347. Беседа в день обретения мощей преподобного Сергия и Тезоименитства Его Императорского Высочества Благоверного Государя и Великого Князя Сергия Александровича

(Said in the Trinity Lavra on July 5; printed in the Works of the Holy Father of 1858 and in the collection of 1861) Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29). Our Lord Jesus Christ calls to Himself all those who labor and are burdened, and promises them peace. "You will find rest for your souls." “I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:29, 28). Who among us does not need more or less peace of mind 857? Some are burdened with labor that is intense due to necessity; others are constrained by poverty; others are upset and embarrassed by the hostility and injustice they encounter; others suffer from illnesses; others are burdened by an internal struggle with sin and a sense of guilt before God; others deprive themselves of spiritual peace, and then seek it in vain, indulging in anger, envy, hatred, greed, ambition, and insatiable greed for sensual pleasures. No matter what kind of family those who are deprived of peace belong to, the merciful Lord calls everyone to Himself; offers everyone the right means to achieve peace. What remedy? - “Learn,” he says, “from Men.” Become disciples of the Lord Jesus; accept and fulfill His teaching: “and you will find rest for your souls.” The Lord adds that He is “meek... and humble in heart,” partly encouraging and encouraging us so that we do not doubt approaching such a high Teacher, partly pointing to humility as one of the important subjects of teaching that must be accepted from Him in order to find peace for souls. Perhaps they will say: how can we come to Christ and learn from Him? This was possible for the Apostles, who were with Him continuously for more than three years and listened to His teaching; This was partly possible for the Jewish people, who often surrounded and accompanied Him, and sometimes remained with Him for up to three days continuously. Can we approach Him in a similar way and listen to Him? – I dare to say that we can. Explore this opportunity with me. When Christ the Savior, after His resurrection, had to leave the earth and ascend into heaven: then human prudence could have expected, unless it was hidden from His omniscience, that the separation of the Apostles from Him would be accompanied for them not only by severe sorrow, but also by extreme danger from the enemies of the faith. It was characteristic of His goodness to first console them, strengthen them, and reassure them. How did He accomplish this? – He said: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). This promise is not limited to the Apostles alone; it extends to us and to those who will come after us, because it extends “to the end of the age.” What do you think the Lord gave to His disciples based on this promise? Is it really just the thought of His presence? Would this be enough to console them, strengthen them, give them hope? – Without a doubt, He gave them His presence in power and action; granted the opportunity to contemplate Him mentally, heartily, and, if necessary, figuratively, to receive hidden inner suggestions from Him, and, if necessary, to hear His voice, comforting, strengthening, instructing, as this is especially clearly revealed in the life of the Apostle Paul. In another saying, the Lord connects the promise of His presence with the conditions under which it is possible. “If you have My commandments and keep them, you love Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and I will appear to him myself; “And we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:21, 23). You see, Christian, disciple of Christ, that the Lord wants to appear to you; that you can have Him as your guest, even as your co-inhabitant, if only you fulfill His commandments, if you love Him. Fulfill the condition offered to you: and you will accept the fulfillment of His promise. When you have a guest: you can talk to him, question him favorably and well-intentioned, and receive the answers you want. Consequently, when the Lord wishes to be your guest, He also prepares for you so that you freely ask Him about the path and means of your peace and salvation, and receive instruction and guidance from Him. Since He said: “Come to Me” (Matthew 11:28); – “learn from Me”; “He is waiting for you to come and learn from Him.” To this you can again object that direct approach to Christ and instruction from Him is the lot of His perfect disciples, blessed souls. I don't argue. I will say, however, that the path to perfection is not unknown to us either; at least its beginning is not hidden from our conscience, the entry into it is not blocked by anything from our heart and will, except our inattention to our own soul. The treasures of grace are available to everyone. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; press, and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). I repeat: the treasures of grace are available to everyone. “Everyone who asks receives it, and whoever seeks finds it, and it will be opened to the one who asks” (Matthew 7:8). He assures of this, this is promised by Himself “rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4), the Lord of the treasures of grace: He is, of course, faithful in His assurance; I am ready to fulfill His promise given to “everyone” for each of us, only for each “asking, seeking, pushing.” What do you need to draw closer to Christ and truly communicate with Him? – What is needed, according to His own saying, is “love” for Him, which consists in “keeping His commandments.” What is needed to keep the commandments? – You need the strength to reject your sinful will, your passions, your illegal lusts; you need the strength to do what is pleasing to God. So “ask...” with her diligent, persistent prayer: and, according to the promise of the Lord, “it will be given” to you. You need truth that would truly show you “the path of the commandments” (Ps. 119:32), leading to Christ, and protect you from the paths of error, vice and self-delusion. So “seek...” for it in the word of God, in the teaching and deeds of the Saints that are exemplary for us: and, according to the promise of the Lord, “you will find.” You need contrition, softening, revitalization, and opening of a heart that has been petrified by earthly passions, so that what one of the righteous joyfully confessed to God about himself can happen to you: “The path of Your commandments flowed when You enlarged my heart” (Ps. 119:32). So, with the effort of faith, reverent desires, humble sighs of “thick…” at the door of the Lord’s mercy; - with humble self-deepening in prayer, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus 860, “tolts...” at the door of your own heart: and, according to the promise of the Lord, you must hope that as you strive for your cleansing, as your faith and love, the doors of the Lord’s mercy will “open” for you, and the Lord will descend; The door of your heart will be opened, and the Lord will come in. Then you can, not guessingly, but experientially understand what it means to internally learn from Christ, how convenient and pleasant it is for “those who live ... through His commandments,” when He “expands ... our heart,” and how truly through Him and in Him “souls find rest.” But the word faints before the grace-filled action in the souls of true believers and lovers of Christ, which, according to the Apostle, is “the hidden mystery... revealed to the saints,” which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:26–27). I only wanted to arouse in those who labor and are burdened with sins, “of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15), an active desire for true peace of the soul, and even from afar to point out the path to it with my finger. Lord Jesus Christ, our true life and peace! At the intercession of our venerable father Sergius, who has found blessed peace in You, we pray to You, by an invisible attraction, call us and draw us to the peace of our souls, found in faith and love for You, in a conscience pacified by Your grace, in the hope of eternal blessed peace in Your heavenly kingdom, may we glorify You with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. Handwritten At first the author of these words was not there. You might be interested in: