplation, in pure joy, in the bliss of a peaceful conscience. Amen. You might be interested in: