395. Слово в день Святой Пасхи

(The word found here was taken for printing from the magazine “Christian Reading”. Spoken at the Assumption Cathedral on April 6; printed separately and in Christian Reading in 1836). Truly “the Lord is faithful in all His words” (Ps. 144:13). He said to his disciples, leaving for free suffering: “again... I will see you, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22); and now, after suffering, death and resurrection, when His work on earth is completed, when the very flesh does not hold Him on earth, being freed from mortality, when in His whole being He feels the desire to cry out to His heavenly Father, “I ascend,” he says, “to My Father” (John 20:17), - He hesitates, however, on earth to give the promised joy to His earthly brothers. Appears to students who were either overcome with sadness or fear; and heals the illnesses of their hearts with a word of joy: “Behold, I found Jesus, saying: Rejoice” (Matthew 28:9). Appears to the disciples who, from the invisible warfare of Satan, “who asked that he sow” them “like wheat” (Luke 22:31), and from the visible attack of the Jews, turned to flight, scattered, and hid; and ends the dangers of warfare with the message of peace: “Jesus came, and the hundred were in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). Exactly, according to His prediction, they see Him, and their hearts rejoice: “the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20). If you want to see that their joy is definitely inalienable: look how these people, who were recently defeated by their own cowardice, before the attack made on their Teacher reached them, of whom the strongest, from the meaningless word of a slave, trembled and fell like a leaf from the wind - how after these people come from the supreme court of their land, having received from it wounds and a prohibition to speak about the name of Jesus: “They have gone to hell.” rejoicing on behalf of the council, because for the name of the Lord Jesus they were deemed worthy to receive dishonor” (Acts 5:41). That the joy of the Resurrection of Christ is by no means and never inherent in those to whom the Risen One bestows it, is it not possible to see even now from experience itself, when after so many turns of time, after so many different changes of people, races and peoples, and now, just as on its first day, it is alive, full and perfect in the hearts of true believers? Blessed is the one whose heart has acquired the inalienable joy of its Risen Savior, and does not lose it! For the assembly of all the disciples of Christ, or in a word, the Church, always has this joy: but each disciple in particular, or, what is the same, each member of the Church, may or may not have it, may find it earlier or later: thus, of the Apostles, Thomas, eight days later than the others, found the full joy of the resurrection of Christ. By no force can this joy be taken away from those who prudently and firmly keep it in their hearts: but the foolish is free to exchange this priceless Divine joy for some worldly 939 insignificant one, or to lose it through negligence. Christians! Judging by the external signs, we can conclude that we all, or at least the greatest part of all, have found the joy of the resurrection. On this sacred midnight, She illuminated the entire Church with the midday light, gave each of us a burning lamp, and placed us in the rank of wise virgins going out to meet the heavenly Bridegroom; She now gives almost all of our Divine services the image of solemn singing and exclamations; it blooms on faces, on clothes, is often written on lips, and is imprinted with kisses. Pleasant signs: but is it really the joy that the Originator of our joy promised? Is there in our joy that sign of true joy that it is inalienable: “no one will take your joy from you”? The celebration will continue; and, perhaps, it will continue only in the fact that we will remain idle from matters of public rank, and from bodily work, or we will turn to ignoble exercises, to sensual pleasures, to vain amusements; and not in the fact that we, having abolished any caring or partial concern with creatures, with a mind idle from sensory worries, receive the light of God through prayer and spiritual teaching, and with a heart inactive to any earthly lust, we calm down in the love of God, through faith and hope. There will be a holiday; everyday life will come that will awaken us early to worldly and carnal affairs, for the needs and benefits of our mortal life: then, perhaps, the joy of the resurrection will not only doze off, but will also die in our hearts, and will be buried in the dust and clay of worldly cares. Shouldn't we admit that this can happen to us? And if so: then we must admit that our current ordinary joy is nothing more than a visible, imperfect image, or only a shadow of the true, inner, perfect, inalienable joy that the Risen Lord gives to his faithful slaves, or from his chosen friends from slaves. Blessed, I say again, is he who has been granted “enter into this joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21); who, even when the festive lamps go out, does not remain in darkness in his spirit; and then, when the solemn singing ceases, he does not cease to “sing and sing to the Lord in his heart” (Eph. 5:19)! Perhaps, envying those who enjoy this immortal joy, or pitying those who are deprived of such a longed-for pleasure, someone will ask: why is this joy not granted to everyone? I answer: the only Creator of universal joy, on His part, provides it to everyone without exception; because He died for everyone and rose again for everyone, and therefore the fruit of His death and resurrection - immortal joy - is a universal property, but not everyone achieves what is provided to everyone; not everyone comes into possession of the commons. Is it possible, it seems, not to take advantage of the benefit that is offered and given to the authorities? But there is no room for doubt about what is actually visible. And the other Apostles taught Thomas the joy of the resurrection: but he said: “I have no faith” (John 20:25); and thus did not accept joy until then, when finally the Lord, marvelous in truth and mercy, punished minor unbelief with a short deprivation of joy, but seeing that for all this Thomas did not shy away from His other disciples, and from His word, and from His love, appeared especially for Thomas; allowed him with his own, so to speak, hands to take the joy of resurrection from the life-giving wounds of the resurrected body; turned short-term unbelief into eternal proof of truth, and the lips of the Apostles, defiled by the word of unbelief, were cleansed with a strong confession of faith: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)! This adventure of Thomas provides an opportunity for a new question: why not use for many the same means of confirmation and joy that was used for him, that is, the tangible presence or obvious revelation of the Risen One, since He Himself believes joy to be the direct effect of His presence: “I will see you, and your heart will rejoice” (John 16:22)? A daring question! Who can demand from the Lord an account of the manner of His action, or give this account in His place? And where will we get the answer, which, however, is needed to tame the insolence of some questioners, much more than Thomas, infected with unbelief? I hear almost the same question that we are talking about from the lips of the Apostles: “Lord, what happened, because you wanted to appear to us, and not make the world” (John 14:22)? What is better than to hear an answer to this from the lips of the Lord? But He does not give a direct answer to this; and the Apostles, when the world wanted to eclipse the glory of the accomplished resurrection with lies and slander, no longer asked the Lord why He was not appearing to the world. Strange thing! Question proposed; no answer given; and yet it is clear that the issue has been resolved; for another time they did not offer it even when extreme need required it. How was it resolved? One can only guess that it was resolved for the Apostles by some other instructions of the Lord, enlightenment from the Holy Spirit and the very experience of the miraculous actions and appearances of the Lord. In fact, let us suppose that the Lord would appear, for example, to the very Synagogue that, out of envy, betrayed Him to death. Do you think that such evidence of the resurrection would have converted her to faith and led to salvation? In vain! The opposite of this has already been proven by experience. The resurrection of Lazarus took place publicly, and anyone who wanted to could see the resurrected Lazarus. But what effect did this evidence of the resurrection have on the members of the Synagogue? They only became more embittered in vicious unbelief. “If the Bishop consults, they will kill Lazarus” (John 12:10). So, the Lord did not want to appear to them and does not appear to others like this, because this would be useless for those stubborn in unbelief, and would only serve them to greater bitterness and to the gravest condemnation. Or suppose, if you like, that they too, being amazed by the sight of the Risen Jesus, would be forced to call Him their Lord. What would happen next? Together with Peter, who is so praised for his confession of Christ the Son of God, you would see Caiaphas, the inventor of the Murder of Christ, as Christ’s confessor; he would thus come to the kingdom of Christ, not as a sinner who has repented and desires correction, but as a caught criminal who has no place to escape. Are such sons of the kingdom awaiting the kingdom of heaven, whom even the earthly kingdom does not recognize as worthy members of itself, when it knows their dispositions? And the Lord is so wise in that He does not want to appear to the world in the glory of His resurrection until the time comes: He gives so many signs about Himself so that those who wish can know and find Him; but he does not amaze everyone with miracles, so that with the worthy sons of the kingdom, who accept him sincerely and freely, he does not confuse the inexcusable slaves, who only submit in a forced and feigned manner. He preceded the Apostles about this when he said: “The kingdom of God will not come with discretion” (Luke 17:20). Finally, one can still believe, not without reason, that the Lord spares the sons of the world when he is not. For can dry grass also withstand the presence of fire, as does gold, which is purified and perfected by it? Will he instantly turn her into ashes and dust? Similar to this, the presence of the Divine Jesus, which strengthens the weak in faith, cleanses and enlightens the faithful and righteous more and more, if it were revealed to the unbelievers and those smoldering in sins, would it not burn them and destroy them with its purity and power? What will defeat the most powerful adversary of Christ, “whose coming is according to the work of Satan in all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9)? What is the highest power? What Divine Weapon? One breath, or word of the mouth, one presence of the Lord Jesus: “The Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of His mouth and will bring Him to nothing by the appearance of His coming” (2 Thess. 2:8). In Saul, the persecutor of Christianity, the chosen vessel of Christ was already hidden: but he, too, was almost destroyed 940 when the power of the appearance of Christ accidentally touched him before he was prepared for it. From the light of Christ he fell to the ground, trembled, was horrified, and with open eyes did not see anyone. Stop, son of dust, from boldly tempting and irritating the Lord of glory by competing with Him, because He is not for your confirmation or consolation; turn your question to yourself and ask yourself: what makes you unable to accept His joyful appearance, and what can prepare you for this and make you worthy of it? This question is correct: and therefore there is a direct and clear answer to it from the Divine Teacher, handed down to us by His God-inspired disciples. “If anyone loves Me,” He said, “he will keep My word: and My Father will love him, and we will come to him... and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). This is the law and order of the blessed visits of the Divine Savior! Like a glass vessel, in order to withstand intense heat, it must be clean and warmed up gradually: so the easily crushable composition of human nature, in order to become a companion of the tangible presence of God, must first be purified by teaching in the word of God, and constant exercise in fulfilling the commandments of God, and warmed with love for God: then God, although he is a “consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29), will not destroy it His holy presence, but the “light” of Christ, “enlightening every man who comes into the world” (John 1:9), like “the day rising from the darkness of the night, it will illuminate” him, and like “the morning star will shine in his heart” (2 Peter 1:19); then he will be able to “behold with open face the glory of God” in Christ, and not only rejoice in it, but also be “transformed in the same” glorious “image, as” worthy “of the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). According to this law and order, the appearances of the Lord were revealed on the day of His resurrection. “The disciple... whom Jesus loved” (John 20:2) primarily before others, also primarily before others loved Him with the deep love of the spirit: therefore, it seems that he, first of all, received in the depths of his spirit the visitation and joy of the Risen One, when he saw in the tomb of the Lord “one robe lying”, he believed the resurrection: “both the sight and the faith” (John 20:6, 8); therefore, it seems that the beloved Savior pointed to him first with a secret wave of grace, when he said to Thomas in general: “those who have not seen blessings have believed” (John 20:29). Magdalene, from whom the Lord “cast out seven demons” (Mark 16:9), who consequently “many sins were forgiven, loved Him much” (Luke 7:47), with the living and fiery love of her heart; therefore, the first attracted His visible appearance: “Jesus rose again on the morning of the first Saturday, appearing before Mary Magdalene, having cast out seven demons” (Mark 16:9). Christian! Do you believe the word of the Lord: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20)? If you believe: then you must also believe that in these days, just as on the first day of the resurrection, the Lord appears to those who believe in Him and love Him, more or less tangibly, according to their ability and readiness, and bestows on their hearts His Divine joy and His supreme peace. Strive, then, in these holy days, to attract grace-filled visits through fervent prayer, diligent teaching in the word of God, good deeds according to the commandments of the Lord, and most of all, ardent love for Him who died and rose again for you. Call the heavenly Guest more diligently, prepare to receive Him more carefully than you do for the mostly useless reception of earthly guests. And if He visits you with His Divine consolation: beware, lest “no one take away your joy from you” (John 16:22). Do not immerse your heart in the pleasures of the world and the flesh: like a lamp dropped into water or into clay it goes out; so if you lose your heart in carnal lusts and earthly passions, the light of spiritual joy will fade, and the soul cast out from the bridal chamber will again be enveloped in darkness and death. May the Lord Jesus Christ, our light, life, and joy, preserve us all from this forever. Amen. In the department ed.: worldly joy. 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