Conversation during the week of the Myrrh-Bearing Wives, at the Khoroshevskaya Convent

And the time of conversation is Holy Week. the myrrh-bearing wives, and the place of conversation - the abode of women who have dedicated themselves to the Lord, show that it is very proper now to talk about the myrrh-bearing wives for the edification of those listening. “Last Saturday, Mary Magdalene and Mary of James and Solomia bought spices” (Mark 16:1). Who were the Myrrh-Bearing wives? St. Mark, among the blessed Myrrh-bearers, points first of all to Mary Magdalene, that is, born from the Galilean town of Magdala, the same one “from whom, according to his own narrative, Jesus cast out seven demons” (Mark 16:9). So Mary Magdalene was awarded special grace from the Lord; but she, according to the Gospel, paid for the good deed with special love to the Lord. Mary of Jacob, the second myrrh-bearer, was, according to the evangelist, the mother of James and Josiah, or according to the expression of St. Mark was the matter of “James Malago and Josiah” (Mark 15:40). She, along with Mary Magdalene, followed the Savior to the very grave (Matthew 27:56). In the story of this feat, St. John, she is called Mary of Cleopas, sister of the mother of Jesus, - Cleopas, after her husband, who was otherwise called Alpheus. Little James, her son, one of the 12 apostles, is called James of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18). Salome, indicated by St. Mark between the myrrh-bearers, in the narration of the evangelists turns out to be the matter of the sons of Zebedee, the apostles John and James (Matthew 10:2), the famous sons of thunder. According to St. Mark (Mark 15:40) looked at the crucified Savior together with Mary Magdalene Salome, and according to St. Matthew (Matthew 27:56), then “was a... the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” In addition to Mary Magdalene and Mary of James, St. Luke points out among the myrrh-bearers Joanna and others who are not called by name. “Beshe,” he says, “Mary Magdalene, and Joanna and Mary of James, and the rest with them” (Luke 24:10). Who was this Joanna? St. Luke writes that the Savior, who went around the cities with preaching and miracles, was followed not only by the apostles, but also by “certain wives who were healed of evil spirits and illnesses: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom the seven demons departed, and Joanna, the wife of Khuzan, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who served Him from their possessions” ( Luke 8:1–3). So "John... was... the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward" (Luke. 8:3), a rich and honorable person, and she was one of the women healed by the Lord; she, like Magdalene, accompanied the Savior during His preaching and, being as grateful as she was rich, willingly used her property to serve the Lord. According to St. Luke, we cannot doubt that Susanna, who was among the followers of the Lord, was also among the myrrh-bearers, especially since, according to St. Mark (Mark 15:40–41), the wives who followed Jesus into Galilee and served Him, i.e. the same ones that St. speaks of. Luke, were in Jerusalem during the crucifixion of the Savior and looked with sorrowful love at the crucified Benefactor and their teacher. Then, among the other myrrh-bearers, we can most likely place Mary and Martha, the Lazarus sisters, who loved the Lord so much. So, here are the myrrh-bearers indicated by the evangelists: Mary Magdalene, Mary of James, Salome, Joanna, Susanna, Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus. What a common and lofty trait is revealed in these wives even before they brought the dear myrrh to their Savior! Of course, it also meant no little that, according to the evangelists, they followed the Savior through Galilee. But crowds of people followed the great wonderworker, and about some of those who followed Him, He Himself said: “Amen, I say to you, seek Me, not as you have seen the sign, but as you have eaten the loaves” (John 6:26). It’s another matter when we see the same women at the cross of the Savior, where the shame and horror of death hid the divine glory of the heavenly messenger from the eyes of people. The Shepherd is amazed, His disciples are scattered in horror; Peter himself, who promised to die with Jesus, denied Him three times. But the reverent women did not abandon Jesus even in the midst of the horrors of death. They followed Him to Golgotha, watering His path with tears of compassion. They were with Him on Golgotha, not taking their eyes off their beloved Teacher; some from afar measured His suffering with a compassionate feeling, others stood at the very cross. Neither the fury of the mob, nor the malice of the scribes and Pharisees, nor the insolence of the soldiers could remove them from the divine Teacher. They then looked at “where He was laid” (Mk. 15:47) and “we sat opposite the tomb” (Matt. 27:61). Wives-imitators of myrrh-bearers! tenderness of love, fidelity of love are the predominant characteristics of your gender. Dedicate to the Lord the difference of your sex, following the example of the myrrh-bearers. Do not allow your hearts to be humiliated by objects unworthy of love. Be faithful in your love for the Lord. Do not be worried by thoughts of cowardice when meeting temptations: whether illness will visit one of you, or continuous changes in everyday life will meet you: be your soul with the Lord, to whom you have become ignorant. Guard your heart with the vows made to Him; Do not deviate either in thoughts or desires, much less in deeds, from service, obedience, self-denial, purity, which you promised to preserve until the grave. Buy aromas and anoint the body of Jesus, or, according to the story of St. Luke, “having prepared spices and ointment” (Luke 23:56), - “they have prepared aromatics” - dry incense, “and ointment” - a fragrant ointment, both at a very high price and for what use? May they anoint the body of Jesus in order to give honor to their beloved Teacher and Lord. This is for whom it is necessary to sacrifice everything dear. Wives of the world! learn from the myrrh-bearers, for what purpose do you it is necessary to make expensive expenditures. Incense, expensive ointments, expensive jewelry are useful to the soul when they are used for the glory of the Lord. Otherwise, what do women expect when their incense smells of passions and their expensive attire reveals only the ugliness of the soul? What do they expect when the souls of the innocent, redeemed by the Lord, are destroyed by temptation? by the brushing of their hair and the treading of their feet, their garments attracting each other and their feet playing with them:... The Lord will reveal their shame... And instead of a good stench there will be a stench, and instead of a belt they will gird themselves with ropes” (Is. 3:16, 17, 23). Votive virgins! Don’t you ask how you can imitate the myrrh-bearers when you have neither fragrances nor peace? Bring the fruits of your labors to the church of the Lord for its maintenance and decoration; show compassion to the sick and poor, in whose person Christ appears to you; finally, bring tears of contrition for your sins, which take away from you those spiritual treasures that you could offer as a gift to the Lord. These are the offerings that the Lord expects from you. “And early in the morning, as one of the Sabbaths came to the tomb, the sun rose up” (Mark 16:2). The myrrh-bearing wives were so busy caring to honor their beloved Teacher that this concern did not give them sleep. “It’s the early morning” and they are already going “to the grave.” The most vigilant of them even comes to the tomb more than once. St. Matthew says: “rolling together in one from the Sabbaths” (Matthew 28:1), that is, at dawn of the first day of the week, when the darkness of the night was just giving way to light, when nature was barely awakening from deep sleep, St. the wives are already rushing to the holy work of praising the Lord. So vigilant were the myrrh-bearers to glorify the Lord! How fitting, how beneficial it is to proclaim the praises of the Lord in the deep morning! What is a person? He is the king, he is the head of visible nature. – Is it proper for a king to sleep when his inferiors are already performing their due service before the King of kings? Shouldn't he begin a song of praise to the Creator before the creature submissive to him begins it? And how easy it is to pray at midnight and morning! Thoughts are then pure, sensations are alive, the soul is free from the impressions of the heavy earth, the resting nature does not occupy or entertain itself, the person is all with himself and the Lord. “At midnight we rose up to confess the destinies of Thy righteousness,” says David before the Lord (Psalm 119:62). “At midnight Paul and Silas, praying, girded God,” says the book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 16:25). “There was no commonwealth in prayer,” the Gospel tells about the Lord Jesus himself (Luke 6:12). And St. The Church appoints midnight and morning for prayer. And how dangerous it is for everyone to indulge in carefree sleep! “Behold the Bridegroom comes... at midnight” (Matthew 25:6) and “blessed is the servant, for he will be found vigilant” (Luke 12:43), but he is unworthy again, but he will be found despondent. Take care therefore that my soul is not burdened with sleep, lest it be given over to death and be shut out of the kingdom.” What happens to today's Christians? Yes, some people are amazingly alert for the whole night, but for what? They spend their time like pagans. And there is no trace and no thought in my head that a trial is about to open for one or another of them. ABOUT! unfortunate ones! Go up to the church during the morning prayer of the church: who will you find there? Some church ministers. I fear for those who have dedicated themselves here to serving the Lord. Sisters in the Lord! God knows: I’m afraid for you. You have made a vow to devote your time to prayer. How do you perform it? What will you bring to the Lord's judgment? How? During Matins, your church is empty too! Who are you? Why are you in the holy fence? Or do you think that you can laugh with impunity at the home of prayer with your life? And you laugh at her, you disgrace her when you transform her from the abode of prayer into the abode of serving the whims of the flesh. “What should I do?” they say, “You need food and clothing, you need time to acquire both.” Who gave you the charter of caring Marthas? What prevents you from allowing two or three of you to perform the services of Martha out of obedience, so that everyone else remains blessed Mary? (Luke 10, 38 – 42). Or did you only beat the air when you made vows to fulfill the rules of community life and prayer? Come to your senses, be afraid of your situation, think about what awaits those who break their vows to God. My God! what kind of blindness? I like to always be at the service of my whims. For whom is hell if not the slaves of the flesh and self-will? They exchange a conversation with the Lord for a conversation with petty objects of vanity. And they still think of being close to the Lord. Have mercy on yourself. You will cry: “Lord, Lord, open the doors for us,” and the Lord will say: “We do not know you” (Matthew 25: 11 – 12) “And when she entered the tomb, she saw the young man... dressed in white clothes and was horrified. He said to them: do not be dismayed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene crucified: He has risen, this is the place where He laid Him” (Mark 16:5-6). True love of St. the myrrh-bearers are not left without reward. They were the first to hear the news of the resurrection of the Lord; the heavenly messenger, illuminated by the glory of spiritual purity, appeared to them and revealed that their beloved Teacher, Whom their enemies had crucified, was no longer among the dead. In the story of St. We see Matthew even more. When the myrrh-bearing women went to convey to the disciples the words of the angel: “Behold, Jesus met them and said: Rejoice! They approached, grabbed His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus says to them: Do not be afraid; Go, tell my brothers so that they go to Galilee: there they will see me” (Matthew 28:9-10). God! Everything is possible for You, - It is possible for You to revive our cold hearts with faithful and vigilant love. We are unworthy of Thy grace: but according to Thy great mercy, do not deprive us of mercy, so that we too will meet You with Thy chosen ones in Thy glory. Amen. You might be interested in: