484. Слово в день восшествия на Всероссийский престол Благочестивейшего Государя Императора Николая Павловича, по первом лете царствования Его

(Said in the Moscow Great Assumption Cathedral on November 20th) Bring greatness to me, O Mighty One, and holy is His name. (Luke 1:49). Let us forget for a moment that we are now standing in a great church, in which, after the great name of the King of Kings, the name of the Queen of Heaven is exalted more than any other name. Let us return our thoughts eighteen centuries ago; let us enter the small Jewish village, “Mountain” (Luke 1:39); We will meet there in the small, no doubt, house of the priest Zechariah, with his relative the young Virgin Mary, who, although she came from the great family of David, but, of course, no longer retained any remains of this ancient greatness, when she was betrothed to the little one of the earth, the treemaker Joseph. There and then let us place ourselves as listeners to Mary’s solemn exclamation. “Create greatness for me, O Mighty One”: but neither in her nor around Her is any sign or trace of greatness visible! What are you saying, humble Virgin? How are you not afraid of the enthusiastic word with which you only exalt Yourself? How will Your word become? Who will believe him? Let us know the disciples, and together the worshipers of the Word, by whom all things were created, let us know the power of the Divine Word. It entered into the womb of the holy Virgin Mary: therefore it was strong in Her mouth, and truly created for Her the greatness of the Queen of heaven, which we see on earth, and before which we reverently bow. But this is how the Strong and Great God always creates greatness for those who, in humility, feel and recognize themselves as weak and small in themselves. The Blessed Virgin, glorifying God, who created greatness for Her, seems to imitate the saying of the Psalmist, familiar to Her through church singing and home reading, who appeals to God like this: “My God, do not forsake me, until I will proclaim Your arm to all the generations to come. Thy power and thy righteousness, O God, even unto the highest, which thou hast made great for me.” What is greatness? To explain this, the Psalmist further says: “Thou hast shown me many sorrows and evils, and by turning thou hast given me life, and thou hast brought me up from the depths of the earth: thou hast multiplied Thy majesty upon me” (Ps. 71:18-21). From the consideration of these words, one can understand that “greatness,” in the language of Holy Scripture, is the essence of God’s work over man, wonderful, beneficial, revealing the immeasurable greatness of God, and imparting a certain greatness to man. However, apply the name of greatness to everything to which it can be applied with some decency. Do you think about the greatness of title and power, or about the greatness of the mind, about the greatness of the soul, about the greatness of deeds: in all these respects, following the example of the Psalmist, following the example of the Blessed Virgin, without hesitation we proclaim to this whole race that the strong God creates “greatness”, and that, consequently, without Him, weak people would in vain want to establish for themselves some kind of self-created greatness. Let us ask the mind sublime, extensive, deep; Let us ask a noble heart, filled with reverence for God and love for people, pure to the point of dispassion, let us ask them: who created these great things for you? Nature? But nature is not an independent creative force, it is an instrument in the hands of the true Creator, God. Education? But by its very name, education does not create, but only gives a certain image to properties, activity to abilities, direction to forces that exist independently of education. Experience? But how many people who, in the midst of great experiences, always turn out to be small, like earthly past, while in others the seed of greatness, inconspicuous at the beginning, like the “pea seed” indicated by the Gospel parable (Luke 13:19), in a short time grows into a tree of greatness? If we admit that education and experiences not only reveal the sublime spirit, but actually elevate it: who gives educators and education, sought in vain by many, who sends great experiences and guides in them the inexperienced, sometimes even helpless, - who else but the One who, having done everything with the creative Word, according to the testimony of the Divine Word, “does hitherto” (John 5:17), because “bears ... all things with the verb of power Our own” (Heb. 1:3), and without His providence we “cannot create one hair, white or black” (Matthew 5:36)? If God, by His providence and grace, creates in people greatness of spirit, not imaginary, which, like a ghost, appears in impulses towards the sublime, and soon falls into insignificance or impurity, but true, constant, withstanding difficult experiences: then therefore, shouldn’t we ourselves admit that God also creates that greatness that gives man deeds produced by extraordinary wisdom and by the power of a great spirit, guided by noble motives, accompanied by beneficial consequences. A small soul likes to attribute all its successes to itself alone, out of fear that when it removes from itself what does not belong to it, people will notice how small it is; but great souls, after great deeds, themselves willingly admit how little was for these deeds of what they knew in themselves, and how much was needed for them from God and His providence. “The stars of the heavens have encamped,” sings Devorah, glorifying the victory over Sisera, “from their rank they have encamped against Sisera” (Judg. 5:20). Did the prophetess let it slip, did she not humiliate the great deed accomplished by the extraordinary strength of her spirit, attributing part of the famous victory to the influence of the stars, which created a thunderstorm over the enemy army, or directed a storm in his face? No! she proclaimed the lofty truth that visible great deeds are accomplished only under the highest control, with invisible help. What's the big deal? - if you want to have another example, - what a great thing it was when Gideon, with three hundred unarmed, scattered and destroyed the Midianites and Amalekites, who were “like a great multitude, and their nobles were not numbered!” But on what little did the fate of this great undertaking depend! From the dream of a warrior in an enemy camp. “And it came to pass that Gideon heard the story of the dream, and his reasoning, and worshiped the Lord, and returned to the army of Israel, and said: Arise, for the Lord has delivered the army of Midian into our hands” (Judges 7:12-15). And the great God sent this little thing so that without it the great human work would not have been accomplished. What can we say about the greatness of the title? If it is acquired by great deeds and beneficial deeds for humanity, then from what has been said it is already clear that this greatness is created by God, the helper and patron in great and beneficial deeds. If it is inherited: and in this case, who else but God “blesses the generation of the upright, that there will be glory and wealth... to his house, and his righteousness,” hereditary virtue, “endures for ever and ever” (Ps. 112:2–3). God created royal greatness for the little shepherd of the sheep - David; chose Solomon to inherit it; did not allow Rehoboam to destroy it through carelessness; in the person of the infant Joash he hid it from deceit and malice in His own church; continued this for centuries on the throne of Jerusalem, in the blessed, although not in all of their births equally worthy, line of David: while the kings of Israel, who thought of having greatness without the true God, and their entire generations from the unblessed throne, one after another, like leaves and branches from a half-rotten tree, were overthrown by the storms of the times of rebellion. And to all times and to all the great ones of the earth, the all-creating, one uncreated wisdom of God proclaims: “By Me kings reign, and the mighty write righteousness: By Me the nobles are magnified, and by Me the rulers hold the earth” (Prov. 8:15-16). God created greatness for the family of our kings, Russians! and recently he re-created it with blessing to Nicholas, who reigns over us. What happened - was it before the beginning of the year, the successful completion of which we now celebrate; what happened - was it with this much venerable, so much worthy greatness? The king was gone, the successor was in hiding, sedition was digging in the darkness under the foundation of the throne. But God, who did not expect and even shied away, “exalted the chosen one from His people” (Ps. 89:20); created for Him both the greatness of the inheritance, according to the law of the fathers, and together the greatness of election from the two oldest brothers, and the greatness of the spirit with which He destroyed those who opposed him with the first appearance of His coming, and the greatness of the wise and beneficial deeds that elevate and, no doubt, will continue to exalt Him, not in His humble thoughts, not in names and words, but in the minds and hearts of his faithful subjects; finally, after many sorrows, the merciful God “increased” on Him and on us the “greatness” of His benefits by His peaceful and all-joyful wedding and sacred anointing. Rivers now, blessed Russia: “create greatness for me, strong one!” But do not forget to say this word of the Most Blessed One: “Holy is His name”! Sanctify, and do not cease to sanctify the name of your God, with thanksgiving for the greatness of His benefits, with prayer for the King and with all piety. Hallow the name of God, who magnified you, not only with pious lips, but also with a humble heart, and by observing His holy commandments, at all times, and in every deed of life, so that even the Mighty One will preserve and increase your greatness. Amen. You might be interested in: