Word on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord

“And behold two men spoke with Him, even Moses and Elijah: He appeared in glory, and said His going away, and wanted to kill him in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:30–31). And in the midst of glory, the inhabitants of heaven do not talk about glory. After so many benefits for people, and after so many insults from people, the humanity of Christ Jesus shines on Tabor with divine glory; The Deity, hidden under the veil of flesh, appears through the veil of flesh in its greatness and glory. What would it seem most fitting to talk about now to those who appeared to Moses and Elijah, if not about the glory in which they see the God-Man Redeemer still on earth? But that's not what they're talking about. They talk about the cross and death that await the Lord in Jerusalem. Is this how we, listeners, act in happiness? Is this how we consider misfortune necessary? In misfortune we become despondent, in happiness we do not think about misfortune, and in both cases we act this way because we do not understand the value of misfortune. The Lord recently visited our country with disasters. Did everyone understand the significance of this visit? Do we all now understand how necessary and useful misfortunes are, especially for the fortunate people of the world? If the celestials in the glory of Tabor talked about sorrows: then, of course, it is not superfluous for us to think about the meaning of sorrows for the children of happiness. God is fair. He does not lose sight of a single good deed of ours, not even a single good thought. Not even a tear of repentance disappears behind Him. But He does not reward more than someone is worth. God forbid the misfortune of seeing among us those who would do nothing but evil. Almost everyone, as far as we see, does something good. And a just God bestows blessings on everyone, but no more than someone is worth. That is why Abraham said to the rich man: “You received good things in your earthly life, but Lazarus suffered” (Luke 16:25). This means that the rich man was paid in earthly life for everything that was due, but Lazarus remained to be rewarded there - beyond the grave. Thus, the unkind lucky people of the world receive a reward here for their some good deeds and no longer have it there. - How can one not wish after this that it would be better to suffer here, in time, than to suffer there - forever? What do all the possible consolations of time mean in comparison with an eternity of torment? What do all the various calamities of time mean in comparison with an eternity of bliss? Only the man of the world is happy and happy when, feeling the insignificance of earthly happiness, he sighs for the joys of heaven and through the secret sorrows of repentance prepares for himself a better share in eternity. God is good. He wishes us peace and happiness. But what to do with us when earthly peace turns not to our advantage, but to our detriment? God is good. An entire eternity of indescribable bliss has been prepared by Him for us. But here we are all sick people who need bitter medicine. We are all children of Adam; We all love to live more for the flesh than for the spirit. This always happens to us, especially when earthly happiness attracts us to the peace of the flesh and provides us with the means to fulfill all the desires of the flesh. How easily earthly happiness weakens the strongest spirit! The wise man was not one of the weak, but he prayed to God: “do not give me... riches..., lest I be satisfied with beds and rivers: who can see me?” ( Proverbs 30:8-9 ). In the midst of external peace, with ready ways to live according to the desires of a sinful soul, the happy person in the world is occupied only with how to satisfy the desires of his flesh. What about the soul, which is greater than flesh? And the spirit, which is so irreplaceable by anything earthly? They are forgotten. The happy one feeds and fattens the flesh, which should have been crucified with its passions and inclinations, while the soul remains without food and heavenly drink. And so a man, adorned with the image of God, was attached to the foolish cattle and became like them. And so a Christian, reborn in the baptismal font for spiritual life, enriched with invaluable heavenly gifts of grace, wallows in the dirt of the earth. This is pathetic, very pathetic! But the misfortune of a sick soul does not end there. Earthly happiness, at the same time as it is tender and develops sensuality, nurtures the thoughts and desires of pride. "Who can see me?" says the one who succeeds in everything, and does not think that he is a son of sinful flesh, a child of the wrath of God. What can bring this soul, sick and unaware of its illness, to consciousness? Sorrows, only sorrows. For the first time, they will involuntarily tear her away from sensual pleasures, deprive her of ways and time to deal with objects of vanity and spiritual humiliation; and there, with the help of God, she herself will little by little see how vain, how low, how unworthy of an immortal soul are the sensual pleasures that she had passionately loved until then, she will see how priceless the Kingdom of God is, which we can find within ourselves, regardless of all the methods of earthly happiness. Sorrows will awaken in her prayerful sighs for her sins, for her poverty and humiliation; and prayer will shed consolation in her heart, in which earthly consolations will be forgotten. So she will more and more often retire from both the sorrows and the joys of earth into the hidden chamber of her heart and there converse with the God of her heart. Thus, every misfortune, although at first it does not seem like joy, subsequently brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who know how to use misfortune. Let's take an even closer look at how this or that type of earthly happiness affects us. Let us take earthly honor and glory. At first they care about honor, as if only for the needs of earthly life. But, having achieved one honor, why, they think, not look for another? Having reached another, why not look for a third? And now the soul is busy thinking only about honors! Her desires strive only for honor. If sometimes the thought of the honor of a higher title comes to her, she says to herself: yes, I need to think about the transition to eternity, but I still have time, and now there are so many necessary things to do. Meanwhile, time passes without waiting for our leisure time for eternity. Meanwhile, the heart of the ambitious becomes harder for everything except earthly honor. Even the thought of a great and terrible God rarely comes to his mind and even less often awakens fear and reverence. Exactly the same thing happens to a rich, lucky person. He may have collected quite a bit of wealth, but he says: I’ll gather some more and start using it for good deeds. But the more he collects, the stronger his love for wealth becomes, the more he wants to collect and waste less. I’ll collect more, he thinks, and in my old age I’ll think about the same sky. It was as if old age had given him the word to visit him; as if old age had undertaken to make him generous. The poor man does not see himself. And now he is offended when they ask him for help; and now he knows one deity - the golden calf. What will happen in old age? Tell me, is it not God’s mercy for these unfortunate lucky people of the world when misfortunes are sent to them to admonish them? What can make them feel that they are being deceived by delaying repentance from time to time? What can convince them that they are strangers on earth, to whom no one told them about the time of their return to their homeland? What can show them the vanity of all worries and labors and extreme poverty, the extreme humiliation of their souls? If misfortunes do not bring them any benefit, then, of course, happiness, which so flatters their passions, will not heal them. It is hard for an ambitious person when he is deprived of his beloved honor: but the medicine sent from above will have its effect, more or less clearly, more or less deeply, he realizes that earthly glory is the same as sound, the same as the movement of air, and is not worth a sigh. It’s hard for a greedy man when he is deprived of his beloved gold. But won’t it then involuntarily occur to him that earthly wealth, no matter how much you take care of it, is slipping out of your hands - and it’s scary to go there for the poor in soul! Christian soul! if you use your happiness for the glory of God, for the good of yourself and others, and meanwhile the Lord visits you with sorrows: do not grieve, but rejoice in the Lord. He wants to purify you with sorrows, just as gold is purified by fire. Righteous Job did good and in happiness; but, tested by sorrows, he became an example of the highest devotion to the will of God. Let us not, my friends, forget ourselves in happiness. Let us be so intelligent as to understand and feel the significance of earthly happiness and misfortune for our eternal life - and the Lord God will be with us in time and in eternity. Amen. You might be interested in: