286. Слово по освящении храма Введения во храм Пресвятой Богородицы, в городе Коломне

(Said on September 7th; printed in the Works of the Holy Fathers, 1853, and in the collection, 1861) If you have found grace before God, ask to find a settlement for the God of Jacob: So Solomon built a church for Him (Acts 7:46–47). Dedication of a church to God and diligent labor for its improvement and decoration befitting a shrine is a pleasant offering to God, and at the same time there is God’s great mercy to man. God, whose church is the whole world and whose throne is heaven, has no need for Himself in a small earthly church. Possessing everything that is in the universe, He obviously has no need for human offerings. So, if he accepts a church and an offering from a person; then by this He reveals to man His condescension, grace, mercy - mercy in the very thing that bestows a pious thought and desire, because, as the Apostle admonishes, “we are not content... to think that what is truly good is from ourselves, ... as from ourselves, but our contentment is from God” (2 Cor. 3:5), - mercy in the hastening of Providence to the fulfillment of a pious desire - mercy in bringing a person closer to God through a blessed church - mercy in accepting the offering, opening the way for a new mercy of reward for the offering of faith and zeal. This is, without a doubt, what the holy First Martyr Stephen thought when he said about King David that he “will find grace before God, and ask to find a settlement for the God of Jacob.” That is: David enjoyed the special mercy of God, and this turned out especially in the fact that, according to his desire, God deigned to build the church, and appointed a place for this in Jerusalem. If the mere intention of building a church, undertaken and approved, was already the mercy of God for David; How much more so the actual creation of the church was the mercy of God for Solomon. “Solomon... built a church for Him.” So, those who, with pure zeal, to the extent possible, took part in the work of David and Solomon, in the work of building the church, should rejoice: for through this they have a share in the grace and mercy of God. All who seek the grace of God should rejoice over the consecrated church: for if the grace of church-building is given, then in order to bestow grace on the church, and through the church on those who enter it. In order to know the grace of the holy church, and through faith to use it for our sanctification, there is a simple means for this - to look with attention at those who have experienced it with special power and evidence. Righteous Anna was barren, and bitterly complained that she had no children. As a pious wife, no doubt, she prayed many times in her house for the resolution of her barrenness: however, the barrenness continued. But when she prayed at the “praise of the door of the church of the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:9), asking for a son, and at the same time promised to dedicate him to the service of God and His church: she immediately felt relief from her grief, and then received permission for barrenness. She gave birth to a son - and what son? - Samuel the Prophet. The righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth lived to old age in sorrow, and, according to the concepts of their time, in the reproach of childlessness. Long, and, of course, strong and worthy of hearing was the prayer of this couple, about which the Holy Scripture testifies that “besta... both are righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6). Finally it was revealed that the prayer of the saints had been heard, but not without the help of the holy church. “When I entered the Church of the Lord,” an angel appeared to Zechariah and said: “Your prayer was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John” (Luke 1:9, 11, 13). The daughter of the righteous Joachim and Anna, the Virgin Mary, was destined by the fate of God to become the matter of the incarnate Son of God - predestined by the unparalleled grace of God, but also by the unparalleled dignity and purity of those chosen for this ministry. How is her purity, more than angelic, preserved? How was her dignity raised, higher than heavenly? With the help of Her upbringing and stay in the church of God, until Her betrothal to the righteous Joseph, almost until the Annunciation of the Archangel. The Church of God was the educator, guardian, decorator, and bride-giver of the Mother of God. If the grace of the holy church is so beneficial for saints, then how much more should it be beneficial for sinners? The publican, whose name signifies a person mired in untruth and lawlessness, in the light of a convicting conscience, sees his disastrous state and thinks about getting rid of it. He enters the church, but does not dare to approach its shrine or look at heaven, beats himself in the chest, that is, he condemns himself, humbles himself, recognizes himself as worthy of punishment, and says a prayer of repentance: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). How much did he do to save himself? But he is already saved, as the Lord, the Knower of Hearts and Judge, proclaims. “This man is justified into his house” (Luke 18:14). This is a parable: but the truth of Christ’s parable is as reliable as the truth of any personal event; and even more applicable to doctrine, because the parable presents not so much a particular example as a law for particular cases. Look carefully: where does the Lord indicate such a convenient and shortened path to repentance and salvation? - in the church. Why? - Because, of course, her grace helps those who seek salvation. Entering here into the special, mysterious presence of God, here he most of all feels the fear of God, and the more strongly he condemns and rejects his sins, the more comfortably he humbles himself, the deeper he enters into repentance, and the sooner he achieves forgiveness and salvation. If, however, you want to see in real life what the mental image of the publican represents in the parable: this, among many examples, can be clearly seen in the life of Mary of Egypt. She was overly devoted to sin: but when the example of those going to the Jerusalem temple of the cross, tomb and resurrection of the Lord aroused in her a desire to go there: then the grace-filled power of the church appeared miraculously. Because of sinful impurity, Mary was stopped by an invisible force at the doors of the church and was not allowed to enter it: but because she ran to the church, at the same time she received the gift of perfect repentance. In the vestibule of the church, before the image of the Mother of God, she made a vow to correct her life: and as a result of this, having been allowed into the church to venerate the cross of the Lord, and in another church having admonished herself with the communion of the holy mysteries, she retired to the Trans-Jordanian desert, and there she led a wonderfully holy life. If someone were to ask: does every Christian church have grace, like the Old Testament temple of Jerusalem, and the New Testament temple of Jerusalem, the actual place of the cross, tomb and resurrection of Christ: without hesitation, we answer: everyone has. Christ the Savior gave us a promise of high 744 grace: “where... there are two or three congregations in My name; there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Where is there a greater and more perfect gathering in His name, if not in the holy church? So here He is graciously present in our midst; and where he is present with grace, there he acts graciously and savingly. Here every day in the Gospel we hear the word of Christ, the Son of God. And it is one and the same 745 word with which He created the world, with which He “bears... all things” as “the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3), which in the days of His flesh healed the sick, drove away demons, and raised the dead. What will it not do here for the believer and the one who prays? And, therefore, the custom that while reading the Gospel you bow your heads is significant and worthy of careful observance, and some bow their heads under the Gospel itself, so that the gracious power of the word of Christ may overshadow you. Here the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ is performed. But if, as we see in the Gospel stories, touching the vestments of Christ healed the sick: then what kind of grace-filled actions should be expected from partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, and even from approaching the altar, on which Christ the Savior, in His Body and Blood, is present in a living and life-giving manner! Knowing this, let us not be negligent, brethren, but let us be zealous to take advantage of the grace that the Lord reveals to us in His holy church. Flow diligently to the church of God; enter into it with the fear of God; listen to sacred reading and singing in it with attention and a desire for understanding and instruction; bow before the shrine in spirit and body with humble faith; pray with heartfelt contrition and tenderness; present to the Lord good and soul-helping petitions in order to please Him, and not wait for His gifts in your sweets; offer Him spiritual sacrifices from a pure heart, and visible sacrifices from pure hands and from righteous labors: and the Lord, who gave His grace to His church in order to teach it to you, will not fail to overshadow your souls with it, to fulfill your good desires, to extend blessings from His church to your temporary deeds and life in the hope of the eternal life. May those who lovingly contributed to the creation and reconstruction, renovation and decoration of this church be blessed by the Lord; - May the former, who have already gone to the Lord, be blessed by Him with an eternal blessing, and may the present, who are with us, be blessed with a temporal and eternal blessing. Blessed be all who enter this church with reverence; may the Most Holy Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit be glorified by generous and grateful souls forever. Amen. In the author's manuscript: “high.” The author’s manuscript added: “and beneficial.” You might be interested in: