336. Беседа при праздновании рождения Великого Князя Сергия Александровича

(Spoken in the Trinity Lavra on May 7th; printed in TV. St. Ot. 1857 and in collection 1861) “Thy sons, like new olive trees are around your table. Behold, the man who fears the Lord will be blessed” (Ps. 127:4–5). We do not know whether the God-inspired Psalmist was looking at anyone personally when he outlined this image of family happiness: but we can with joy see this mental image revived in the person of the Crowned Father of the Royal Family, 811 in the Great Father of the great family of the Russian people. The Four Sons surround His family meal; 812 increase as new oilseed plantings, and especially the Firstborn begins early to show the color of the inherited high qualities. Now, with spring, another “new planting” arises, expanding His garden, and promising, following the previous ones, to grow, flourish and bear sweet and nutritious fruits for Russia. Can’t we accompany this view of the Royal Family with the following instruction and appeal of the Prophet: “Behold, a man who fears the Lord will be blessed”? We can, with special conviction of the truth. And always, as now, our Most Pious Sovereign, with a reverent feeling and gratitude to God, accepted the Child born to Him, and called all of us to grateful prayer with Him. But at the birth of Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich, in a special way, in our Most Pious Sovereign and His Most Pious Spouse, the features of souls “fearing the Lord,” reverently devoted to His Providence, shone forth; and God, “who does the will of those who fear Him” (Ps. 145:19), above this birth in a special way “worked a sign for good” (Ps. 86:17). Joy opened the King's heart; and revealed His secret. After the sacred Coronation and Anointing for the Kingdom, the Sovereign Emperor and the Empress visited this monastery of St. Sergius. With deep consolation and tenderness we witnessed Their tender prayer: but we did not know the mystery that was connected with it. Now we know her. The most pious, “at the tomb of this Prayer Book and Intercessor of Russia, prostrating themselves with faith and hope before His incorruptible remains, made a secret vow” that if God gives them a son, “they will name Him Sergius in memory and gratitude to this great Pleasant of God.” That God, through the intercession of St. Sergius, accepted Their vow into His favor, He showed this by the fact that, according to the arrangement of His Providence, a successful birth followed, and, in accordance with Their thought, the birth of the Son, and thus Their faith and hope were justified. And the Most Pious fulfilled Their vow, and showed Their gratitude to God and His Pleasant, giving the Highly Newly Born the name Sergius. “Behold, a man who fears the Lord will be blessed.” Children of faith! Let us rejoice in the faith in God and His Saints, which shines upon us from the heights of the Throne. Use this light, may your faith be awakened, may it be aroused, may it ascend with boldness to the throne of grace. You see that the words of Christ spoken for eighteen centuries do not lie in dead books, but live now, and are in effect for eighteen centuries: “according to your faith, be it done to you” (Matthew 9:29); “all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). Friends of reason, which does not willingly submit to faith! Do not block faith’s path to God’s grace with human wisdom. Do not kill the truths of faith in yourself with doubt; do not dissect it with refined and tormenting interrogations, with the cold fragmentation of dead concepts. 813 Life force cannot be found in a killed and dissected body. See the living power of faith in its living body - in the life, deeds and experiences of true believers. It is not difficult for an attentive and impartial seeker to find and perceive it, not only in the sacred scriptures, in the history of the Church, in the lives of the ancient Saints, but also in the experiences closest to us of our time, which is not very rich in faith. And when you see the power of faith acting and bearing extraordinary fruit: do not close yourself off from its light with perplexities, how is this? why is this? Isn't this a coincidence? But try to accept the light of faith in your heart and assimilate its power and effect. If you learn it, at least not enough to say: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24): grace will not refuse to come to the rescue and do more than we ask and understand. Some people say about vows: can one dare to enter in this way, as it were, into conditions with God? - Of course, this is not convenient for those who look at vows with such a heavy, distrustful gaze; but not so for those who believe in God's condescension. Man, insignificant before God, and especially a sinner, could not exist for even a minute without God’s condescension towards him. But God condescends; the thought of God’s condescension animates faith, faith dares, and in simplicity takes advantage of God’s condescension. Patriarch Jacob with one staff goes to a foreign country and makes a vow: “If the Lord God will be with me... and give me bread to eat, and a robe to wear, and bring me back in health; ...of all those who are mine, I will give ten tithes to You” (Gen. 28:20–22). And God accepts the vow; and returns Jacob in health, 814 with family, wealth, slaves, herds, in two regiments. However, we speak about voluntary vows in order to show in them the union of faith with grace, and not in order to convince them. This is a matter of good will. The only thing necessary is for this vow to be fulfilled correctly. “If you promise a vow to God,” teaches the wise Solomon, “do not fail to pay it back” (Eccl. 5:3). There are vows that are not our will, but which duty demands from us: - the Christian vow to believe in God and Christ and keep the commandments of God, the loyal vow to be faithful to the King until death and to obey His laws. In fulfilling these, let us be constantly vigilant and diligent. Only when these necessary general vows are fulfilled, and special arbitrary vows does the all-good God accept into His favor, and blesses them with comforting and beneficial events 815. Reverend Father Sergius! You, as a seer, heard at one time the secretly spoken vow of our Most Pious Sovereign and His Most Pious Spouse; and with Your intercession to God, Their vow achieved the desired and joyful fulfillment. They accepted your blessed name for the newborn Grand Duke; and through this very thing they entrusted Him to You and Your gracious protection. Receive the gift of faith; and reward with gifts of grace. Continue and unceasingly intercede before God about the health, age and prosperity of your namesake Grand Duke, and about the multiplication of heavenly blessings on our Most Pious Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich and on the Most Pious Empress Maria Alexandrovna, and on His entire Sovereign House and His Kingdom. Amen. In the author's manuscript, this word is placed instead of the crossed out word: “porphyritic.” Handwritten the author used to say: “growing.” The author’s manuscript previously stated: “do not dissect it by fragmenting dead concepts and refined questions.” At first this word was not in the author's manuscript. In the author's manuscript it was stated here: “Amen.” The next section - everything is completely written down in pencil after. You might be interested in: