52. Слово в день знамения Пресвятыя Богородицы 287

(Printed in the 1844 and 1848 collections) And he sighed in His spirit and said, “What is this generation seeking for a sign?” Amen I say to you, if a sign is given to this generation. Mk. 8:12. The Lord threatens the Jewish race, unfaithful and corrupt, that a sign will not be given to it. But we, Christians, the chosen race, shouldn’t we hope, on the contrary, that a sign will be given to us for our good and salvation? Yes! There was a time when Christians 288 sowed abundantly not into the earth and into the flesh, but into the spirit and into heaven; and accordingly, they received spiritual and heavenly fruits in abundance: they sowed faith, and reaped signs and wonders, beneficial and saving, feeding and strengthening the spirit for eternal life. And in return God sowed signs and wonders from heaven; and they brought to the earth, among people, the fruits of repentance, correction, faith, hope, thanksgiving to God, virtues of all kinds. God often worked miracles 290, not only through holy men, but also through holy signs, or through visible signs and memorial images of shrines, such as through the pure bodies of the Saints, through holy icons: and He worked miracles 291 so obviously and solemnly that the Church solemnly commemorates certain miracles or miraculous signs 292 dedicated special days. And now, aren’t the signs only known to us from memories? Aren't we looking for them as if they were rarities? Are we not looking for them in vain? So, is not the Lord again complaining about this generation? Isn’t he again refusing a sign with menacing decisiveness? “What is this generation looking for a sign? “Amen I say to you, if a sign is given to this generation.” The remark that we do not see miracles now, so usually, and so different, often strange, is accompanied by judgments that it is not useless to think about why we do not see miracles now. Some say emphatically that we do not see miracles, because they do not exist, and there should not be any in our time. For miracles were used by God as a means to spread and establish faith: and therefore, when faith was quite widespread and established safely, then miracles became unnecessary for it. I agree, if you like, with these speculators that miracles are used by God as a means of spreading and establishing faith. But whether we should conclude from this that miracles are no longer needed in our time, I leave it to impartial judges. If there are non-believers, then means for spreading the faith are not superfluous. If there are those who are hostile to the faith and who are trying to shake it, then the means for establishing the faith are not superfluous. But since unbelievers and those who are hostile to the faith, to the regret and danger of believers, actually exist in our time, and even in the very depths of visible Christianity, like a snake in the bosom: should we, I repeat, conclude that miracles, as a means for the spread and establishment of faith, are no longer needed in our time? But, in order not to please arrogant speculators with an insult to the truth, let us examine their idea that miracles are used by God as a means of spreading and establishing faith. There are miracles that are obviously aimed at spreading the faith. Such, for example, is the “gift of tongues,” or the miraculous descent of the Holy Spirit granted to the Apostles the ability to speak in languages ​​hitherto unknown to them. It is obvious that the intention of this miracle was to give all nations the immediate opportunity to hear the teaching of the faith. The history of Christianity shows that the gift of languages ​​had a strong effect at the beginning of Christianity, that through it faith penetrated all the peoples of the world with the speed of lightning; but that soon, when every people who accepted the faith began to have within themselves those who knew its teachings and were able to communicate it in natural language, with the aid of the ordinary study of the languages ​​in which the men of God wrote, the miraculous gift of languages ​​disappeared. In this case, it is not without reason to assert that the miracle ceased as no longer necessary. But there are other miracles that are not so closely related to the spread of faith; which, even where faith is already widespread and established, can be used for the good and salvation of people. Such, for example, is the gift of healing, or the miraculous ability to heal from illnesses through prayer, words, laying on of hands, and through some other signs. Why was King Hezekiah raised from his deathbed through the Prophet Isaiah and brought back to life for fifteen years? Is it so that the fame of this sign of faith would reach unfaithful Babylon, and attract from there a kindly and equally dangerous embassy, ​​which led the Tsar into the temptation of vanity and was an opportunity to predict terrible events? This is not what Hezekiah prayed and cried about. “Lord,” he cried, “remember that we walked before You in truth, with a perfect heart, and created what was pleasing before Your eyes.” And God answered him through the Prophet: “I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears: behold, I will heal you” (2 Kings 20:3, 5). So this sign was on the part of God a work of indescribable love for mankind and extreme condescension, in relation to Hezekiah the reward of faith and virtue; for other believers, but weak in faith, an incentive to strong faith and trust in God. Why did Jesus Christ Himself resurrect the son of the widow of Nain? The Evangelist does not show any other reason for this, except that the Lord took pity on the widow. “When the Lord saw her, he was merciful toward her” (Luke 7:13). When can such miracles, for such motives, for such purposes, be unnecessary? When the Apostle James, having ordered “the sick man to call upon the elders of the church, that they may pray over him, anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord,” adds the promise that “the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:14–15): what does this mean if not that he perpetuates the gift in the Church of Christ? healings given from the Lord at the beginning to the Apostles? Did the Lord Himself give believers this law and this right for a time: “believe in Me the works that I do, and he will do this, and greater works than these” (John 14:12)? “He who believes will do”: consequently, as long as there are believers on earth, there must be those who do the works of Christ, “and greater things than these,” and among these great works, without a doubt, are signs or miracles. Let us say even more freely: just as there is always God, so there are always miracles: for just as God always exists, so He always acts; if He acts, then obviously there are works of God; The works of God themselves are miracles. “You are the God who works miracles” (Psalm 77:15)! In vain does the daring wisdom of the creature want to rob You of this eternal advantage and expression of Creative omnipotence. “You are God who works miracles” 293 of preliminary 294 purification, without a fiery desire for union with God? The Apostle Paul, denouncing the Corinthians for their unworthy communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, concludes: “for this reason there are many in you who are weak and ill, and fall asleep contentedly” (1 Cor. 11:30), that is, many are struck by sudden death for insulting the shrine. It seems to me that for many of us it is already a miracle of God’s mercy if in such cases such executions do not befall us. Let us resort, brethren, to the Lord who works miracles continually for our salvation, and each one about all, and all about each one, let us cry to Him with the Apostles: “Lord, add faith to us” (Luke 17:5). And then with David: “do a sign for good with me: and let those who hate me see and be ashamed, because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me” (Psalm 85:17). Amen. According to Jew. collection is listed as pronounced in the Znamensky Monastery on November 27. According to Jew. collection there is no such word. According to Jew. collection: and therefore they received the fruits... According to Jew. collection: signs or wonders,... According to Jew. collection: signs... According to Jew. collection: some of them... According to Jew. collection: as long as there is God, there will certainly be miracles: for when there is God, then without a doubt He acts; when He acts, it is obvious that there are works of God; The works of God themselves are miracles. “You are God and work wonders” (Ps. LXXVI, 15). Creatures will never forbid this Creator; their violence will not unlearn Your wisdom; their insolence will not disarm Your omnipotence. “You are God and work miracles”! According to Jew. collection: due. .. You might be interested in: