324. Беседа в третий день Пасхи и в день рождения Благочестивейшего Государя Императора Александра Николаевича

(Said in the Chudov Monastery on April 17th; printed in the Works of the Holy Father in 1856 and in the collection of 1861) After the Gospel announced to us about the resurrection of Christ at the eve of the holiday, on two days of the holiday we heard the gospel voice of the son of Gromov, truly, like thunder, strong, like lightning, bright. Then he raised us above heaven, and above time, to the contemplation of the Divinity of Christ: “in the beginning was the Word; “God is not the word” (John 1:1). Then on earth, through the mouth of the greatest of those born of women, he proclaimed the eternity of Christ and His immeasurable greatness: “He is the one who comes after me, who was before me: but I am not worthy of Him, that I may loose the thong of His boot” (John 1:27). Now the Holy Church, having left the Evangelist John, called the Evangelist Luke so that he would return us to the day of the resurrection of Christ, and in his narration he allowed us to see some of the actions of the disciples of Christ on that day and the appearance of the risen Lord. Is there a special intention in this church order? “I think there is an intention that our thoughts, which could more or less dissipate over the course of the days of the holiday, are reassembled to the essential subject of the holiday, and that by indicating what happened on the original day of Easter, we are given instruction on what can and should happen in the days of Easter, which is renewed by the present triumph of Christ.” On the very day of the Resurrection of Christ, before the evening, two disciples of Christ, Cleopas, named in the Gospel, and another, according to legend, Luke, the writer of the Gospel (who kept silent about his name out of humility), go from Jerusalem to the nearby village of Emmaus, we don’t know for what reason, but of course not without need, on a day on which it was very interesting to stay in Jerusalem, although it was not safe for everyone. They walk and talk. About what? Is it about the need for which they are going? Or about various objects that accidentally come to mind and onto the tongue? - No. Their conversation is not frivolous or idle. “She talked to herself about all these who have happened” (Luke 24:14). They talked among themselves about the suffering of Christ, about His crucifixion, about His burial, and finally about His resurrection, which their Christ-loving heart would like to believe, but which their unopened understanding was still afraid to believe. Doubt did not remove them from Christ, to whom their love attracted them; and the fear of his enemies did not prevent them from confessing Him as a hoped-for Savior to an unexpected unknown companion: “We hope that this one will deliver Israel” (Luke 24:21). It should be both more convenient and pleasant for you, new disciples of Christ, to talk about the risen Lord. There is no fear for you that would prevent you from speaking about Him; there is no doubt that would disturb thoughts about Him: the truth of the resurrection of Christ shines now like the sun. Ask yourself, is it enough, in these days appointed for the solemn remembrance of the resurrection of Christ, are you enough to remember and talk about the risen Lord, both in houses, as once the myrrh-bearing women with the Apostles, and on the road, like Luke and Cleopas? We can think this way about those whom we see diligently flowing into the church, both for Divine services, and, in addition to Divine services, in order to enjoy the sight of the shrine and the reverent touch of it. But is it possible to think the same about those who go in crowds to houses of luxury and intemperance, and to the square of games and shows worthy of laughter, or, better said, laughter unworthy? Christian! Look how the true disciples of Christ celebrated the day of Christ even when they did not achieve perfection: and be ashamed to celebrate it in a pagan way. Luke and Cleopas, for their kind conversation about Christ, although imperfect in faith and understanding, received a wonderful reward along the way. “It came to pass that he was talking and asking questions, and Jesus himself drew near, walking with him” (Luke 24:15). At first He seemed to them to be an unknown traveler, and did not allow them to recognize Himself, no doubt on the assumption that the suddenness of the discovered miraculous phenomenon would have struck their mental and physical strength, and would have made them unable to accept the instruction that He intended to teach them. From their own conversation He borrowed the opportunity to expound and interpret to them the predictions and omens of the Holy Scriptures about His suffering, death and resurrection; and thus put an end to their perplexity and confirmed their wavering faith. And at the same time, by the secret action of His Divine power, He kindled in their hearts the holy fire of grace-filled consolation. Finally, when, having talked with them, he reached Emmaus and the place of their instillation, and when they did not want to part with such an interlocutor, He entered the house with them, reclined with them at a meal, and, as those already prepared for openly miraculous communication, blessing and breaking bread, He gave them complete joy to know Him, and to see in the light of His resurrection. This illumination was instantaneous, and He immediately ceased to be visible: because an action had already taken place, useful and beneficial for those who saw it and for those who would hear from them about the former vision. What if, pointing to this adventure of two disciples of Christ, I tell you, current disciples of Christ: these are the benefits you can find if you really devote the present time, dedicated to the solemn remembrance of the resurrection of Christ, to reverent reflections and conversations about it with faith and love; and what benefits are you depriving yourself of if you plunder and waste this holy time on vanity and sensual pleasures, immoderate and sinful, if you enslave yourself to sin at the very time when you are triumphant in liberation from slavery to sin? What do you say to this? Wouldn't you say that now is no longer the time for revelations and visions? We recognize that now is no longer the time for revelations and visions for the discovery and confirmation of new truths of faith, new mysteries of grace. But who told you that the time of grace-filled communion with Christ has passed? Didn’t He give this promise to all His disciples, for all times: “Whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and I will appear to him Myself” (John 14:21); – “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20)? Being faithful to His promises, He did not cease to be with those who believe in Him, with those who love Him, with those who revere Him, with those who turn their eyes away from vanity, and is ready to appear, if not to their eyes, then to their hearts, kindling in it the fire of gracious consolation, just as once in the hearts of Luke and Cleopas; but of course He will appear on the path of the soul striving for Him, and not at the crossroads of vanity. The well-intentioned travelers, who received such a happy outcome from the journey to Emmaus, did another wonderful thing, not being content with their happiness alone, but hastening to share it with other disciples of Christ, whose faith at the beginning of this day also struggled with perplexity. They immediately returned to Jerusalem, entered the meeting of the Apostles, and told them their miraculous confirmation of the resurrection of Christ. The apostles mutually communicated to them the same identification, after several testimonies of the myrrh-bearers, completed by the fact that the risen Lord appeared to the Apostle Peter. Look how the Apostles spent the great day, which they did not suddenly understand. The doors of their meeting were locked, “for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38): but it was not fear that brought them together; fear would have scattered them to different, more reliable secret places for each, and would not have led them to one place, known to all of them, and therefore not quite hidden from others. This was, in all likelihood, the Zion upper room in which the Lord celebrated the Last Supper with them before His suffering. What force brought them together in one place, and not entirely safe at that? - Of course, not yet dead faith and especially living, strong love for the crucified Lord, which, in communication with those who loved Him, sought relief from sorrow and reinforcement of faith. And, upon the strengthening of this faith, this unfailing love of the disciples of Christ was rewarded in the same way in Jerusalem as in Emmaus. “Jesus himself... stood in the midst..., and said to them: Peace be with you” (John 20:26). Once again I appeal to you, current disciples of Christ, children of the Apostolic Church, and to your conscience, so that it may consider with a vigilant eye whether your Sunday day corresponds to the Apostolic Sunday. Is your time, your thoughts, your feelings, your interviews, your activities truly dedicated to Christ? Do you remember the suffering and death of Christ with tenderness and gratitude, as if they suffered for us? Do you remember the resurrection of Christ not only with joy for yourself, but also with the desire for similar joy and salvation for everyone? May love for Christ animate and elevate your joy. Let your love for the world not turn your joy into frivolous joy. However, the spirit of Christ is not the enemy of human lawful joys. Thus He blesses our present joy in remembering the blessed birth of our Most Pious Autocrat. The Church sanctifies this joy with prayer in church; Let the people’s love for the Tsar in common life clothe this joy with its own expressions, so that in this way the apostolic commandment will be fulfilled: “Honor the Tsar” (1 Pet. 2:17). But at the same time, we are confident that our joy in Him will be all the more pleasant to our Most Pious Autocrat if we, worthily rejoicing in Him, worthily “rejoice in the Lord” (Phil. 3:1). Amen. You might be interested in: