69. Слово на Рождество Христово 375

(Printed in the 1844 and 1848 collections) Let this be understood in you, even in Christ Jesus, who in the image of God was not equal to God by admiration; but He diminished Himself, and took on the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of mankind, and being found in the likeness of man. (Phil.2:5-7). If, according to the word of Solomon, “the time of every thing under heaven” (Eccl. 3:1): then is not now the time to philosophize with the Apostle about the wondrous self-abasement of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, when we see Him lowering Himself even to the measure of infancy, humiliating Himself even to the manger 376? People partial to earthly greatness were often tempted by the belittlement of Jesus Christ 377 . But when the experience of so many centuries has already proven that “God has highly exalted Him,” that “at His name” indeed “every knee bowed, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:9-10); for, from the days of His resurrection and ascension, thousands of witnesses saw how the heavenly powers slavishly carried out His commands, how, on the contrary, the hellish powers were cast into the abyss by His name; millions of earth-born people find their bliss in the worship of His name: after this, and before people who have gathered to bow before the name of Jesus, we can free ourselves from the labor of defending and justifying His humiliation; and nothing prevents 379 us from looking at His humiliation with the same reverence as at His greatness. Oh, how the Son of God diminished Himself in His incarnation! This depreciation should be all the more striking for us, since it is in some opposite correspondence with the original exaltation of man himself. For the word of God, not without intention, uses the same expression to depict these opposites: “image and likeness.” “Let us make man,” said God the Creator, “in our image and likeness” (Gen. 1:26). And the Apostle says about the incarnation of the Son of God: “We took on the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of humanity, and being found in the likeness of a man.” Another ruler does not need to belittle himself much in order to appear in the form of a slave. But when the great and exalted Lord, who also bestows upon his slaves the image of his rulers, himself appears in the “image and likeness” of a slave, that is, in a state of complete slavery and the deep humiliation that is characteristic of slavery: then one cannot look at such an extreme belittlement of the great without a special feeling of surprise, extending either to tenderness or to horror 380 . And in this way the Son of God diminished Himself in His incarnation. But how He humiliated Himself even more in the circumstances of His earthly birth! It was necessary to choose a nation into which He would be born: and He chose for this purpose, of all the nations of the earth, the least, not having its own government, many times enslaved and close to new enslavement, once blessed, but already almost rejected. It was necessary to choose a city: and He chose Bethlehem, so small that the Prophet favoring it cannot hide this criticism of it, and does not find any other way to exalt it than by the name of the diminished Jesus born in it. “And you, Bethlehem, the house of Euphrath, had little food, even though you were among the thousands of Judah! From you will come forth an elder for me, to be a Prince in Israel; he has come forth from the beginning from the days of the world” (Mic. 5:2). It was necessary to choose a mother; and, in order to hide the secret of the incarnation from unbelievers for the time being, it was necessary to add to it the imaginary father by the bonds of the law, but not the flesh: and now they were chosen, although the descendants of the King, so that the promises and prophecies would be fulfilled, but already one was a treemaker, and the other was a poor, orphaned virgin. And what else? If the Lord had been born in Joseph’s small, own, or rented dwelling; and Mary would have laid Him in a poor cradle: the form of a slave, perceived by Him, perhaps not all would have had the features that could constitute it; for there could have been a slave's dwelling smaller than Joseph's, and a cradle poorer than Mary's. What does the 381 infinitely Great, seeking endless diminishment, invent? The Augustan command to “write the whole world” (Luke 2:1) sets in motion the population of the land of Judea, so that Joseph could not 382 either remain in his own dwelling in Nazareth, or find a rented one in Bethlehem, when the time came for the true Lord of the universe to be born; and thus, having humbled Himself even to infancy, humbles Himself even to a manger, instead of a cradle. “Put Him in a manger; otherwise there is no place for them in the monastery” (Luke 2:7). If from God, who belittles Himself, we extend our gaze further across the space of the world in which, and for which He is diminished, the miracle of diminishment will present us with new, striking views. Here comes to my mind the picture of the descent of the Word of God from heaven to the land of Egypt, drawn by the writer of the Book of Wisdom. “I hold everything in quiet silence, and the night in its course is filled with fullness; Thy almighty Word, Lord, from heaven, from the thrones of the Kings, a cruel warrior descended into the midst of the pernicious land” (Wis. 18:14–15). And at the descent of the incarnate Word of God onto the land of Israel, wasn’t the night also filled with its flow, when at the very moments of His birth “the shepherd in the same country kept vigil and kept watch over his flock by night” (Luke 2:8)? Wasn’t there a quiet silence all over the earth, when only the Angel’s voice was heard, and was heard by not many shepherds in the desert? Terrible obscurity, in which the punishing Word of God descended on the destructive land of Egypt in order to “fill everything with death” (Wisdom 18:16), through the defeat of the firstborn of Egypt! However, this obscurity not only did not diminish, but also magnified the glory of God the Avenger, Who, without visible means, without tangible actions, with one inaudible “command,” or, one might say, with one silence, the life of the Word that speaks to all, executes the wicked. Another, but no less terrible, is the obscurity in which the saving Word of God, being born in the flesh, comes to visit the whole earth, perishable because the earth-born “have all sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23); - comes, not like a cruel warrior threatening everything living with death, but like a newborn baby, bringing the hope of rebirth and life to the entire area of ​​​​death; - comes, - but the destructive earth does not gather, does not embrace, does not glorify, does not even see its Savior, and does not hear the Word of God, silent in the manger. Almost in vain, the “glory” that Jesus Christ “had” with God the Father, “before the world was not” (John 17:5), in the mouth of the Angels pursues Him as He descends into the world, and reaches after Him - even to the earth: on the perishing earth there are almost no ears not deafened by vanity that are capable of hearing it. Almost in vain, the wisest and most famous of the stars makes an extraordinary journey in order to indicate the Sun of truth shining through the deep night: there are barely two or three people capable of understanding this indication and ready to follow it, and then among those sitting in darkness and in the mortal shadow of paganism and star worship. And Judea, where “God is known” (Psalm 75:2)? – She does not know that “God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). And Jerusalem, “the city of God” (Ps. 87:3)? – He is not in joy with Christ, who came to save 383, but in confusion with Herod, seeking to destroy 384. And what about the High Priests and Scribes, who were supposed to be especially close to God and His mysteries through prayer and understanding of the law? They perfectly resolve the scientific question: “where is Christ born” (Matthew 2:4)? and are so pleased that they do not find it necessary to further bother to find out whether He is really being born. So, not only in the midnight of natural time, but in the equally deep night of ignorance and oblivion of people about You and Your destinies, “Thy almighty Word, Lord, descended from heaven from the thrones of the Kings into the midst of the perishing earth” (Wis. 18:15), and despite the fact that almost no one glorifies Him, no one knows and no one seeks to know, It does not utter a command punitive, but remains silent in saving long-suffering for the perishing! Thus, He not only diminished Himself in the image of God, He who is equal to God and God, but also took on a new form of humiliation from the ignorance and negligence of those, out of love for whom He diminished Himself! Let us marvel, Christians, at our arbitrary belittlement of the Great God and our Savior: but this is not enough. Let us revere this humiliation of Him: but even this is not enough. “Let this be wise in you,” the Apostle teaches us, “even in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). You too have the same feelings that Jesus Christ had; position yourself the same way He was positioned. What does this mean? – The Apostle himself explains this, saying before the above saying: “doing nothing through zeal or vanity, but through humility of mind, giving one another greater honor” (Phil. 2:3). From this it is clear that he teaches us, following the example of Jesus Christ, not to place ourselves highly, and not to be exalted by any advantages, but to humble ourselves, both in ourselves and before others. Whoever has slaves: let him remember “who took the form of a slave,” and let him not diminish those who are humbled by lot with contempt, and let him not exalt himself with pride when he is exalted above them by God. He who lives in a magnificent house, rests on down, dresses in silk: let him remember the den and the manger, and with these the coarse shrouds; and let him not disparage those who live in huts, sleep on straw, dress in rags, and who, perhaps, not only in appearance, but also in their internal state, are more like Christ than him. “Let him boast,” teaches the Apostle James, “let the rich man boast in his humility” (James 1:10). And the one who, in the words of the Apostle, “rests on the law, and boasts in God, and understands the will, and reasons better, is taught by the law” (Rom. 2:17-18), - ah! and he, “Let him boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31)! “Be careful to stand and be careful, lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12)! Especially let him not condemn the ignorant, and let him not laugh at those who fall! Christ is “the light that enlightens every man who comes into the world” (John 1:9): perhaps the one whom you see sitting in darkness and the shadow of death will soon be illuminated with this light brighter than you, or is already illuminated internally, in the realm of the spirit. Perhaps the wise men of the pagan east are looking for you more zealously, and will warn you in finding Christ; perhaps “tax collectors and fornicators are boiling” you “in the kingdom of God” (Matthew 21:31). Meekness, simplicity, humility, condescension towards the lower, equating oneself with the last of them, calmness in humiliation, patience, not overcome by any insults - “let these things be taught in you,” just as “and in Christ Jesus.” Amen. According to Jew. collection: spoken in the Chudov Monastery. According to Jew. collection: animal manger? In collection 1844 and according to Jew. collection: Jesus Christ. According to Jew. collection: with faith His name was pronounced and cast down... According to Jew. collection: this will not prevent... According to Jew. collection: Some master does not need to belittle himself much in order to appear in the form of a slave. But when such a master, who, out of wealth and generosity, leads and maintains his very slaves as masters, appears “in the image and likeness” of a slave, that is, in a state of complete slavery, and the deepest humiliation that is characteristic of slavery: then such an extreme belittlement of the great cannot be looked at without a special feeling of surprise or compassion. According to Jew. collection: tricks, so to speak... According to Jew. collection: The spirit of Augustus will be moved by the hidden springs of providence; The spirit of Augustus moved the entire universe, that is, the entire Roman Empire, or at least all of Judea, so that, in the general movement of the people on the occasion of the national census, Joseph would not be allowed... According to Jew. collection: Savior,.. According to Jew. collection: destroyer. You might be interested in: