257. Слово в день обретения мощей преподобного Сергия

(Said in the Trinity Lavra on July 5; printed in the Works of the Holy Father in 1850 and in the collection of 1861) Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). Anyone who has more than superficial attention to himself and his life has, of course, noticed how often earthly and worldly affairs become an obstacle to spiritual and heavenly causes, to the cause of piety and salvation of the soul. For example, a person feels an inner urge to devote his time to God in spades, as a voluntary sacrifice: but time is required from him by the natural movements and changes of earthly life, work to obtain the necessary food, clothing, housing, rank and position in human society, care for the elevation and maintenance of earthly well-being, relations with neighbors out of need, out of affection, out of custom, and finally occupations. pleasant and entertaining; and time is plundered in such a way that man not only does not make voluntary sacrifices to God from it, but also steals from God the time that God himself has appropriated for himself and sanctified as a commandment. What to do? How can we ensure that earthly and worldly affairs do not interfere with spiritual and heavenly affairs? Many people from different times and places decided this issue in agreement, simply and happily. They resolutely abandoned earthly and worldly affairs, and devoted themselves solely to spiritual and heavenly work. To make sure that this solution to the issue was happy, it is enough to name some of those who made this decision. These were: Prophet Elijah, John the Baptist, the Apostles, Anthony the Great, and, not to go too far, our Venerable Sergius. Their determination is justified by centuries-old and eternal consequences. And not by luck, and not by the action of arbitrary human wisdom, the decision to leave everything worldly was, and perhaps should be, happy, but on the one hand, by the dispensation of God, on the other hand, by the action of a zealous desire to follow the will of God. We don’t know how a solitary, unacquisitive, carefree way of life worked out for Elijah: but that this was according to the will of God can be seen from the fact that God miraculously supported this way of life, among other things, appointing the Lord as a baker to a man who, long before Christ, began to follow the teachings of Christ: “don’t worry about the words: what pits, or what we drink, or what we wear” ( Matthew 6:31)? The successor of the spirit and way of life of Elijah, Elisha, was introduced into this way of life obviously by a direct command of God. That John the Baptist lived in complete renunciation of the world according to God’s dispensation, this was revealed even before his birth, by the Angel’s prediction that he would be clothed with “the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17). The apostles “left everything,” also not of their own accord, but according to the sovereign calling of Christ. From the time the Gospel was preached and written, selected Christian ascetics heard a voice calling them to complete renunciation of the world. So Anthony heard the words of Christ in the church: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor: and have treasure in heaven: and come after Me” (Matthew 19:21); and accepted these words as if they had been spoken to him personally; and therefore, leaving the church, he sold most of his property and gave it to the poor. After some time, he again heard the words of Christ in church: “Do not worry about the morning” (Matthew 6:34); and he distributed the rest to the poor; and, from this, having begun an ascetic life, he reached such a measure of spiritual age that the entire Church called and calls him Great. From what has been said, two conclusions arise: first, that the determination to leave everything for the service of God and for the care of the soul is a longed-for and excellent gift of God, and it is good for the one who has acquired this gift, accepted it with a pure disposition, keeps it faithfully, and uses it actively; secondly, that this gift is not for everyone, as this can be seen from the examples indicated, and from the quoted words of Christ. The Lord taught the rule of complete non-covetousness not as a commandment, unconditionally obligatory for everyone, but as advice, conditionally offered to those who wish: “if you want to be perfect.” And just as one cannot expect perfection from everyone, it would be unreliable to advise everyone to leave everything. And the natural structure of earthly life is such that it requires one to engage in earthly affairs. If everyone involved in agriculture decided to literally follow the rule: “don’t worry about it in the morning”; and, having rejected concern for tomorrow, even more so they would have rejected care for next year, and would have stopped plowing and sowing: such a one-sided direction towards spiritual life would have destroyed natural life. But if it is thus inevitable that many do not abandon their pursuit of earthly and worldly affairs, then the same question inevitably arises again: how to ensure that earthly and worldly affairs do not interfere with spiritual and heavenly affairs? We can find a more commonly used and, for our weakness, more lenient solution to this question in the saying of the Lord: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Putting one case “before” shows that another case is allowed after. Consequently, the saying of the Lord contains two thoughts: one open, the other hidden in the word: “first.” The thought is open: we must seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first. A hidden thought: it is not forbidden to look for some other objects after. Thus, from the word of Christ it is revealed that it is possible to successfully practice the work of heaven, in the search for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and, without harm to this work, to engage in earthly affairs, necessary affairs, such as: obtaining food, clothing, housing; - due deeds, such as: fulfilling the duties of rank and service in human society; - by deeds that are useful, or even though only innocent, such as: the acquisition and use of various knowledge in the field of nature and art, however, so as not to get bogged down with these Egyptian treasures in the sea of ​​life, but to wisely and righteously steal them from the Egyptians, and use them for the glory of the Heavenly Father and for the good of His earthly children. The secret of good and unhindered success lies in what you will look for “first”, what business will go ahead of other affairs, will take precedence among all matters, dominate in your thoughts, desires and aspirations, or, as one of the ancient Fathers explained, what will be your “work” and what will be “shared 713”. If you “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”; if the matter of saving your soul by grace and faith, purification by the commandments, perfection by virtues will take precedence among all other matters, dominate in your thoughts, desires and aspirations; if you consider this only as a “deed,” true and important, and all earthly affairs only as a “division,” a secondary, unimportant occupation, to which a certain amount of attention is given after the main task: then earthly affairs will not be an obstacle to the heavenly cause; you can hope to find the kingdom of God, most of all what you seek, and at the same time not have a lack of that which you care less about, that which is necessary for earthly life, according to the faithful promise of the Lord: “all these things will be added to you.” On the contrary, if you think that you must first provide for yourself in earthly and worldly affairs, and then worry about heavenly things; if some earthly pursuit of science, art, artistry, industry, the search for benefits, brilliance, and pleasures of life, has become your primary thought, the dominant desire, your “work” in excellence, and the work of piety remains with you only a “share”, a matter of leisure from worldly pursuits: then you have transformed the order prescribed by the word of the Lord; you are not on the path to obtaining the kingdom of God; and to provide yourself with earthly blessings, I don’t know on what you can establish your hope, because the Lord’s promise does not apply to you: “all these things will be added to you.” And so, brethren, a small, apparently, instrument of “the great trial of the heart” (Judges 5:16). An important tool for self-examination is a small question: what is on your mind and heart first and foremost? When you wake up in the morning: what is your first thought? Does your heart say: glory to God, who showed the light? or: Lord bless my day? If so: then this is a sign for good. But if, along with your awakening, the thought and concern about some earthly matter to which you are addicted awakens in you and carries you away, and does not allow you to “remember God and rejoice” (Ps. 77:4); then I fear for you, my brother; It is doubtful whether you seek the kingdom of God first of all. If you are standing in a church; and your thought goes to your home, or to your work church, or to the marketplace, or to a place of entertainment: is this not a sign that your thought running away from God is stronger than the thought running to God? Hasten to return the fleeing one; and unite your thought and heart in striving for God. In this and a similar way, let everyone test their inner disposition often and diligently; and let us not become stubborn in tearing our thoughts and hearts away from passionate attachment to earthly, worldly things, so that our hearts may be confirmed in the Lord; so that the kingdom of God may be a constant, never lost sight of, goal of our aspiration. Because “from the Lord man’s feet are made straight” (Ps. 36:23): You, Lord, have restored the captivity of Zion from Babylon, return the captivity of our souls from the prevailing vanity of the world, and guide us even to the heavenly Jerusalem, where You reign in glory, and those who reach there will reign with You forever. Amen. Abba John, in the story of Abba Theodore of Ferm in the Patericon. You might be interested in: