Conversations at Christmas

Contents A word at the beginning of Lent before the Nativity of Christ. Catechetical Conversation on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers Conversation on the Week of the Holy Fathers Conversation at the liturgy on the eve of the Nativity of Christ Conversation at the all-night vigil on the Nativity of Christ A word on the eve of the Nativity of Christ A word on the day of the Nativity of Christ A word on the day of the Nativity of Christ A word on the day of the Nativity of Christ A conversation on the day of the Nativity of Christ, at the liturgy A word on the day of the Nativity of Christ A conversation on the day of the Nativity of Christ, at Vespers Conversation on the second day of the Feast of the Nativity, at Matins Homily on the second day of the Feast of the Nativity, at the Liturgy Conversation on the third day of the Nativity Conversation on the day of the Circumcision of the Lord Conversation on the week after the Nativity A word at the beginning of Lent before the Nativity of Christ. Catechetical The Prophet, foreseeing the once special visit of God to the people of Israel and noticing the inability of this people to meet the coming Lord with dignity, solemnly cried out in the hearing of everyone: “Prepare to meet your God, Israel” (Am. 4:12, according to the Hebrew original). We do not know for certain what kind of visitation of God the Jewish prophet had in mind, but whatever it was and no matter how great and beneficial it was, it cannot in any way be compared with that unprecedented visit with which the Lord visited us all, descending to earth and taking upon Himself our flesh. Therefore, the Holy Church, seeing the approach of the great celebration in memory of this extraordinary visit, and not seeing in us, her children, the spiritual purity and splendor necessary for meeting the great Visitor of souls and hearts, like a prophet, began to cry out to us: Christ from heaven, hide! A proclamation worthy of all our attention, for if the coming of the king of the earth is always preceded by orders for his meeting; How much more so is the coming of the Heavenly King! The kings of the earth, no matter how powerful and wise they are, cannot see everything, they may not see much - bad and disgusting. The King of Heaven will see everything; before Him - “all naked and declared” (Heb. 4:13); He probes the very depths of hearts. Therefore, in preparing to meet Him, it is necessary not to hide only the bad, not to burn down only the ugly, but to destroy and destroy. This is no small matter for our weakness; even more so for our addiction to the world, to our very impurities. Therefore, a lot of time is given for preparation: as many as fourty days! For so much time, Moses managed to receive the whole law from the mouth of God at Sinai (Ex. 24:18); Will we not have time to accept the commandments necessary for each of us? For so much time, Elijah could repeatedly measure with his feet the entire land of Israel - from Dan to Bathsheba (1 Kings 19:8); Will we not be able to cross the line that separates us from a good and Christian life? For so much time, the Savior defeated all the temptations of Satan in the desert (Matthew 4:1–11); Will it be impossible for us, with the help of His grace, to overcome a few whims or habits? No, brethren, the Church hopes “that we are in a better state” (Heb. 6:9). No matter how great at other times our absent-mindedness and love of peace may be, now, with the approach of the great holiday, she hopes that we, like scattered soldiers, will gather under her banners, stand guard over salvation, direct our thoughts and desires to Bethlehem and begin to prepare our souls and hearts for the worthy meeting of the Lord coming from heaven. To make it easier for us This holy work, the Church itself, with its mother’s hand, took away half the burden from us, having commanded fasting. She knows that the womb is our main enemy, and therefore she has placed this flattering but terrible beast on the chain in advance. slanderers, then it will no longer be her fault, but ours, - this is a sign that we ourselves are in conspiracy with the enemy of our Savior, that we are “live snatched from Him according to your own will” (2 Tim. 2:26). So, “get ready to meet your God, O Israel!” Rise up, believing soul, and examine what is unclean and unworthy in your life, and take care in advance to correct and destroy all this. If there is any carnal filth in you, cleanse it for the sake of the purity of the Holy of Holies; if there is any discord, abuse or hatred, extinguish it out of love for the coming Chief of the world; whether there is arrogance or pride and contempt, suppress this too in honor of the humble Youth of Bethlehem. Get ready and look around, everyone, for the Lord is coming to everyone! Look at everything - soul and body, mind and heart, for the Lord will be everywhere, He will see everything: are there any wrong thoughts in the mind about faith, its commandments and promises; are there any bad inclinations in the will, a commitment to the world and its vain blessings; Are there unclean and shameful images in the imagination, cold deeds and destructive examples in the memory, damaging lusts in the heart (damage - corruption). Do not trust your own judgment and understanding in this regard; take the lamp of the word of God and walk with it throughout the entire region of your being. It is necessary for you to be completely clean, for you were once completely washed by the grace of the Spirit; It is necessary that you all shine with the gold of love for God and your neighbors, for you were bought with a dear price - the Blood of the Son of God! However, the Born One, instead of your gifts, will enrich you with His own; just do not bring the world and its lusts with you to His manger, but appear with a contrite heart and a humble spirit. Surely, someone might think, a lot of preparation would have to be made for the upcoming festival, if during its continuation our Savior Himself really deigned to come down to earth and visit us. But He, having once descended to earth, is now always in heaven. The upcoming celebration consists of one remembrance of the former Birth in the flesh of the Lord, how much is needed for remembrance? Whether it’s a lot or a little, we won’t argue about it, beloved! But, of course, not so much as not to think at all about the upcoming holiday, that is, about why our Savior was born and what we should do as a result of His Divine Birth; of course, not so much as to limit all your activities before the holiday to the purchase of luxurious foods, the preparation of new clothes and decorations; It’s not so little that for the sake of a holiday, one would engage in the invention of nothing but amusements and amusements, often completely ungodly, and always vain and dangerous for the soul. Such preparation may serve not to commemorate the Nativity of the Savior, but perhaps to perpetuate the memory of Herod’s carnal knowledge. Do you want to limit yourself to just remembering the Nativity of Christ this coming holiday? “Get ready, though, for the memory; Read with attention or listen to the evangelists’ stories about the Birth of your Savior, and think about all the circumstances of this glorious event. Get ready! For how many of us are there who are unable to celebrate the Birth of their Savior with even one thing: a thorough remembrance! Which, if a Jew or Mohammedan asked them how your Savior was born, in whose honor you celebrate, he would not be able to give an answer! The very spread of the light of science among all classes does not save many from this gross and shameful ignorance. Alas, we often know in detail where and how Aristotle, Virgil, and Confucius were born and brought up, but we do not know what happened to our Savior!.. Meanwhile, even one remembrance of the Birth of the Savior, if only it occurs in the proper way, will necessarily lead to many things that are truly saving. For, judge for yourself, is it possible to remember the manger and poverty of the Savior and not be ashamed of our luxury, our decorations, which consume the labor and sweat of our helpers? Is it possible to remember the humility of the Divine Childhood, and not shudder from our pride, arrogance and vanity, for which we often have no limits? Is it possible to remember the flight to Egypt from the cruel Herod, and not feel new courage to endure the injustices of the world? The sons of Israel, sitting on the rivers of Babylon, once found every incentive to live holy among the pagans when they remembered their Zion (Ps. 136:1): will not a Christian find incentives to a pure and holy life, remembering his Savior? So, whoever thinks to limit himself on the coming holiday to one memory of the Nativity of Christ, limit yourself, if you can, to the limits of memory (it will not be the first time that the Child of Bethlehem will rest in a small space); but having yielded this little thing to Him, give all freedom over it: let your memory be entirely occupied with Him and His humility, and you will see how it itself cannot contain Him, transfers it to the mind, then to the heart, and how your whole soul turns to the church of Bethlehem. But, brethren, I would leave you and myself in error if I admitted that the festivities in honor of our Lord consist of a mere remembrance of the events that followed Him. No matter how necessary and no matter how fruitful such a memory may be, it is only the beginning of the matter, just preparation for the celebration. The true celebration of every feast of Christ must consist of a real repetition over us of what happened to our Savior. Now is not the time to explain this great truth in detail and show exactly how our Savior can and must be spiritually conceived in us, born, baptized, transfigured, die for us and rise in us and for us. If the Lord wills, we will talk about each of these subjects in due time. Now, in accordance with our goal, it is enough to point out in the Holy Scriptures those places from which it is indisputably clear that Jesus Christ must be born not in Bethlehem alone, but in our hearts. This, firstly, He promises Himself when He says: “Whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father... and I will come to him and make my abode with him” (John 14:21, 23). His holy apostles testified to the same truth many times and in various ways. So, Paul, wanting his Ephesian disciples to become true Christians, prays for this God that Jesus Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith (Eph. 3:17). He was similarly distressed about the Galatian Christians, “until Christ is imagined in them” (Gal. 4:19). And about himself, as an example and model that should be imitated, he said that “he does not live for this, but Christ lives in him” (Gal. 2:20). After this, to doubt the actual dwelling of the Savior in our hearts would mean to doubt the Gospel and faith itself. If so, then judge for yourself, brothers, what kind of preparation we need for the upcoming holiday. And can it be considered too early or great? – Ah, the King of Heaven is coming to us from the throne of glory, from the bosom of the Father, and we will count on not to take an extra step to meet Him! He wants to come and dwell in us, control us and take us to Himself forever; and we will limit ourselves to remembering Him, or just worshiping Him, as we do when meeting some great acquaintance? - No, brothers, that is not why our Lord and Savior came to earth; such a union with Him will not take us to heaven. To do this, we must unite with Him with our whole being, we must allow Him to dwell in our mind and heart, we must begin to live His most holy life. He accepted our flesh, and we must accept both His Most Holy Flesh and His All-Holy Spirit, accept and preserve forever. Only such a union with our Lord will bring us that peace and that favor, that light and that life that we lost in Adam the first, and are now returning from the face of Adam the Second. So, “get ready to meet your God, O spiritual Israel!” Beautify yourself, smart Bethlehem! Open up, dear Eden! “The Lord is near” (Phil. 4:5), a star above the head, the Virgin and the wise men on the way! Don’t be slow either, you believing soul! “Perhaps this is the last appearance of your Savior on earth in relation to you, and you will no longer see Him in the manger. Amen. Conversation on the Week of the Holy Forefathers Wanting to best prepare us for a worthy celebration of the festivities in honor of the Nativity of Christ, the Holy Church, among other means, uses the holy mention of holy persons. This week in the church circle is therefore called the Week of the Holy Forefathers, and the next one is the Week of the Holy Fathers, because the first is dedicated to the remembrance of the holy forefathers of Christ according to the flesh, and the second to the remembrance of other holy men who lived before the coming of Christ. In both respects, the memory is both very decent and very useful. For when is it more fitting to pay reverent attention to the holy ancestors of Christ according to the flesh, if not before the appearance in the flesh of their great Descendant? When is it more timely to resurrect in memory all the great men of the Old Testament, who lived in hope of the coming of the Redeemer and prepared themselves and all of humanity within themselves to meet Him, if not now, when we ourselves, as it were, await the coming in the flesh of the Lord and are preparing to meet Him worthily? The Old Testament righteous most often, without a doubt, were transferred in thought to our times - grace and truth (John 1:17); and we, at least occasionally, must rearrange ourselves mentally into their state - nature, law and the canopy, in order to thus nourish and support the universal union of faith and love in Christ, Who is One “yesterday and today, and the same, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). And poor dwellings in themselves become capable of receiving great kings when they are decorated with elegant images: so the poor dwelling of our soul will be more favorable for the Visitor of souls and hearts if our imagination and memory are filled and decorated with mental images of God’s holy men. Having come under the roof of our soul, the King of Glory, if on nothing else, then will fix His loving gaze on these images. And perhaps, from this holy memory, even more will happen in some soul: having been filled with the images of holy men and captivated by their splendor, perhaps it will feel a desire to throw out from itself the unclean images of the world that have hitherto occupied it, and will become jealous of the restoration of the image of God in itself. So, instead of any teaching, in this and next weeks, we will engage with you, brethren, in the remembrance of the holy men and women of the Old Testament. The task itself is very easy and pleasant for the spirit; one inconvenience is the short time for memory and the large number of remembered faces. Do you spend a lot of time listening to church teachings? Barely a fortieth part of the day, while sometimes almost entire days and nights are spent at the spectacles. Meanwhile, the number of Old Testament righteous people is so great that the Apostle Paul himself did not have enough time to talk about them in detail (Heb. 11:32). To eliminate this inconvenience, we will divide, firstly, our interview into two parts; now let us remember the holy men, and next week – the holy wives of the Old Testament; secondly, when remembering both of them, we will point out to you primarily the most important ones, and in their lives - to what formed the basis of their virtue and distinguished them from all others; thirdly, we invite you to add your own home reflection to what will be briefly said here. Is it a foreign thing for the listener to think about what is being said to him here? On the contrary, this is your constant duty, from non-fulfillment of which the teachings lose their force and do not have time to take root in the minds. So, brothers, let us unite with common strength and move unanimously towards the goal, which is always the same for all of us - the eternal salvation of our sinful souls. But, before we begin to look at the stars, let us raise our thoughts to the Sun of Truth Himself, Christ the King and our God, and let us pray to Him that He may send His light both into the mind of the preacher and into the hearts of those listening. The first of the forefathers of Christ and the holy men of the Old Testament is Adam, the forefather according to the flesh and of us all. Through him sin and death entered the world; but he also accepted the first promise of life and salvation; he is also the first example of repentance and justification in Christ. But many of us, remembering the sin of our forefather, remember his repentance very poorly. And why do they remember sin? For unholy murmuring about one's fate, for apologizing for one's crimes, and sometimes for pathetic and insane mockery. No, brothers, our common father according to the flesh is not worthy of such a memory. Great was his fall; but if the chosen one of all did not stand the test, then who among us who were not chosen would not fall in his place? Moreover, no matter how great the sin of Adam, after we have been redeemed by the Son of God, it does not harm us. In Christ we have gained much more than we lost in Adam: now, if we perish, it is entirely of ourselves! Adam is the first to give us an example of how to rise from the fall. Once he ate from the forbidden fruit, and spent nine hundred years in tears and repentance! How many times has he wept for us and our sins, while we ourselves, instead of weeping for our sins, often boast about them! Let us lead our lives like repentant Adam - and flaming weapons will not prevent us from entering the paradise that he lost. The second, after Adam, the righteous man of the ancient world is Abel - the first dead man in the human race and the first martyr, and therefore the first heir to the restored paradise. It is extremely regrettable that the first death followed at the hands of the brothers, but it is extremely comforting that the first death was holy, martyrdom. The devil could not rejoice at the dust into which he turned the human body; and the earth, cursed by the deeds of man, joyfully accepted this holy dust as the beginning of its sanctification. The innocent blood of Abel, according to the assurance of the apostle, was transformed into the all-sanctifying Blood of the Son of God (Heb. 11:4). The third wonderful man was Enoch. It is said about him in Scripture that he “walked with God” (Gen. 5:22, according to the Hebrew original); that is, constantly engaged in the thought of God, he approached God to the point that he entered into some kind of special, constant communication with God, similar, perhaps, to that in which the first man was from time to time in paradise before the fall. Thus, Enoch, outside of paradise, through repentance and faith, achieved what was lost in paradise through frivolity and disobedience. Since this righteous man thought very little about everything present and earthly, then, as if in return for this, the future was revealed to him, the most distant and in extraordinary fullness. According to the testimony of the Apostle Jude, Enoch clearly foresaw even the end of the great struggle between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the Woman - the glorious coming of the Lord to judgment with ten thousand angels (Jude 1:15). Walking in this way always with God, Enoch imperceptibly crossed the line separating the temporal from the eternal, and went so far that it was no longer possible to return back to this life. As a result of this, according to the testimony of Scripture, he was translated in the flesh into heaven (Gen. 5:24). An event that showed the whole world that the terrible definition of God: “you are earth, and you will go back to earth” (Gen. 3:19), is no longer a definition that cannot be canceled for anyone; that for the mortal descendants of Adam there is another definition - love, by virtue of which the worthy of them have the right to say to death itself: “where is your sting”? And to hell itself: “where is your victory”? (Hos. 13:14; 1 Cor. 15:55). The last, especially noteworthy, righteous man of the first world and the first righteous man of the second world is Noah. He received the lot to be a preacher of truth for his contemporaries who were mired in wickedness, and for one hundred and twenty years he preached to an obstinate and sinful generation; did not see the fruit of preaching, but he preached, for it was his duty. Noah showed the same constancy and patience in the construction of the ark. When all his contemporaries were “eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” (Matthew 24:37–38), without thinking about the future, Noah was building the ark! Probably, many mocked the work of the righteous man, considering him buiim (stupid), but he built the ark! But the time came when everyone began to cry, many began to curse the birthday, and Noah was serene in his ark. This is how the life of the righteous and the life of peace-loving people always ends: great disasters and especially death fully demonstrate what the difference is between them, and what both mean to God. But a wonderful thing: amid the global flood, Noah was unharmed, saving the whole world in his ark and in his person, but on dry land he almost got drowned himself! I mean the well-known accident with the intemperance of a righteous man, which gave reason to Noah’s son, Ham, not to show respect to his sleeping father, and brought upon the father the bitter necessity of pronouncing a curse on his son (Gen. 9:20-27). So we need spiritual vigilance over ourselves and for those who have already stood at the height of Ararat! From Noah to Abraham it is impossible to pass by the silence of Eber, from whom the Jewish people received their name. During his time, the Babylonian pandemonium occurred - the fruit of proud plans, for which the builders were subjected to a confusion of languages, and the human race, hitherto united, was divided into different nations. All turned aside “with the same mind in wickedness” (Wis. 10:5), and went to build a pillar; but Eber and his tribe remained at home, and thus earned all his descendants the special mercy of God. An instructive example of how much a good ancestor means, and how good it is sometimes not to do what everyone does and approves of! But, with the spread of idolatry across the entire earth, piety almost became scarce in the very tribe of Eber; it was necessary to illuminate the darkness, and in the firmament of the Church a bright luminary of faith appeared - Abraham. The Apostle Paul himself did not spare praise when he spoke about the faith of Abraham, and called him “the father of those who believe!” (Rom. 4:11). The greatest title, but well deserved! In Abraham's life, faith is everywhere and everything: he is commanded to leave his home, his native country and go to a land completely unknown to him - he goes! They command to offer up his only begotten son, in whom he lifts up all his hopes, even all the promises of God. If Abraham had been commanded to go to hell himself, he would have gone to hell without thinking. The will of God was everything for Abraham, but his own will meant nothing. The future was everything for him, but the present was nothing! Take note of this, believing souls: this is your father! As is the root, so are the branches. Isaac is an example of filial obedience to sacrificial death, Jacob is an example of brotherly kindness and patience; but Joseph is the most kind of all. In his life, sold by his own brothers, suffering for truth and purity of conscience, but then crowned with glory, becoming the savior of Egypt and his very brothers - in this wonderful life the image of that humiliation and that glorification of our Lord, by which the whole world was saved, was clearly reflected. From what side did the shameless wife attack the young warrior? But a chaste mind knew how to keep the body chaste. “How can I create this evil verb and sin before God?” - said the tempted righteous man (Gen. 39:9), and in the middle of the cave he was unburnt! Also very touching and instructive are the words of Joseph to his brothers when, after the death of their father, fearing his vengeance, they asked for his mercy. “Do not be afraid,” answered Joseph, “for I am God’s: you have an evil plan against me, but God has a good plan for me and for you, so that... many people may feed” (Gen. 50:19-20). When remembering suffering and generosity, the thought of Job naturally comes to mind, who, however, probably lived not long after these times. The devil had a lot of trouble with him; all the arrows of hell are exhausted, the earth and heaven are moved; but Job remained unshakable in his trust in Providence. “The Lord is given, the Lord is taken away... blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21), he said, sitting on a rotten spot; and the rot was the throne of a king to him who spoke thus. His friends inspired him with something else, his wife even worse: “say a certain word to the Lord and die” (Job 2:9). But the righteous man did not listen to either his friends or his wife, firmly believing that in heaven there is a “witness” of him, or rather of them, that “he is eternally present to redeem him and ... to resurrect his skin that suffers this” (Job 19:25–26). And she was resurrected! The righteous saw the good of the Lord while still on the land of the living; The Lord “bless the last Job more than the first” (Job 42:12); and the Holy Church honored his memory by proclaiming Job’s sufferings to this day for our edification on the days dedicated to the remembrance of the sufferings of Christ. Job concludes the patriarchal times, the times of natural law and frequent epiphanies; after that the Church was concentrated in the Jewish people under the Law of Moses. What is noteworthy here is, firstly, Moses himself, “the god of Pharaoh” (Ex. 7:1), the leader of the Jews, prophet, legislator and miracle worker, who was in charge of everything, but left nothing to his children except his name and deeds. His faith in the invisible and Divine was so great that he would rather agree to “suffer with the people of God in the wilderness all his life, rather than be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and have the temporary sweetness of sin” (Heb. 11:24–25). And Moses’ love for his neighbors and his people was so ardent that one day, when the Lord in anger wanted to destroy the Jewish people and erect a new one for Himself - from Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord and asked to blot out his own name from the book of life, if only the people he led would remain alive (Exodus 32:10, 32). For such faith and love, the Lord brought Moses closer to Himself in a way that He did not bring any of the prophets closer, talked with him as “with a friend, face to face” (Num. 12:6-8), showed him His glory in a special way, which is why the face of Moses himself shone with such a light that it was impossible to look at him. But who could have expected after this? - and this luminous friend of God, who was later honored to be a participant in the glory of the Savior Himself on Tabor, and he could not lead the people of God into the promised land, had to die outside it - in the desert!.. For what is such deprivation? - Because during the miraculous production of water from the stone, Moses spoke to the people with Aaron in the language of doubt: “We will hardly bring water out of this stone for you,” and “struck the stone with a rod” not once, but “twice” (Num. 20:10–12). The Lord considered this a disparagement of His Name, and Moses did not enter Canaan! Give yourself up after this doubt, you who do not want to follow the royal path of faith: the stone is before you, but Canaan is behind you; you will not live in the land of promise; it belongs to those who believe without seeing (John 20:29). Moses is an obvious witness of how much is demanded from those to whom much is given. The Lord our God is “a jealous God!” . (Ex. 20:5). “Phinhas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron” at the same time serves as an example of how the Lord glorifies those who glorify Him. He dared to stand for the law when the very princes of Israel were servile to lawlessness, and he struck down the crime publicly, when others did not dare to speak against him (Num. 25:7-13). For this feat, the zealot was granted by God Himself the right of hereditary high priesthood, and the name of Phinehas became the name of all true zealots according to the glory of the God of Israel. “The successor of Moses in prophecy” (Sir. 46:1) was Joshua. Before him the Jordan dried up and the walls of Jericho fell; at his voice, “the sun stood still straight to Gibeon” (Josh. 10:12), “and one day became like two” (Sir. 46:5), he alone with Caleb, of all those who came out of Egypt, entered the promised land and led the people of Israel there. This great advantage is deserved by faith and fidelity. When all the spies of the Promised Land returned with horror from the giants who lived there and confused the people, Jesus and Caleb showed in themselves and instilled in others only the fear of God, convincing each and every one without any doubt to go where God commands. For this very reason they alone crossed the Jordan, “so that all the sons of Israel may see, as Sirach puts it, that it is good to follow the Lord” (Sir. 46:10–13). The times of the judges of Israel were glorious with many great men; Let's point out two: Gideon and Sampson. The people presented the royal crown to Gideon for his victory over countless enemies: what gift is more attractive than this to the human heart? But the hero of faith had another, better crown before his intelligent eyes; “I will not prevail over you,” he answered, “and neither will my son prevail over you: let the Lord rule over you” (Judges 8:23). This is not what the heroes of the world do! Today they have a liberator of the fatherland, and tomorrow an oppressor of the freedom of the same fatherland; They work countless miracles of courage, but they cannot create one miracle - self-sacrifice, they cannot because it is not produced by intelligence and wisdom, not by strength and despair, but by faith and holy hope. Sampson is famous for his strength of body and weakness of spirit. How hard it is to see the conqueror of the Philistines in the bonds of Delilah! Blindness and slavery of the spirit inevitably follow the dominion of sensuality; but repentance and prayer correct the most severe falls. The repentant Sampson struck more enemies with his death than he had struck during his life (Judges 16:30). The series of judges was concluded by Samuel, a prophet from his youth, who anointed the Jews as king, first Saul, and then David. What is especially instructive from his life is his farewell to the people, upon relinquishing the title of judge. “Report to us,” he said to all the people, “from whom you took food, a bullock, or a donkey, or from whom you took violence, or from whom you oppressed, or from the hand of someone you took a bribe... inform me, and I will return it to you. And speaking to Samuel,” the holy historian testifies, “all the people: Thou hast not offended us, Thou hast violated us, Thou hast oppressed us, Thou hast taken anything from anyone’s hand” (1 Samuel 12:3-4). You yourself feel, brethren, how good it would be in the world if every judge and ruler could finish his career the way “beloved by his Lord Samuel” ended it! (Sir. 46:16). Of the pious kings of Israel, there is one instead of all - David. But I don't know how to describe it to you briefly. There is a whole paradise of virtues in David. You yourself constantly hear in church the red songs of this most beautiful of kings: tell me, what pure and sublime thought, what good feeling, what incentives for patience, what consolations are not in these songs? Judge after this, what spiritual wealth was in the very heart of David? But sometimes thorns appeared in this paradise! The fall of David was terrible: but the righteous, “even if he falls, he will not be broken” (Ps. 36:24). David rose higher than when he fell. Even now, I think, the devil shudders every time he hears David’s prayer of repentance: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity!” (Ps. 50) The Church often repeats this prayer, but those of us who need David’s repentance should repeat it even more often. After David, brothers, you would probably like to hear something about Solomon. And I would like to joyfully remember in front of the students of wisdom about the wisest of kings, whose songs, proverbs, parables and legends (Sir. 47:19) surprised entire countries and peoples. But, alas, wisdom did not protect him who was not “faithful to her unto death!” (Rev. 2:10). He who knew everything, “from cedar... to hyssop” (1 Kings 4:33), forgot the God of his fathers! Let us know how strong the inclination towards sensuality is in fallen man, when they do not take measures against it in time, and do not fight against it to the point of blood; and how weak is our poor mind when it leaves the limits of faith and fear of God and begins to philosophize “according to the elements of the world” (Col. 2:8). The times of the kings of Israel were also times of vice: the wickedness of some encouraged and aggravated the jealousy of others. Great is the face of the prophets, divine are the visions, wonderful are the deeds and life! Who was not surprised and in awe when hearing the exploits of Elijah? It is not for nothing that he is depicted with a sword; Elijah's whole life was a sword for wickedness, and the word "like a light" was burning (Sir. 48:1). Persecuting and persecuted: persecuting idols and persecuted by idolaters - he finally could not find a place on earth for himself and was taken to heaven by a fiery whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). This wondrous fire opened from heaven; but its first and main source was in the heart of Elijah, which for so long and strongly was flaming with holy zeal for the glory of the God of Israel. No less wonderful is Elisha, who dared to ask and was able to accommodate a special gift even against the one who lived in Elijah (2 Kings 2:9). Elisha's numerous miracles show that among the people of God, like God Himself, “no word fails” (Gen. 18:14). Elisha was not taken into heaven, like Elijah (for what would happen to the earth if it were deprived of the holy dust of all the righteous?), but in the womb of the earth he showed himself to be heavenly, reviving the dead with his bones (2 Kings 13:21). The life of the prophets who left us their writings is less known: but their lips no less testify to the greatness of the spirit that rested on them. What is clearer and greater than the predictions of Isaiah? This is the evangelist of the Old Testament. While pronouncing his prophecies, he seemed to stand in spirit at the very manger and the Cross. You will hear it more than once during the upcoming holidays. Jeremiah has as many tears and sighs as he has words. This is a prophet of repentance. Whoever wants to arouse in himself sorrow for God should read his lament over the ruins of Jerusalem, which represents every sinful soul. Ezekiel is full of symbols. Some of them are so clear and striking that even a reasonable youth sees the meaning and power of the prophecy, despite its depth; and some are so significant and mysterious that they can only be fully understood by the Angels. A wondrous prophecy was taken from Ezekiel, read on Holy Saturday at Matins, where, under the image of the revival of dry bones in the field, the resurrection of the dead is predicted (Ezek. 37:1-28). Daniel also has many symbols, who in his weeks predicted the very time of the appearance of the Messiah (Dan. 9:24–27). But it is not visions and symbols that should stop us in this “man of desires” (Dan. 10:11), but the rare circumstance that he was not only a great prophet and wonderworker, but at the same time the head of all the sages of Babylon, a courtier and ruler of the regions. How was he able to combine such diverse positions? Because he always gave his own to everyone: God’s to God’s, Caesar’s to Caesar’s. Was it necessary to reassure the king by explaining the prophetic dream, seen but forgotten, - Daniel put aside sleep and food in order to ask God for the revelation of the secret (Dan. 2:18). Whether it was necessary to stand up for the honor of the True God Himself, against the foolish command of the Tsar, Daniel put aside all the royal affection and all honors, the very love of life out of love for the truth. Witnesses are the lions to whom Daniel was thrown as food because he did not want to give up his usual prayer for a few days (only a few days!) (Dan. 14:31). Remembering Daniel, one cannot forget the three youths of Babylon, his colleagues in government labors, and even more so in faith. These youths are very well known to everyone because of their zeal for the glory of the God of Israel, for which they were thrown into the fiery furnace, and because of the miracle by which they were saved from death. But few of us know and remember the miraculously beneficial effect that fasting had on these youths; and the memory of this is most necessary for our times, when almost universal disdain prevails in relation to the posts of the Church. This is not how the holy youths thought and acted. Not wanting to break the law of their fathers regarding food, they, despite their captivity, refused the luxurious dishes that they wanted to feed them at the court of the king of Babylon. Their commander was afraid that, as a result of this, their faces before the king would not turn out to be “dull” and would bring execution on him. But after ten days of experience, “their faces appeared to be good and stronger in flesh than the youths who eat from the king’s table” (Dan. 1:15). That is, fasting had an effect completely opposite to what peace lovers are so afraid of! He even produced what they are most looking for! Luxury, on the contrary, relaxes the spirit, and of necessity, sooner or later, takes away the vitality of the body itself and shortens life, as countless examples show. Upon returning from captivity in Babylon, Nehemiah and Ezra were special instruments of God’s Providence for the Church, both examples of true love for the Fatherland. You cannot love your people and country more than they loved; their body was in Babylon, and their spirit was instilled in the ruins of Jerusalem. “For the sake of your face, it’s sad to eat, but bear it with illness?” – the king of Persia once asked Nehemiah. “Why should I not grieve my countenance,” answered Nehemiah, “for the city, the house of my father’s tombs, is desolate, and its gates are burnt with fire” (Neh. 2:2-3). The consequence of these words was the return of many Jews from captivity and the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem. Ezra, besides similar zeal for Jerusalem and besides good deeds to his fellow tribesmen, whom he cleansed, among other things, from the admixture of paganism (1 Ezra 10:10-18), is worthy of eternal, worldwide memory for the fact that he collected the sacred books of the Old Testament scattered by captivity and brought them to their present form. After the time of Ezra until the coming of Christ, the Jews no longer had prophets in the proper sense of the word, but from time to time wondrous and holy men continued to appear. Such are the Maccabees, who saved the Fatherland from the yoke of Antiochus and restored the worship of the True God. The exploits of the Maccabees fill two books that bear their name; and Christian heroes do not need the best examples of love for the Fatherland and courage against enemies. Such is Eleazar, a ninety-year-old old man, “one of the leading scribes.” The tormentors begged him, at least, to “pretend to eat meat like the food ordered by the king, but contrary to the law of Moses: so that by doing this he will be delivered from death” (2 Mac. 6:18, 21–22); but the godly elder did not want to redeem, or even more so desecrate, his last days with pretense, and instead of the criminal food he tasted martyrdom. Such, finally, are Zechariah, the father of the Forerunner, the righteous Joseph, to whom the Holy Virgin was betrothed, and Simeon the God-Receiver. But these men, being often mentioned in the Gospel, are very well known to all of us and, one might say, preach for themselves and call for imitation of their virtues. It is time to put an end to the memory and the word, and to come out of the “cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1). Thus, the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews names the host of holy men of the Old Testament; and I don’t know how better and more clearly one could express their moral attitude towards us. Truly, these are faithful, incorruptible, incessant witnesses, witnesses for us or against us! Do you want to know what they testify to? That everything visible and present is temporary and insignificant, but what is eternal and decisively important for all of us is the invisible and future; that those who seek the city above must live as strangers and strangers to the earth, not according to the customs of this age, but according to the spirit and requirements of this age; that every true believer must prepare his soul for temptation and be faithful and courageous until death; finally, that the salvation of each and every one lies in none other than the promised Savior of the world. All the righteous people of the Old Testament testify to this, testify both in word and especially in life. But, my brethren, how many of us accept this testimony (John 5:31–34) and heed it? How many people even know about it? The face of the Old Testament righteous appears twice every year in church services before the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, but it is noticed only by altar servers, and perhaps by a small number of zealous church visitors. For everyone else, this Divine “cloud of witnesses” appears and is hidden in the same way as fleeting clouds in the air. So little do we conform to the care of the Church of God for our salvation! She invents different means for this, annually presents them before our eyes, but we don’t even think about them! “It is not proper,” we will say in the words of the apostle, “it is not proper, my beloved brother, for such things to happen!” (James 3:10). The Church annually devotes the last two weeks before the Feast of the Nativity to the remembrance of the holy men of the Old Testament; we should do the same. Two weeks is enough time to study, not just remember, their lives. Some cannot read the Holy Scriptures themselves: let those who can do so - both for themselves and for others. This will be instead of gold and frankincense for the Lord coming from heaven. If only there was a good desire to correspond to the intention of the Church, and behind the desire a good deed will not be slow to appear. When we want to know about any of the things of life, we will always find out; Why shouldn’t the same be true for spiritual things? Amen. Conversation on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers Our time is distinguished, by the way, by a great tendency to occupy itself with the past, so that the poorest stories about it find a wide circle of readers. The inclination in itself is commendable, and can serve as a basis for many things that are truly good and useful. For the past, well understood, contains many lessons for the present. Only, unfortunately, this inclination - to occupy ourselves with the past - revolves for the most part around objects that are clearly harmful to the mind and heart. Those, on the contrary, objects from the region of the past, which are always more capable in their essence of enlightening the mind and nourishing the soul, continue to remain almost in complete oblivion. When I say this, I mean Sacred History. Does she get a lot of attention? How often do we engage with its holy persons and events? The very spread of enlightenment among all classes does not save us from pitiful ignorance in this regard. Many can retell in detail how Rome was founded, who reigned in Egypt or Babylon and when; and ask them: how was the Church of Christ founded on earth, who worked more than others for the Kingdom of God? And they will respond - with silence! Thus, from this side we are not doing a useless thing when, in accordance with the instructions of the Church, we are engaged in the remembrance of the holy persons of the Old Testament. Perhaps through this some of us will learn how our Sacred History is rich in great people and great deeds of all kinds, and having learned this, they will feel the desire to become more closely acquainted with these persons, and with the Divine Book that contains their history. Now, in accordance with our promise, we must bring to mind the lives and deeds of the holy women of the Old Testament, so that the wives also have their own examples of virtues. Moreover, we would like, by the example of the holy wives of the Old Testament, to instill in the wives of the New especially that important and beneficial thought that a wife can be the cause of salvation not only for herself, but for many; and she can do all this without ever leaving her circle, in which she was placed by the hand of the all-wise Creator. This thought, although it may seem inconvenient to some at first glance, comes to mind by itself when looking at the first and last wife of the Old Testament. For who is first and who is last? The first is Eve, the last is Mary. Eve, listening to the serpent, gave birth to sin and death; Mary, heeding the voice of the Archangel, gave birth to truth and immortality. The curse comes from the wife, and the blessing comes from the woman! Isn't this a clear indication of what a wife can and should be? Perhaps, and most often it is, a reason for sin, a source of temptation, the cause of sorrow and disaster. But she should and can, if she wants, be a guardian of her own and others’ innocence, a disseminator of holy morals, peace and prosperity. How did Eve give birth to sin and death? Inappropriate curiosity and gullibility, attachment to the beautiful appearance of the forbidden fruit, the desire to act without a husband and lead him himself. Aren't these the same vices, brothers, which even today most possess the female sex and through it harm humanity the most? Sensuality already has a strong effect in a fallen man, and when a wife makes seducing her main business, then sensuality becomes indomitable. Hence how much sin! How many lost paradises of innocence! Mutual relationships between people are already subject to many perplexities, encounters and struggles; but they become completely confused, turning into an inexhaustible source of strife and enmity, when wives also interfere in the affairs of their husbands and want to dominate their behavior and relationships. Hence, how much evil, broken ties, changes in the order of affairs, even social disasters! What makes a wife leave her circle like Eve? The desire to exert as much influence as possible, to give the greatest exercise to one’s activities and talents. But all this, as we said, can best be achieved by a wife without leaving her circle. An example of this is Maria. Which of the wives was more modest than Her, more unknown to the world in her time? What was closer than Her circle of personal activity? And yet Mary became a source of blessing for all mankind. How? Because for Her humility, purity, and devotion to Providence she was honored to give birth and raise the Savior of the world. - Here is a sample for wives! The birth and upbringing of children in the fear of God is a means by which every wife can act to save not only herself, but also others - entire families and societies. And, firstly, by birth. A truly Christian wife has more than one carnal act: she does not conceive from flesh and blood alone. For this reason, for Christians, marriage is a Sacrament; For this reason, spouses at the wedding receive the grace of sanctification. Children born in the fear of God are holy and bring blessings to the world. The second, innumerable in its fruits, means for mothers to act for the good of humanity is the Christian upbringing of children. For a long time, the mother makes up the whole world for the baby: in her eyes he sees for the first time heaven or hell, the Heavenly Father or the spirits of evil. There is only so much a mother can tell her baby, but that little will last a lifetime. Her language consists more of actions than words, but it is all the more intelligible and unforgettable. The image of the pious mother remains for some the last shrine, when all that is holy is lost, and still protects them from the final descent into the abyss of wickedness or despair. You will not condemn me, brothers, for this preliminary reflection, knowing how necessary and important the subject I was talking about is now. Let us now turn closer to our case. So, Eve, following the suggestion of the serpent, was the first culprit of disasters for the human race. This is a deplorable event, which should serve as a source of constant humility for all wives. However, the fall of Eve was so richly rewarded by the piety and exploits of Mary that the male sex has no right in this regard to complain about the female sex. Rewarded by the repentance of Eve herself. It is not for nothing that after the fall she was called the mother of “all living” (Gen. 3:20). The spread of carnal life through her to all offspring would not have forced Adam to call her by this high name. Without a doubt, the mother of all living set an example for all living not only in the flesh, but also in the spirit. Wasn’t Abel the fruit of her repentance? The diseases of childbirth, inherited from Eve to all wives, should, with each renewal, bring to their memory the origin of sin and disasters and the righteous judgment of God on sinners; and this should dispose them to endure these diseases most complacently, as punishment from the hand of God. What God Himself imposes cannot be harmful, no matter how sad and difficult it may be. This is a cleansing sacrifice for sin! And as long as a wife endures the illnesses of childbirth in the spirit of faith, repentance and humility, then she thereby covers the multitude of sins of both herself and her husband. After Eve, the Holy Scriptures do not mention by name any holy woman until Sarah, Abraham's wife. This, however, does not mean that there were no holy women for so long. The wives of the great patriarchs, for example Noah, could not be sinful wives. The mothers of great saints, for example Abraham, were, without a doubt, themselves distinguished by their purity. But Holy Scripture is silent about the holy women of this time, probably because they did not directly participate in the fate of the Church, like those who followed. The first of these is Sarah, the wife of Abraham. As the wife of the father of believers, she shared with him all the misfortunes with which God tested, purified and strengthened his faith, and in all cases showed herself worthy of the great lot, showing how the wife of a great and holy husband should behave. Chance twice tore Sarah away from her husband, and she was in danger of becoming the wife of the king of Egypt (Gen. 12:15), then of Gerar (Gen. 20:2); but every time she returned the same as she was taken. Subjected to Hagar's unforeseen rivalry, Sarah emerged victorious without stepping out of the rights of a wife subject to her husband. She was also tempted by the thing from which the sensitivity of a wife suffers the most - infertility, but she knew how to overcome it with the power of faith, showing in this case by her example that wives, in addition to the sensual, indecisive and unfaithful, have a spiritual, surest means of overcoming the infirmities of nature: faith and prayer. No less remarkable about Sarah is her modesty and obedience to her husband. The Lord himself called her Sarah instead of Sarah, that is, the mistress of the multitude, as a sign that kings and nations would come from her (Gen. 17:15–16). There were many other reasons for exalting oneself. But Sarah remained the submissive wife of Abraham, “who called him lord” (1 Pet. 3:6), as the apostle notes. The remark is very necessary for those wives who, being distinguished by some special qualities, or having done something very useful in the family circle, or having entered into some favorable connections, then as a result of this lose respect for their husband, do not know any measures for their influence, and put themselves as the head of the house, which, according to the Apostle, should always be the husband (Eph. 5:23). Such a wife, no matter how reasonable she may seem to herself and others, and no matter how successful she apparently is in her affairs, will not be “the mistress of the multitude,” will not create lasting happiness for her home and family: for “The Lord resists the proud!” (James 4:6). Like Sarah, and an even more obvious feat in resolving infertility through faith and prayer, Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel, performed later, during the time of the judges. That Samuel was the son of her prayers, the Sacred History directly speaks of this (1 Samuel 1:17); but we will not sin against this History if we say that her prayers were the reason that this son was not anyone else, but Samuel! You only need to read in the book of Kings how this holy wife prayed for the resolution of her barrenness, and you immediately see that such extraordinary prayers and fruit could not be ordinary (1 Samuel 1:10-16). But let's not get ahead of the order of times. Sarah's daughter-in-law, Isaac's wife, Rebekah, is marvelous in her attention to the ways of Providence regarding the fate of her children. Carrying two twins in her womb, she felt their struggle within herself - and through revelation she learned that two ancestors would come from her, of whom the larger would work for the smaller. Obedient to the heavenly instructions, the holy wife did not stop there. Seeing confirmation of it in the character of the children, she, with prudent cunning, corrected her husband’s mistake and, despite his predilection for the eldest son, knew how to bring the blessing of the birthright to the younger, worthy one. The act in its direct meaning is inconvenient for our morals, for we do not have a patriarchal blessing for the firstborn, but in its spirit it is very instructive for mothers. Who doesn’t know how to recognize in advance the natural inclinations, and at the same time the natural purpose of children? The fate of families and entire generations often depends on this. But no one can do this better than a mother. Her job, therefore, is to monitor the children’s properties; It is her job to direct, when necessary, following the example of Rebekah, the will of the father regarding the destiny of the children to one or another type of life and occupation. Mothers in this regard can be interpreters of the ways of Providence. Only this important work should be carried out by mothers not out of their own bias, not out of a desire to rule the house and control the fate of the children, but, like Rebekah, in the spirit of faith and pure love for children: otherwise it is better to leave all this work to the father alone. In Sarah, Anna, and Rebecca, more family virtues are visible, although they also had an influence on distant posterity, even on the fate of the Church itself. Do you want, brethren, to see wives acting in the circle of social life, where they are sometimes introduced by God Himself to show that in His right hand even a weak wife becomes stronger than her husband? An example of such wives in the time of Moses was his sister Miriam, in the time of the judges - Deborah, in the time of the kings of Israel - Huldah and Judith. Miriam led the Israeli women as they sang a song of thanksgiving to God for the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. “And Mariam the prophetess,” as it is written in the book of Exodus, “took the tympanum in her hand, and all the women came out after her from the tympanum and faces: and Mariam went before them, saying: Let us drink unto the Lord, for gloriously shall we be glorified!” (Ex. 15:20–21). Thus, the wonderful gift that adorns many of today's wives - singing and playing instruments - Moses' sister knew how to use for the most wonderful work of glorifying the name of God throughout the people! What prevents wives from using - in their circle - this gift in a similar way today? Did our Fatherland see less of the blessings of God than the ancient Israelites? Will there be less food for the soul and feelings, for friendly gatherings of inspiration, if instead of soulless and soulless songs that lead to passion and singing and listening, the subject of home singing and playing on instruments becomes spiritual hymns, the glorification of the miracles and blessings of God? I know that speaking in this way will seem strange to some; but let them delve deeper into the matter themselves - and see how the fine arts have deviated far from our true goal, and what harm this does for morality, even for the arts themselves, for true art, like true knowledge, lives and is nourished not by earth, but by heaven. Probably, Miriam helped Moses in more than one capacity over wives in public meetings, for Scripture calls her a prophetess (Ex. 15:20). Despite this, Providence showed in Mariam that as a wife, and in the rank of prophetess, she should not step out from her circle and delight those who do not belong to herself. One day, Miriam, together with her brother Aaron, dared to speak against Moses, arguing against his rights to special honor before the people (Numbers 12:1–16). Apparently the offense was not great, for it came more from a misunderstanding than from anger, moreover, it was common to the sister and brother, but Aaron, who preceded the trial with repentance, instead of punishment received one strict reproach, and Mariam, who was slow to repent, fell into a terrible seven-day leprosy. Let those, however, good women not forget this, who, having participated in some special way in the organization of the good of the Church, then dare to acquire for themselves the right to determine its fate, and in the event of a disagreement between their opinions and the course of affairs, they allow themselves to speak, like Miriam, against the very Moses. Such self-forgetfulness and encroachment in themselves are already a sign of spiritual impurity and leprosy, from which one must be cleansed by strict repentance. Do and work for the Church, but do not think of dominating the house of God, which has its own God-given guardians. Devorah was destined from above to be the judge and mother (Judges 5:7) of all Israel; and she faithfully fulfilled her great destiny. But the wife’s humility and modesty did not leave Devora even in the rank of ruler of the people. Seeing in Varak the ability to be a defender of the Fatherland, she immediately wanted to place the burden of the people's power on him; only his cowardice forced his modest wife to go out with him to the battlefield. The majestic song sung by Devora after the victory still testifies to how far she was from earthly pride amid earthly greatness (Judges 5:1–32). The third of the Old Testament wives who acted in the social circle is Olda, or Oldana. She provides a striking example of how a wife, despite the weakness of her sex, can concentrate in herself everything that is best in the whole Fatherland, and serve as a mediator between earth and heaven (2 Chronicles 34:22–28). Devorah was like this when Israel had neither king nor judge; and Huldah lived at a time when Israel had a king and, moreover, Josiah, there was a high priest, and, moreover, Hilkiah (2 Kings 22:8); and yet both this king and this high priest went to Olda for the revelation of the will of God! So with our God, in this regard, there is no acceptance of persons: whoever is holier, whether husband or wife, is closer to Him. The will of God, which Olda had to proclaim, was unpleasant; but the wondrous wife fearlessly announced it to both the king and the high priest. As for Judith, her greatness is so extraordinary that she should rather be mentioned for surprise than for imitation. Having decided to use her bodily beauty to defend her native city, Judith stretched self-sacrifice to the utmost limits, so that one line separated her from the danger of sin. Guided by faith, she knew how to pass unharmed over the abyss and, without harming herself, save the Fatherland; but ordinary virtue could in this case fall a hundred times on its own. That is why I call the heroism of Judith worthy of surprise rather than imitation. Whoever wants to become more familiar with this extraordinary wife and her unparalleled deed, let him read the very book that bears her name: there he will see, among other things, with what joy Judith hurried into her peaceful home circle immediately after the end of her extraordinary feat, and how little her physical beauty mattered after she saved the Fatherland (Judith. 16:22). Of the private wives, from Moses to the captivity of Babylon, Ruth, the foremother of David, and the widow of Sarepta, with whom Elijah the prophet lived, deserve primary attention. In all of world history it is difficult to find an example of family love more touching than the one represented by Ruth. Her mother-in-law Naomi, wishing for the good of her widowed daughter-in-law, wanted her to remain in her tribe and not return with her to Judea, from which famine had driven them out for a while. What about Ruth? “Do not hide from me,” she answered, “whether you leave me or turn to me from you, but where you go, I will go, and where you are, I will be: your people are my people, and your God is my God; and where you die, I will die and there I will be buried” (Ruth 1:16–17). The whole life of Ruth corresponded to such beautiful words and feelings, for which she, from a pagan, was honored to become the foremother of David, and through him, the Savior of the world Himself. The Lord Himself gave testimony about the widow of Zarephath when he said that “many widows were in the days of Elijah in Israel... and to none of them was Elijah sent, only to Zarephath of Sidon to a widow’s wife” (Luke 4:25–26). She deserved great preference, by the way, because, despite her extreme poverty, she had so much faith that she decided to feed the prophet during the famine. For this reason, the arrogance of oil and a handful of wheat flour did not become scarce for her throughout the famine - and what Paul later noticed in himself was already beginning to be fulfilled over her: “like the poor, but the many rich” (2 Cor. 6:10). And now, brothers, about many people it is necessary to say, unfortunately, the opposite: they seem to have everything, but contain nothing (2 Cor. 6:10). These are those “who have the riches of this world, lying in debt, and at the sight of a brother who demands, close their womb” (1 John 3:17), become rich in “themselves, and not in God” (Luke 12:21), thus apparently gain “the whole world”, but lose their soul! (Matthew 16:26). They usually think that they still don’t have enough; They are afraid, while doing good to others, to offend themselves: but they do not remember that “those who give to the poor will not be lacking!” (Prov. 28:27). And the times of the Babylonian captivity, no matter how unhappy they were for the Jews, were, however, adorned not only by great men, but also by holy wives, so that the pagans themselves said: “Who will despise these people who have such wives for themselves!” (Judith. 10:19). Then for the Jew the main virtue was to remain faithful to the God of the fathers in a foreign land. Esther not only saved her, but also sacrificed her life for her. Providence gave her as a wife to Artaxerxes, king of Persia, and he, instigated by the enemies of the Jews, gave the order to kill these people throughout the kingdom. No one knew until then that Esther was a Jew; here there were even more reasons to hide his origin. And it was here that Esther opened it, with obvious danger to her life, just to save her people, and she saved it! The holy boldness of the royal wife moved the royal heart to mercy, and the destruction prepared for the people of God fell on the heads of their enemies, and Esther’s act became the subject of an annual celebration for the entire people of Israel (Esther 9:19–31). Susanna became famous for her courage of a different kind - the fight for her chastity. What is more necessary for wives than sowing virtue? – Without chastity, a wife is “a ruined vessel” (Ps. 30:13). Chastity is the very essence of a wife. Susanna, despite the unclean morals of the pagans among whom she lived, knew this firmly and kept it even more firmly. The seducers put her in extremes - to choose the joys of criminal love, or - death! The young Israeli woman immediately chose death! But the Lord did not allow the one who was ready to give her life for her innocence to lose her life. The entire memory of the Old Testament wives could be concluded with the wonderful memory of the chaste Susanna, if it were not for another person from the time of the Maccabees, whose example is especially needed for the wives of the New Testament. In fact, brethren, it is not enough for Christian wives to have ordinary virtues: loyalty to God, fatherland, spouse, modesty, prudence and purity; From them, as from husbands, as from all followers of Christ, it is also required that when duty demands, they know how to leave everything - spouse, children and the whole world for God. We see an example of this high virtue in the wonderful wife of the times of the Maccabees. The ferocious Antiochus tortured her seven children before her eyes, forcing them to idolatry. What a sight for a mother's heart! Meanwhile, instead of tears or complaints, or loss of feelings, as would have followed with an ordinary mother, she herself “admonished them every time to torment with a fatherly voice” (2 Mac. 7:21). Finally there was only one left. The torturers themselves stopped; the king himself asked her, “let the young man be an adviser for salvation” (2 Mac. 7:25). And the distraught mother promised to advise: what did she advise? “Son,” she exclaimed, “have mercy on me, who carried you in her womb for nine months and nourished you with milk for three years... I pray to you, child, that you may look at heaven and earth, and all that you see in them, and understand that from things that are not, God created this, and the human race is so swift: do not fear this flesh-breaker, but Having been worthy of your brethren, accept death, so that I may receive you in mercy with your brethren” (2 Mac. 7:27-39). After these words, the crown of martyrdom did not hesitate to fall on the head of the son and mother. This precious crown will come and fall on the head of every mother who, where necessary, will be able to renounce, for the sake of God and His Holy Law, carnal love for children. For it is not in the midst of persecution alone that such a sacrifice can be made. It is a rare mother who does not encounter cases where love for children fights with love for God. Let her not prefer the temporary good of children to the eternal, let her be ready to see them better dead in the flesh than dead in spirit - and she will act according to the rite of the wife of Maccabees! Let us now turn to the entire host of holy women of the Old Testament. What do we see in all of them? All of them, in the words of the apostle, firstly, were “testified by...faith” (Heb. 11:2–3); They lived not so much in the flesh as in the spirit, not so much in the visible and present, but in the invisible and future. They loved their spouses, children, and the Fatherland, but the main object of their love was God and the promised Savior of the world. From this heavenly love flowed in them all the great things for which they became famous throughout the world. Secondly, all the holy women were very free from the vain customs of women, adorning themselves, according to the apostle, not with weaving their hair and covering their heads, not with gold and lacing of vestments, but with a meek and silent spirit, the hidden person of the heart (1 Pet. 3:3-4), that is, with the perfections of the heart. Nothing can be more honorable than a wife adorned in this way: she adorns poverty itself. On the contrary, no amount of gold and luxury can cover up a proud and obstinate disposition; no water of precious stones can replace the purity of a chaste look and heart. Thirdly, all holy wives showed deep obedience to their husbands. Sarah herself, as we have seen, “listened to Abraham when he called his master” (1 Pet. 3:6). The husband is the head of the wife, given by God Himself: therefore, to seek headship on earth means for the wife to go contrary to the clear will of God. On earth, I say, for in heaven there is a Woman, more honorable than the Cherubim and more glorious than the Seraphim without comparison. All holy wives loved home shelter. Even those of them who, by the hand of Providence, were persecuted in the field of public action, happily hurried into the family circle when they finished their work. Shall we, brethren, finally reveal to you the last feature with which the Apostle Paul completes the depiction of the character of all the Old Testament saints, both husbands and wives? It consists in the fact that they all died, “not having received the promises to God,” the Apostle adds in explanation, “the best thing I foresaw for us, so that not without us they would receive perfection” (Heb. 11:39–40). When you read this passage in the Apostle, you sometimes don’t know what to think about it. For the best, without any doubt, must belong to the best; and what do we, brothers, mean in comparison with the Old Testament righteous? Are not the best of us like children in comparison with such men as Abraham, Job and others? Therefore, we are hardly given the best not because we are the worst! They are destined to live in the darkness of the canopy and fortune-telling because they themselves “were like lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15), capable of driving away the darkness of their time; but we are placed in the midst of the noon of grace, so that although the abundance of outer light may dispel our inner darkness. But, be that as it may, in appearance, our condition far exceeds that of the Old Testament righteous: the baby now sees what all the patriarchs and prophets wanted to see and did not see. What, brethren, produces in us this abundance of grace-filled light? Do we feel our high privilege of being members of the New Testament Church and do we use it as we should? Do we believe in the Coming One as firmly as they believed in the Coming One? Do we love the Visible One as much as they loved the Invisible One? The Lord has no partiality; to whom much is given, much is required. What will they not demand from us if we, using all the gifts of grace, being born, one might say, and dying at the foot of the manger and the Cross, do not know how to find our salvation in them! The divine “cloud of witnesses,” as the Apostle calls the face of the Old Testament saints, now testifying for us, will not then testify against us? Lot will say: I could maintain purity of morals among Sodom, but they, among fellow believers, under the shadow of the Church and its shepherds, could not remain faithful to the Law of God. Job will say: in the rot and in the wounds I found so much strength in myself to bless the name of the Lord, but they, spending their lives for the most part in silence and peace, did not know how to be devoted to the will of God and not grumble at Providence. Joseph and Susanna will denounce those who have destroyed their chastity; Ruth will testify against young men and young men who are disobedient to their parents. Sarah will stand against wives who are unfaithful to their husbands. Every sinner will find a witness against himself, and every sinner will find her accuser. May the Lord protect us all from such testimony and accusation, through the prayers of these same witnesses and accusers! And for this purpose, may their memory, not just for an hour or a day, but forever, be with us all! Amen. Conversation at the Liturgy on the eve of the Nativity of Christ With all our desire to continue our conversations with you, beloved brethren, we almost fell silent for the entire upcoming holiday. The reason for this was weakness - not physical, but spiritual; and the cause of weakness is the greatness of the triumph, the immensity of the miracles and signs of Bethlehem, the depth and inexplicability of the glorious Mystery of the appearance in the flesh of the Son of God. The more we thought about this Mystery, the less we found ourselves able to depict it in its proper form. The mind was illuminated with light; memory provided prophecy after prophecy, event after event; the imagination was filled with holy images; the heart was inflamed with love for the Eternal Child, resting in a manger; but the word left us, and the lips were sealed; we were only capable of awe and wonder, not conversation. So time passed; and if we could limit ourselves to ourselves, we would want to remain forever in this silent amazement at the wonders and mysteries of eternal love. But then we came across the thought that, despite all our spiritual poverty, we have a sacred duty to share with you, on such occasions, both our thoughts and feelings. From the very manger of Bethlehem, a certain secret voice of admonition seemed to emanate. Servant and proclaimer of the Gospel, although unworthy, - so it seemed to me, I heard - why are you slow to proclaim the glory of your Savior, and want to remain silent when everything is broadcast about Him? If you cannot rise to the gospel of the very Mystery of the Incarnation and follow the star of lofty theology with the wise Magi; then come humbly after the shepherds into the den, to the manger; depict to your listeners what is happening there; repeat aloud what the evangelists preached. It is also sufficient that everyone who hears should revere Him, Who, having left the glory of the Father from all eternity, appears for us with all the infirmities of infancy. And, having become reverent, let him learn, like his Savior, to reject the vain glory of the world, to love simplicity and humility, to lay down his soul for his brethren. Obeying this voice, we come before you, brethren, with one Holy Gospel: in it are our future conversations; here is all our and your teaching. Following with humility and simplicity of spirit the evangelists, let us go where they lead us; we will see what they will show us, hear what they will proclaim, putting together, like the Blessed Virgin, what we have seen and heard in our hearts, that is, turning it for ourselves through reverent reflection into food for the soul and heart. In this way, by itself, as we hope, with the help of God’s grace, an endless spiritual meal will be prepared for the coming holiday days. The soul of light and truth, strength and power, marvelous through which “the Word became flesh!” (John 1:14). Create, so that the flesh will now become a word for us, so that the events of Bethlehem will turn into living lessons of the spirit for us, covered with flesh; Yes, quickened by faith, we will be able to receive within ourselves, into our very hearts, the eternal Word resting in the manger of Bethlehem, and we will become capable of receiving from Him those Divine verbs that He Himself is always ready to extend to our inner man. “The Nativity of Jesus Christ has not yet been born,” this is how Saint Matthew begins the gospel of the birth of the Savior: “betrothed to His Mother Mary Joseph, who was never even dreamed of before, was found in the womb of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). So, the Most Holy Virgin was betrothed at the time when the Only Begotten Son of God deigned to be conceived and born of Her in the flesh. Why was it necessary to engage the One Who did not know and never wanted to know her husband? (Luke 1:34). Then, the holy fathers answer that for the glorious mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, a cover and veil were needed for the time being: for the seedless conception, announced to the Holy Virgin by the Archangel, revealed by the Holy Spirit in part to the righteous Elizabeth, remained unknown to all others. After this, what would have happened to the Holy Virgin if She had turned out to be rich in her womb, without being betrothed to her husband? How would She appear to the Jews if, as we shall see, appear before Her holy Betrothed as if she had been robbed of a marriage? “If this (that is, bearing fruit without a husband) had been obvious to the Jews from the beginning,” St. Chrysostom philosophizes, “then a stone would have been cast on the Virgin, and the Akibs would have condemned the criminal. Even if about others, their instructions were many times in the Old Law, it was clearly lacking in study: then what would they not have said if they had heard this (spermless conception); for having all the past time that contributed to them, nothing else brought them anything. Moreover, according to many signs, His son Joseph was born; then how could they have believed before the signs that he was born of a virgin?” So, in order to provide protection for the Holy Virgin not only from the Jews, but also from the law itself, which threatened to stone a virgin bearing fruit without a husband, the wisdom of God predisposed the circumstances so that the Holy Virgin, at the time of the birth of the Divine Child, was in a state of betrothal. The evangelists do not say how this extraordinary betrothal took place; but Holy Tradition has preserved for us information about this event, so important not only in the life of the Mother of God, but also in the matter of our salvation. Do you want to listen with reverence to what Tradition says? When the Holy Virgin, as the ancient Fathers of the Church relate, after Her introduction into the church reached adulthood, the high priests announced to Her that at Her present age it was no longer possible for Her to remain in the church, and that, following the general custom, She must choose a spouse for herself. But Mary declared decisively that She, dedicated by her parents and having dedicated herself to God, could not belong to any of the people. The high priests were amazed at this vow of virginity, unprecedented in the Old Testament (for at that time, inspired by the blessing of many children and the hope of the birth of the promised Messiah, all the virgins of Israel considered it to be the greatest misfortune to remain forever outside the marital state); but, respecting the holy determination of the Young Lady, whose purity of character and life was completely known to them, they did not dare to force Her to abandon her holy vow. And as holy parents, Mary was no longer alive; then, in order to provide Her with the necessary shelter outside the church, they considered it best to find a person who would decide to take the name of Her husband without taking advantage of his rights. After fervent prayer to God, may He Himself indicate such a husband, the priests, being enlightened by a special sign from above, handed the Most Holy Virgin over to one pious elder from the line of David, named Joseph, who, having become engaged to Her according to the law, took Her with him from the church to Nazareth, where his dwelling was located. - This is how tradition explains the mysterious betrothal of the Blessed Virgin! Judging by this betrothal, the last thing righteous Joseph could have expected was to see the Virgin who had betrothed to him and not being idle. And so, She, however, “found riches in the womb!” You can imagine what must have happened at this time in the soul of the holy elder! – The Holy Church does not exaggerate the matter at all when it says that at this time he was “having a storm of doubtful thoughts.” Perhaps a hundred times he did not believe his eyes; started to think and gave up the thought; turned to earth and sky for a solution to his doubts - and did not find it. Finally, the worrying thought found refuge: but, my God, what refuge? “I thought of the marriage-stolen Yu,” as the Holy Church puts it. Nothing could be more painful than this thought for the pure soul of the holy elder; but there was no other thought. What to do? Where to go? One could ask the Virgin herself and demand an explanation: but why ask? - thought the meek old man. Why confuse and torment with questions the One Who must already suffer from Her position? Thus, Joseph’s very meekness and kindness served him as a temptation. Equally, one could expect that the Fruit-Bearing One Herself would reveal and explain Her condition; for She could not help but notice the embarrassment in the guardian of Her virginity, and could not help but suffer in her soul, seeing him suffering; but She was silent too! Why? Because Her work was not so much Her secret as God’s: but how can the secret be revealed to the Tsar without the will of the Tsar? She was silent because the Lord Himself was silent. He, She thought, knows our situation, our confusion and suffering; if he finds it necessary, then He Himself will lift the veil and remove the heavy cross from us; If he doesn’t find it, we’ll carry him! The Father will not leave His Son, and the Son will not abandon the Mother. But what is Providence? Where is the Archangel who preached joy? Why does he not hasten to remove such a terrible suspicion from the Most Holy of Holies? Let us revere, my brothers, the greatness of the Wisdom of God: behold, one of her most wondrous ways! We have seen why it was necessary to lower the veil of betrothal over the seedless conception of the unartificial Bride of God: in the light of the revelation that we now use, it is not difficult to notice why on this veil, like a kind of ghost, the dark suspicion of marriage theft was allowed to appear for a time. Such humiliation of the Son and Mother not only did not contradict the great goal of the appearance in the flesh of the Son of God, but, one might say, was its most natural manifestation and at the same time the beginning of His great service to the salvation of the human race. For why did the Son of God leave the throne of glory, and like the last of the sons of men, dwell in the womb of the Ever-Virgin? Is it in order to, having appeared on earth, receive honor and worship from the entire human race, just as they are received from the faces of angels? No, the Son of God appears on earth not as Lord and Master, but as Redeemer and Mediator; appears in the flesh in order to become a sacrifice for our sins and untruths, to endure the execution we deserve, and thus to justify us and reconcile us with heavenly justice. Is it surprising if, in accordance with the purpose of His coming to earth, He, even in the womb of Mother, becomes the subject of dark suspicions, thus entering, even before birth, the ladder of redemptive suffering and humiliation, which He will walk until the very end of His life? And for the servants of the glorious mystery - Mary and Joseph, their present difficult situation was, of course, not without great spiritual fruit. The Holy Virgin is now made the Mother of God the Word; Saint Joseph will soon be called His father. What great honor and glory for both! And at the same time, what a great danger for humility, this foundation of all virtues. “All my generations will bless Me” (Luke 1:48), again could have been imagined in the mind of Mary, and in the mind of Joseph, and not always in such purity as it was imagined in the midst of holy delight, when meeting with the righteous Elizabeth. And so, against this danger of exaltation by the hand of Providence itself, which created such “greatness” (Luke 1:49), a gloomy but strong fence is erected - suspicion of marriage theft. There was now no time for thoughts of any earthly honor for She who, for an imaginary failure to observe honor, could not even look at the guardian of Her virginity without embarrassment, and was in danger of being severely condemned by the law itself. The Holy Elder will have no time for conceit and grandeur when he, enlightened from above about what is happening, remembers with what gloomy eyes he looked at the One who deigned to receive His name from the betrothed father. Meanwhile, the Holy couple, suffering from a grave temptation, thereby already participated in the suffering of the Redeemer of the world; and while He grew in the womb of the Mother's flesh, She grew in spirit, thus aligning itself internally with the height of Her external position. In the Holy Elder, moreover, the grave circumstance of suspicion served, as we will now see, as an opportunity to reveal before the eyes of the whole world the extraordinary kindness of his soul and extraordinary meekness of heart. There were now two ways for Joseph to get out of his painful state and put an end to his mental suffering. He had, firstly, every right to denounce the non-idle Lady publicly, betraying Her to the severity of the Law of Moses for such cases; but such severity was completely contrary to both the meek disposition of the elder and the respect that, despite all his suspicions, the Holy Virgin continued to inspire in Herself by Her equal-angelic disposition and life. On the other hand, Joseph could ignore the whole matter and continue in silence to bear the name of the spouse of the One who, in his opinion, was the one who had been robbed of marriage; but such a course of action was contrary to the conscience, which resolutely turned away from any indulgence in uncleanness and from any complicity in unrighteousness. What does a holy and meek soul finally do? “Joseph,” notes the evangelist (Matt. 1:19), - he is righteous, that is, as kind and merciful as he is truthful and pure, not even if he denounces Her, but wants to let her go”: he decided, that is, to separate from the Virgin secretly, without announcement, without harming Her honor and safety, to which act the law itself gave him full right. We thank you, holy elder, for your condescension; but there is no longer any need for it: your heart has been tormented enough by perplexities, get ready to hear the news that will reward you a hundredfold for everything! “I thought this to him, and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to receive Miriam your wife; For that which was born in Her is of the Holy Spirit: and she will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus; He will save His people from their sins. Now all this happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, as it is said: God is with us” (Matthew 1:20–23). Note, brethren, the power of the expression of the Gospel - “this... I thought”; that is, immediately, as soon as the thought of secretly letting go of the Betrothed became established in the old man’s soul. This means that Providence, although it was closed with ten veils, vigilantly monitored all the movements of Joseph’s soul; and now, as soon as the moment for action has arrived, the curtains immediately all fall down: “And this... I thought, behold, the Angel of the Lord... appeared” - perhaps the same one who preached to Mary Her seedless conception, that is, Gabriel; for such secrets are not entrusted to many. “Appearing in a dream”: because the good-humored soul of the elder, as Saint Chrysostom notes, had no need for a more miraculous appearance of the Angel in reality; on the other hand, the striking agreement of the dream with the circumstances, as well as the revelation received in the dream from an Angel, will sufficiently vouch for its origin from above. For what does the Angel say? He speaks about such subjects that could not be known to any mortal, that is, about the inner, secret thoughts of his soul: “do not be afraid to accept... thy wife: for that which is born in her of the Spirit is holy.” It opens, further, the future, known to the one God: “she will give birth to a Son... He will save people from sin... you will call his name Jesus.” The very name Joseph son of David is used not without special force. Joseph was a poor woodworker; and he is now called not only a descendant, even the son of David, and therefore the closest heir to all the greatness of David. For what? In order to suddenly raise him to the height of his present position, from which he had fallen so deeply with his gloomy suspicion. “Joseph, son of David” is a friendly expression, and at the same time admonishing. Descendant of David, - as if the Angel were speaking, - why do you faint-heartedly sink under the burden of your own greatness? Why don’t you bring to mind the ancient, inalienable glory of your house, and are you embarrassed when you should only rejoice? The family of David, to which you belong, has been humiliated and cut off to the roots; but is it not from him that the glorious King, the Savior of the whole world, should come? And should He not be born of a Virgin? You have given yourself over to dark thoughts, been tormented, suffered enough: find out the truth and rejoice! “What is born - what confuses you so much - is not from man, but from the Holy Spirit.” The young woman will definitely give birth to a Son, and you, although not His father, will have the honor of calling His name, according to the right of the fathers, Jesus. This, and not another name, befits the Born; because He will save the entire human race from sin and eternal death. Extraordinary things are happening in your house, and yet such things were foretold long ago in the hearing of all Israel by the prophets. “Now this came to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, as it is said: God is with us.” Such an indication of the prophecy, according to Saint Chrysostom, could have served for Joseph instead of a guiding thread, even if he had not retained all the details of his dream in his memory. But was it possible to forget such a dream? And so, Joseph, according to the testimony of the Evangelist, having risen from sleep, “do as the Angel commanded him, and he received his wife” (Matthew 1:24), that is, he accepted him again with heart and soul, having decided before this to remove Her from his home; for the fact that he had not yet removed Her is evident from the fact that the Angel appeared immediately, as the thought of removal formed in the old man’s soul. Did the Holy Elder reveal his former, painful perplexities to the Most Holy Virgin? And the discovery could serve to general joy and consolation about the temptation that had passed, and non-discovery could no longer harm the peace and silence of the heart; for one Joseph’s face beaming with joy and the deepening tender care for the Young Lady could let Her know that the guardian of Her virginity had been introduced into a secret hitherto unknown to him. I think that we don’t need many words to convey to ourselves the lesson of what we saw. Those who are chosen for special service to the Divine mysteries, for the fulfillment of great heavenly predestinations, and for this are awarded special revelations and, so to speak, fellowship with heaven, tend to imagine that they are under special protection from above, and therefore have special hope and boldness. So, souls chosen by God, no matter who you are, Providence watches over you like the apple of its eye. If from anyone, then not a single hair will fall from your head without the will of the Heavenly Father. But do not imagine that because of this you are free from temptations. On the contrary, they are waiting for you in large numbers; It is for you, as golden vessels, that the purification of the sevenfold fire is prepared. An example is all the great and God-chosen executors of God’s advice. Look at their lives! After their virtue, what is it filled with if not temptations and the most difficult encounters? What is most precious, your very honor and innocence, as the example of the Most Pure Mother of the Lord shows, can be subject to the darkest suspicions. You can become the subject of grave doubts even for those whose respect you value most, who are your relatives, your benefactors, friends and favorites of your soul. What advice can I give you in this case? What befits you in this painful situation? Is silence perfect, following the example of Mary and Joseph? This priceless silence may also be appropriate if you have grown spiritually to the extent of their faith, devotion and hope. At the very least, do not rush to lay down the cross placed on you with premature explanations and cries, without being sanctified by it in your soul, without kissing it with all your heart, without feeling its life-giving power. Always be attentive not so much to your own little honor, but to the ways of God, expecting in any case more from above - from the Lord, who controls all events and oversees all our paths, than from below - from yourself, from your prudence and foresight. That all earthly glory and honor for those who have loved the glory of God strive for the honor of the highest calling! If only our dishonor was not deserved by us, did not harm the cause of God and did not cause temptation to our neighbors; otherwise let them say “our name is like evil” (Luke 6:22, Matt. 5:11): this is one of the types of bliss indicated for us by our Savior. The great day of revelation will come, when all the secrets will be revealed, when in the face of the Angels and the whole world it will appear: who and what each of us was. Amen. Conversation at the All-Night Vigil on the Nativity of Christ What if human wisdom itself were left to draw a plan for the appearance on earth of the great Mediator between earth and heaven? Would she not strive to remove all inconvenience and poverty from the cradle of the Divine Childhood? Would you not consider it a duty to surround His birth with signs and wonders, glory and splendor? But the Wisdom of God acted in a different, opposite way. And we will see signs and wonders, but only those that were, so to speak, inevitable during such an extraordinary event as the appearance in the flesh of the Son of God; First of all we will see the poor den and manger, swaddling clothes and tears; everything else - the star and the eastern sages with gifts, the most laudatory choirs of Angels are merely, we dare say, secondary features in this Divine picture. Bearing this in mind, we must, my brothers, look for greatness in the events we are considering, not external, earthly and sensory, but internal, spiritual, that greatness that consists in the rejection of everything great and glorious according to the judgment and concepts of the vain world. This divine greatness will be revealed here in such abundance that the most ardent imagination is not able to fully comprehend it. The time determined by the law of nature was already approaching, at which the Creator of nature was to be born. But the holy couple lived in Nazareth, the place of residence of Joseph; and the promised Savior of the world had to be born in Bethlehem, for the prophet, for five centuries, spoke aloud to all the people of Judah: “And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrath, are you in no way least among the rulers of Judah; From out of you will come a Leader who will feed the flock of my Israel (Micah 5:2–4). This glorious prophecy had to be fulfilled; but how? - Should I tell Joseph to go with the Blessed Virgin to Bethlehem now? “That would be the most convenient thing; but such a fulfillment of the prophecy would not be so much a fulfillment as an adaptation to the prophecy: this is how human wisdom, and not Divine wisdom, can act; and Providence chose a different path, worthy of him. Judea at this time also had its own king, Herod; but, like many other countries, it depended on the supreme power of Rome. And so, the Roman Caesar Augustus came up with the idea - to order a census of the entire universe under his control. Without a doubt, the ruler of Rome had his own reasons and motives for this - maybe very smart and solid, maybe very stupid and unfounded; be that as it may, only by the command of Augustus about the census was all the convenience revealed so that the ancient prophecy about the birth of the promised Savior in Bethlehem could now be fulfilled in all its power, without the slightest violation of human freedom. Reverently before this order of the Wisdom of God, let us not, however, fail to notice here, my brethren, a new, instructive feature of the self-abasement of the future Redeemer of men. For what should follow in relation to Him as a result of the Roman census? The name of Jesus, the sweetest and most venerable name, before whose greatness, according to the testimony of the apostle, “every knee of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth” (Phil. 2:10), will be recorded from birth among the subjects of Caesar, along with the name of the last of the sons of Israel. The proud ruler of Rome will not, of course, even deign to look at the lists of names sent from Judea, but those who were assigned to the census could more than once read in them that in Bethlehem, one of the descendants of David, named Joseph, by trade as a woodcutter, has a son named Jesus... May this serve to console those who throughout their lives have had no other name than servant and servant: this is the first of the titles that the Son of God Himself accepted at birth. And those who at birth are burdened with titles and distinctions, let them learn from the example of their Savior not to place their greatness in them, but to seek it in selfless service to God and their neighbors. Because the Jews had the custom of conducting national censuses by tribe, tribe and clan; and every tribe, tribe and clan had their own specific cities and ancestral places, then Caesar’s command about the census set all of Judea in motion. “I went,” says the evangelist, “to write them all, each one to his own city” (Luke 2:3). Saint Joseph therefore had to go to Bethlehem, the family city of David, of whom he was a descendant. Mary, as a wife who was not subject to a census, could, apparently, stay at home; Her very position required this, but She was, according to Tradition, the last of Her kind, had neither brothers nor sisters; and such, as heirs of the name and entire family of the father, were subject to censuses along with husbands. Thus, Mary, despite Her condition, had to leave the peaceful shelter of her home and go to Bethlehem to write down Her name in the list of Caesar’s subjects. “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, for he was no longer from the house and fatherland of David, to be married to Mary, his betrothed wife, who is not idle” (Luke 2:4-5). “Being not idle,” that is, as the Evangelist would say, although She was not idle, although therefore it would be better for Her to stay at home, since the journey to Bethlehem was associated with extreme inconvenience and difficulties for Her. Perhaps the Holy Elder consoled himself on this path with the thought that his stay in Bethlehem would not be long, and that he, having rendered Caesar’s to Caesar, would have time to return to his home to repay God, even God. But how soon could the turn in the census come to the poor woodcutter of Nazareth, who, although together with His betrothed Wife descended in a direct line from David, had no other distinction than old hair, and the inner purity of soul and heart, known only to God? Therefore, “when she was gone, the days of her giving birth were fulfilled” (Luke 2:6). "The days are fulfilled". How could not even one day be delayed what is sometimes delayed not by one, but by many days for the other sons of men! With such precision, the One who comes to reward and atone for the violation of all laws by all people begins to fulfill all the laws of human nature. The law of society wants His name, not yet born, to be included in the Roman census; and behold, He is in Bethlehem, together with the named father and the non-idle Mother! The law of nature requires that infants conceived in the womb should come into the world at nine months' gestation; and behold, He comes into the light immediately, “when... the days of giving birth are fulfilled!” At least, the Mother of the Son of God will now have in Bethlehem all the peace and comfort so necessary at that time, “when... the days of giving birth are fulfilled!” Will any of the elders of the Jews hasten to offer their palaces as a refuge to the Mother of the promised Messiah? Moreover, will any priest of Bethlehem pray that his house will be sanctified and glorified by the birth of the great King? No, neither the elders, nor the priests, nor anyone except the Mother and the betrothed father should know about this birth. So it will happen where all the travelers land? Ah, the Holy Elder and Mary would be glad to have such a place, no matter how noisy and restless it is now; but Joseph had already visited all such places in Bethlehem, and in none of them could he find shelter: everything was occupied and filled with people! Who will take the Virgin and the Elder under their roof? Who will give the birthplace of the Son of God? No one: “there is no place for them in the monastery” (Luke 2:7). At least some Angel will appear and show the way, albeit to a den and a manger, for such places are unknown to those who were not residents of Bethlehem, but came to it by chance. No, and the Angels will announce and glorify the Born, but will not provide visible service at the birth of the One Who Himself came to serve everyone. Will the holy couple really be left to themselves in such extraordinary circumstances?.. Yes, brethren, they were left to themselves - yes, we understand to what extreme extent the self-sacrifice of the Son of God extends, at His very appearance in our poor flesh, and, therefore, to what extent the test of those who wish to be like Him in humiliation and suffering can extend, in order to then enter with Him into His glory. Elder, holy and righteous! It remains for you to act alone again: gather your last strength and look for the shelter still necessary for the Virgin, although around Bethlehem: there is none among rational creatures; maybe there will be one among the foolish... In fact, not far from Bethlehem, among the stone rocks surrounding it, there was one cave, in which shepherds and their flocks had shelter from storms and bad weather. For the same purpose, inside the cave, a depression was cut into the wall, which served instead of a manger for animals. It was into this cave - and then, probably, after a long and difficult search for the elder - that the Holy couple now retreated for refuge! In this manger He was pleased to recline, Who has the throne, the heavens, and the footstool, the earth, and upon Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim cannot look! Oh, my brethren, let us cease all speech, let us leave all thinking for a while; Let us stand in spirit at this manger and surrender ourselves with all our being before the One who reclines in them!.. Glory, eternal glory to Your unparalleled condescension, Divine Lover of Mankind! Thy poor swaddling clothes are more precious to us than all the royal ornaments of David and Solomon; The manger in which You recline is a hundred times more sacred than the temple of Jerusalem. For what is there now in this church? Only idle symbols of Your coming and Your great ministry; and here, in this cave and in this manger, is the salvation of the whole world. The more You hide Your greatness under the roof of humility; all the more so do we feel Your unconditional love for us and the desire to imitate You and Your Divine infancy. May all the deceptive lights of vain earthly greatness fade before us, may we have no higher praise than boasting about the manger and Your Cross; May we become meek, humble, poor in spirit, having nothing in the world, just as You were, from the beginning to the end of Your stay among us. Despite all the poverty and constraint of the position of the holy couple with the Divine Infant in the cave of Bethlehem, he, however, would deviate from the truth, my brothers, who would think that such a situation was in any way indecent for the Savior of the world in the present circumstances. No, judging precisely by these circumstances, it was the best, and showed how the Providence of the Heavenly Father, with all its secrecy, invisibly watched over the fate of the beloved Son. For let us assume that for the Holy couple before the time of birth there would have been some free place in the hotels of Bethlehem; In exchange for this benefit, how much trouble there would be from the noise of the people, from the curiosity of idle people, from rumors and spies! Here, on the contrary, outside the city, in the den, the Holy Virgin and the Holy Elder were alone, in complete freedom, completely removed “from human rebellion,” in the invisible presence of the Heavenly Father. Thus, the curtain of uncertainty, which was supposed to be spread over the cradle of the Son of God, will remain completely intact and will hide His Divine face until He, having spent thirty years in Nazareth, goes out in His time, surrounded by signs and wonders, to the great work of serving the human race. In vain, therefore, Herod will strain all his strength, exhaust all means in order to reach the traces of the Divine Child, resting in the manger of the den; those who were worthy to contemplate this Child and worship Him, the shepherds and the wise men, will not betray the secret, and the inhabitants of Bethlehem, even if there were among them those capable of being an instrument of a bloodthirsty tyrant, will not be able to indicate what they are looking for. On the other hand, the childbirth of She who conceived and gave birth not from human seed, but from the Holy Spirit, without a doubt, was not like the birth of other mothers who conceive in iniquities and give birth in sins - was not associated with difficulties and illnesses and, therefore, did not have the usual need for alien help in such cases. The Evangelist, not without special power and intention, says in this case about the Most Holy Virgin that She “gave birth to her Firstborn Son and gave birth to Him, and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2:7). This means that the Holy Virgin Herself accepted the Divine Child into Her most pure hands; She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger; and She herself, without a doubt, was the first to immediately kneel before Him Who honored Her with the honor of being His Mother. Thus, I say, the birth of our Savior, despite the extreme degree of humility, simplicity and poverty, was surrounded by all the purity, silence and decency befitting the Appearance in the flesh of the Most Holy of Holies. Meanwhile, how clearly, my brothers, the goal of the incarnation of the Son of God is reflected in everything that now surrounds His birth! The Son of God, as we have noticed, puts on our mortal nature and appears, as one from the sons of men, for two primarily reasons: so that, having taken upon Himself our sins, He may satisfy the righteousness of God for them, and so that in His person and life He may teach us an example of humility, purity and patience. But look at the wretched den and manger, look at the Eternal Youth, entwined, suffering, crying! What is all this if not a sacrifice for our sins? Why are the lips of Wisdom and Reason bound by the muteness of an infant, if not to reward the pride of our mind, the impunity and violence of our thoughts, the insolence and impurity of our tongue? Why are the hands of Omnipotence (for the Child is also the Eternal God) wrapped in shrouds, if not as punishment for our self-will, our unbridled desires, our enmity and opposition to the heavenly statutes? What does this poverty that now surrounds the King of Glory, this suffering that greets Him from the womb of the Mother mean, if not retribution for those unclean sensual pleasures in which the sons of this age, or even more so, all of us, love to immerse ourselves? The Divine Child cries like other babies, but His tears have a different source: It hurts over our sins; this is the beginning of His intercessory prayer for us before the throne of eternal Truth, the most natural beginning for Him and at the same time the most instructive for us, which should strike the sinner with shame and horror, crush his sinful insensibility and bitterness. Yes, my brothers, while we usually begin our teachings to you with words, our Savior began His preaching in the manger to all of us not with words, but with deeds and tears. He is a Child, and may he teach us all the simplicity and unflatteringness of a child; appears to the poor and those who have nothing, so that he will make you love poverty and spiritual poverty; is weeping and suffering, and may inspire us to endure temptations and persecutions from the world. Oh, if we were pure and holy, like the Angels or like the first man in paradise, the Son of God would then appear to us in heavenly glory and majesty. Even now, if He came to us to receive glory and worship from us, we would see Him (as we will once see) sitting on a throne, surrounded by Angels and Archangels. But He comes to redeem, justify, heal, sanctify us; and therefore, as an intercessor, as a sacrifice for all, and as an example for everyone, he appears as a Child reclining in a manger. Let us revere this manger, as a priceless symbol and guarantee of our salvation; Let us hasten to partake in the spirit of faith of the sacred rites of Bethlehem and the sacrifice made there for us; Let us internalize forever the great example of humility given to us from there. Poor and poor people of the world, stand fearlessly at the manger of Bethlehem, and receive from Him who lies within them the spirit of courage and patience! Isn’t it joy that your state is apparently similar to the state of your Savior, that you do not need to make any changes in it? For the same rags and poverty, the same tears and suffering, the same exile from the world. You just need to voluntarily assimilate your difficult lot on earth, love your poverty and lowliness, be the same in spirit as you are in the flesh, that is, humble in wisdom, not attached to anything earthly, devoted in everything to the will of God, always (always) striving for the honor of the highest calling. Then your lot is better than all the lots in the world, for you, by your very position, are on the royal path, near paradise, at the feet of your Savior and Lord. But how can those people who are condemned, so to speak, from their very birth, to live among abundance and sensual pleasures, become strong in this age, rich in earthly treasures? How, I say, can everyone now become like that at the manger of Bethlehem and not feel shame and embarrassment? For, if before the king of the earth, when he is clothed in sad robes, to appear in bright robes, with luxury and splendor, it would be unforgivable insolence; Is it possible to look at the poverty of Jesus without embarrassment to those who, if they sometimes sigh and groan, it is only because of the excessive abundance of earthly blessings and satiety with them? But, my brethren, there is also a means for you to come to terms with the manger of Bethlehem and with the poverty of your Savior. He appears as a possessor of nothing, not at all in order to strip you of your acquisitions and treasures; on the contrary, He is ready to give even more to what you have, for for everyone, both poor and rich, He brings with Him the whole Kingdom of Heaven. What does He want from you? He wants the very thing that is necessary for the salvation of your souls: yes, while enjoying earthly blessings, do not forget the heavenly blessings and enjoy them first with moderation and gratitude to their Giver; May you not attach your hearts to anything on earth and, although you possess much, you yourself will not possess anything; May you use your acquisitions not only to satisfy your own needs and desires, but also for works of faith and love for mankind, to help your suffering brethren; May you, finally, like the wise wise men, be ready, at the voice from above, to leave everything in order to go to Bethlehem and cast your gold, your frankincense and myrrh at the foot of the Forget. By doing this, it is possible, even in the midst of earthly greatness, to have spiritual poverty and, without leaving purple and fine linen, to appear with complacency before the manger of Bethlehem to receive peace and grace from Him who is “rich for our poverty” (2 Cor. 8:9), so that we all, both rich and poor, may be enriched by His poverty. Amen. Word on the eve of the Nativity of Christ Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, telling the real mystery (Verse 1, forever) With this solemn invitation, joyful chants now began in honor and glory of the present festival. The Holy Church firmly remembers the ancient saying of the Angel that “it is good to keep the secret of the king, but to reveal the works of God gloriously” (Tov. 12:7): and since the mystery of the incarnation, now remembered, is the greatest of the works of God, it invites everyone to confess it, promising for this, as if as a reward, an increase in spiritual joy: “Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, the real telling the secret!” Who wouldn't want to rejoice? - But how to tell a secret? That mystery which, according to the Apostle, was “hidden from eternity in God Himself, and even now, although it has appeared,” but only to His saints (see: 1 Cor. 2:7), which are themselves a mystery for us sinners? How can you name that mystery into which the “Angels” themselves once wanted to delve into—only to delve into? Truly, brethren, if we look at our own weakness, at the weakness of our mind, at the inertia of our tongue, then “it is most convenient,” most convenient, “to love is silence” 1 . But, fortunately for us, we are called to confess such a mystery, which, despite its greatness, has already been proclaimed many times and in various ways by the prophets, spoken and inspired by the apostles, explained and preached by the fathers and teachers of the Church and, one might say, incessantly, in different voices and in different forms, is still proclaimed by the Church itself. One can follow such leaders with confidence even without knowing the path well; behind a choir of such voices one can sing to the glory of God even if one is not entirely skilled in singing. So, brothers, “come, let us rejoice in the Lord, telling the real mystery!” Tellingly, in spite of the falsely named reason, which is charged on the mind of God, - in spite of the hypocritical flesh, which fears the very condescension of Divine love for people, - in spite of the sin-loving world, which seeks protection for its wickedness in the very mysteries of God! Falsely named reason insists that the appearance in the flesh of God is an event that goes beyond all the limits of reason, is inconsistent with its principles, and therefore can produce more than resolve perplexities; and we will say that this is a mystery, although great and incomprehensible, but at the same time bright and enlightening, capable of guiding our poor mind in its most difficult and dark paths and explorations. The half-bending flesh and the sin-loving world are ready to turn the very lowliness of the Son of God into a cover of their uncleanness, as an excuse for unrepentance and indolence in sins; and we will say and proclaim that in this event there is everything that can awaken a feeling of repentance, nourish faith and piety, that this is a holy and sanctifying mystery. We will say the first today, and the second, if the Lord wills, we will say tomorrow. Desiring, contrary to false reason, which thinks to see in the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God one impenetrable darkness, to show that this is a bright and all-enlightening mystery, we, however, are very far from allowing any darkness in this mystery, and strive to turn it from an object of faith into an object of perfect knowledge. If a person ever reaches such a degree of perfection in the knowledge of the mysteries of the Divine; then this should happen not here, where we, in the words of the apostle, “walk by faith... and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), but where, according to the same apostle, we know God as we ourselves are now known by God (see: 1 Cor. 13:12). In this life, the mysteries of our salvation necessarily exceed our understanding, just as lofty truths exceed the understanding of children, although they are taught to them and received from them by faith. An attack on omniscience in this regard, in addition to the fact that it does not give what is promised and what it strives for, harms faith by the fact that it weakens the mysteries of salvation, turning them with superficial explanations from living and majestic events into cold and dead speculation. This disease of inquisitive inquisitiveness was what St. Paul had in mind when he rejected the inquisitiveness of the word, “lest it should make of no effect the cross of Christ” (1 Cor. 1:17). We must now bypass this very extreme, and point it out to you, so as not to abolish the manger of Christ, not to deprive them of that Divine darkness by which they are separated from the earth. For this purpose, let us firmly remember that the incarnation of the Son of God is, according to the Apostle, “a great... mystery” (1 Tim. 3:16); the greatness of the already immeasurable Being, who was thus forever united with humanity; greatness in the way of this connection, which no mind can fully penetrate; great in its actions, extending to all humanity, to the whole world and to all eternity; great, finally, according to those miracles that preceded this event, prepared it, surrounded it and followed it. But, having thus given due honor to the great mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, we, to its glory, contrary to the false wisdom of reason, affirm that this mystery, with all its greatness and depth, is a mystery not only bright for the pure mind, but also enlightening human wisdom in all its paths. Indeed, brothers, what do we usually call clear and understandable? Isn’t it something that can always and conveniently be distinguished from everything else? Isn’t it something that everyone can easily imagine and convey to others? Isn’t it, finally, that something that can be relegated to the circle of concepts of the simplest people is depicted in the language of even children? But now raise your mental gaze to the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God: with all its greatness, is this not precisely this glorious mystery? Who is not able to suddenly distinguish it from all other mysteries? Do you understand what is going on? Tell the other person which Savior he believes in? Therefore, although the first heralds of the mystery of the incarnation, due to the lack of people, were Angels, after the Angels, the first to announce it to the world were the shepherds of Bethlehem (Luke 2:17), people by their very condition not familiar with any education. And after that the world heard the secret of the incarnation for a long time, for the most part, from the lips of the simplest people, whom this secret already made wise and capable of admonishing or disgracing the foolish wisdom of man. If this wisdom, having later invaded with its intricacies into the fence of the Church itself, had not decided to resolve the mysteries of salvation not on theirs, but on its own, - instead of Christ’s manger and the cross, it had not begun to create its own Bethlehem and its Golgotha; then the holy mystery of the Incarnation even now for all who profess the name of Christ would remain in its former Gospel simplicity, obviousness and splendor. Witnesses and guarantees for this are children; being instructed in the simplicity of the Gospel, do they not retell the teaching about the incarnation of the Son of God with greater convenience than the speculations of earthly wisdom about the most ordinary subjects? Listening to their simple, but clear and accurate answers to questions about the highest mysteries of salvation, you involuntarily remember the words of the Psalmist: “The manifestation of Your words enlightens and instructs little children” (Ps. 119:130), and you involuntarily come to the thought: why does elemental wisdom, instead of arguing with heavenly wisdom, not begin to better imitate this latter - not only in the selection of truths, but also in presentation them, in the clarity and intelligibility with which they are offered in the Gospel? After this, what do the reproaches made to the mystery of the incarnation for incomprehensibility mean? The fact that those who make them do not understand what they want. They strive to know not only the simple and holy truth that in the person of Jesus Christ the Divinity was united with humanity, so that they constitute one person - what Scripture and the Church teach, and what is intelligible to everyone - but also how exactly this Divine union took place; that is, they want not only to have an understanding of the mystery of the incarnation, but also to penetrate into it. But to penetrate the secret means to destroy it. By what right do they encroach on the mysteries of God in this way? Has the human mind ever penetrated into the secrets of nature that surrounds us? Even into the secrets of our own existence? On the contrary, to this day, despite the incessant efforts of the human mind, they remain under seven seals. So, we all know that the heavenly bodies are held together by the force of gravity, but no one can say what kind of force this is and what is its essence? Everyone sees that everything on earth lives by light from the sun, but no one knows where this light comes from in the sun itself, and what it is? Everyone’s soul is connected to their body, but ask any philosopher about the method of this connection, and not one will tell this secret. How then can one dare and even think of penetrating the mysteries of God? Moreover, in such a greatest mystery, what is the appearance of the Son of God in the flesh? It is enough that this secret consists of the most well-known concepts, that everyone sees its beginning, purpose and spirit, that even the simplest people and children can freely pass it on to each other. After this, not recognizing this mystery as bright means looking for darkness where there is none. But this is a mystery, as we said, not only bright, but also shedding light on all objects of human speculation. So, brethren, I am not afraid to affirm this and would like all lovers of wisdom to hear this, and from this side to pay attention to the great mystery of the incarnation preached by Christianity, for it contains the key to solving the most sublime questions of wisdom, sought by everyone and not yet found by any of the non-Christian wise men. To prove this important truth, brethren, I will not offer you too abstract concepts, I will put aside school opinions and strife, I will focus your attention solely on what in itself should occupy the attention of everyone. This is God and His relationship to us; man and his purpose; the world and its destiny. I affirm that all these objects become clear and intelligible only in the light of the star of Bethlehem. And, firstly, the being of God and His relationship to us. Since the Wise Creator revealed Himself very much in the creation of the world and man, and reveals even more in the government of both, it is not surprising, brethren, that impartial reason, on the basis of these revelations over the course of centuries, managed to compile quite a considerable teaching about God and His perfections, about His being and actions on the world. But to what extent, as is known, did the most extreme successes of reason extend in this regard? So much so that, having overthrown many gods, he established once and forever the concept of one God, as a spiritual and all-perfect being. Reason itself did not allow us to go further with its teaching about the unity of God. Meanwhile, an inexplicable feeling urged me to move on. For the unity of the Divine being, so venerable in comparison with polytheism, being taken in itself, does not yet present to the mental gaze any definite image of being. Indeed, the poor mind reasoned, God is an all-perfect mind; What did He know when there was nothing but God? God is the purest love; What was the object of sowing love before the creation of creatures? God is the fullness of being and power: in what way has both been manifested from eternity? To say, the philosophers thought, that he knew from eternity and loved Himself, does not mean to resolve, but only to reject the question. How did they finally decide to solve it? Because the very unity of God’s existence, for which reason once so laudably strived against polytheism, was intended to be sacrilegiously fragmented into different types of plurality and opposites, in order to thus have at least some outline of the Divine. To create this unnatural outline, they took the world, took away its beginning and began in various ways to introduce it into the composition of the Divine nature, to include it in the very consciousness of God, as its necessary condition, thinking through this to explain to themselves the way of the Divine life. The explanation is gloomy and pathetic! For what comes from it? The world is adored, but God descends into the ranks of creatures: instead of the unknown, but sufficient Divine life, a false ghost of a demigod appears; The Creator comes into dependence on every creature as necessary for the fullness of His being; The Boundless begins, together with the world, to be subject to developments, gradualism, even improvements. But, what is worse and most ungodly, since the world is now subject to imperfections, both material and moral, it was necessary to somehow include these imperfections in the image of the Divine being. And they are included as an inevitable condition for the life and perfections of the Divine, the beginning of which is supposedly hidden in the depths of the Divine nature itself!.. Into such inexhaustible darkness and such completely unworthy of God concepts does human wisdom enter, brethren, when it undertakes to reason about God and His being. And all this is because until now he wants to philosophize better “according to the elements of the world than according to Christ” (Col. 2:8), for in Christianity, in the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, which it preaches, it contains exactly what the mind lacks, and what it seeks to complement its concepts of God. In fact, if for the fullness of being, power and perfections of the Divine, a constant and complete manifestation of them in something is necessary, then what is better than that wonderful and incomprehensible manifestation by which God the Father completely manifested Himself from eternity by the birth of God the Son and the origin of God the Spirit? – And can the supposed manifestation of the being of God through the work of the world from eternity, necessarily limited in various respects, not complete, not entirely, and in no way equal to the all-perfect Being who manifests itself, be compared with this? If for the bliss of the Divine life it is assumed necessary in God to communicate with someone of light, love, freedom, action, then what kind of communication is more complete and blissful than that which exists from eternity between the three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, each of whom has mind, freedom, action, and all together constitute one life - all-blessed, and one purest action? Thus, the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God resolves by itself the main perplexities of the mind regarding the image of God’s being. Moreover, the unity of God’s being is maintained in all its strength, and his loneliness is completely eliminated; and the self-confined freedom and creative love disappears, and its subordination to the existence of creatures is rejected; The image of God's being emerges from the darkness and appears in separate features, but without mixing with the image of the world, without introducing into it created features that disfigure it. Such an increase in our knowledge of God should have been a necessary consequence of the incarnation of the Son of God, for His coming into the world could not take place without the opening, so to speak, of the innermost sanctuary of the Divine, and the hidden way of life of the Divine was revealed. Is it not to this all-enlightening mystery that the eyes of all wise men who strive to know the being of God should be directed? In the face of the Son of God one can see God as He is invisible nowhere else in the whole world (see: John 14:9). A similar thing must be said about the relationship in which God, as the Creator, is towards His creation, and especially towards rational beings: by the incarnation of the Son of God, this difficult subject of philosophy is explained to the highest degree. And, firstly, a believer in this mystery can no longer ask: does God provide for His creatures? Nor can there be any doubt that God’s Providence extends to everything in the world, not limited to universal care, that all free human actions are subject to Him. On the contrary, a Christian sees the very limit to which the Creator’s closeness to creation, and especially to man, can extend; the mystery of the incarnation allows him to understand that, despite the immensity of the distance between us and God, our Creator desires to descend to our smallness, to enter into the most direct and real communications with us, not only to introduce us to His Divine life, but also to participate in our way of being. How many of the most sublime thoughts arise in this mind about the destiny of man! And how again the perplexities of reason regarding the relationship of rational creatures to their Creator are successfully eliminated! For, remember, how did the mind limit these relationships? Or he commanded man to be content with only moral likeness to the Divine, without the hope of actual union with his prototype; or he inspired us to strive to finally lose our personal existence in merging with the Infinite. Two extremes are equally pitiful, between which the teaching about the incarnation of the Son of God indicates a golden mean; for from this teaching it is clearly clear that rational beings can not only become like their Creator, but also sincerely unite with Him; but it is also clear that they must come into this union without losing their personal way of being, without ceasing to be what they are by nature! But, most importantly, the incarnation of the Son of God revealed before the whole world, and especially before men, so to speak, the very heart of God. Now there is no need for us to ask what exactly God and our Lord think about us, and in what disposition He is towards us, who have clearly deviated from the purpose of our existence and His holy statutes? Will He accept us again into some kind of direct “communion” (1 John 1:3) with Himself and will He help our poverty, or will He leave us to our own devices? Will he treat us as a loving doctor, or only as a demanding ruler? When the Son of God Himself appeared for our salvation in our flesh, His very appearance already answers us for everything. Looking at the manger and the Cross; It is impossible to doubt that “our God is loving” (1 John 4:8), that He is just, but even more merciful, that we will not perish, that they care about us as much as possible. After this, no speculation or theodicy is needed: the Son instead of the Father! “He who saw” Him (John 14:9) saw all Providence, all the truth, and especially all the love of God. With this, only cry out with gratitude: “Glory to You, who showed us the light!” From what we have said about the beneficial effect of the mystery of the Incarnation on the clarification of our concepts about God and His relationship to the world and man, one can already conclude, brethren, how beneficial the light of this mystery should be in relation to the rest of the understanding of our own nature, for man, as the image of God, necessarily appears clearer and more understandable, the more his great Original is cognized and understood. But to increase our spiritual joy from the light of the star of Bethlehem, let us take a closer look at how it dispels the darkness that covers our fallen nature. What is especially dark for our poor mind in our poor nature? The fact that she is not like herself and is in some kind of fatal contradiction with the whole world and with herself; the fact that our nature does not represent a definite, harmonious whole, but some members are disconnected, some pitiful fragments and disordered remnants of the great past; the fact that it is dominated by a constant, but not natural, mixture of good and evil, greatness with humiliation, illness with health, godlikeness with rejection. When did this unfortunate condition begin and will it ever go away? What does life here mean in this situation, and what will happen to us beyond the grave? What is required from the current person, who is ill in all respects, and what can he hope for when this requirement is fulfilled? All these extremely important questions involuntarily presented themselves to the mind of every thinking person, but the minds of all thinkers together were not able to give an exact answer to any of them. Socrates himself, who died out of respect for the moral dignity of his nature, at the eve of his death did not know what was absolutely true to say about its consequences. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, all the dark sides in our nature were themselves clarified, and man knew who he was, what he is and what he should be. To see this, brethren, there is no need to resort to complicated speculations: the simplest reflections are enough. Listen! If the Son of God Himself leaves the throne of the Father, descends to earth and accepts our image in order to raise us to the first inheritance, it means, first of all, that we are all in the greatest misfortune (otherwise why would such an unprecedented means be used to restore us?); This means that neither we ourselves, nor the powers above us, no one except God Himself could help our misfortune (otherwise why not choose another, lesser intercessor?). After this, it is also clear why we see so much evil and disaster in the human race, why all the best in us seems to be a remnant of the past: it cannot be otherwise with those who have lost their place in the order of creation, have fallen away from God and eternal life, and have given themselves over to vanity and corruption. Further, if in order to deliver us from disasters, the Son of God chose no other means than to take on our flesh and become a man like us in everything, then it means that in our nature, despite its damage by sin, there is the ability to be healed and restored; This means that our very flesh can again be clothed with splendor and incorruptibility: otherwise why would our Savior unite with the incurable, why would He take upon Himself that which must be left to final destruction? Finally, if the Son of God, who appeared for our salvation in the flesh, is coming to accomplish this salvation in no other way than through humility, patience, and death on the cross, then after this there is no need to ask about how we fell and how we should rise? Looking at the manger and the Cross, the most short-sighted person feels that heaven has been lost through disobedience and pride, and can only be returned through humility, patience and self-sacrifice. Even greater light spills over human nature if we begin to consider the very life and deeds of the incarnate Lord. His most holy humanity is the example of all humanity, and in the way His perfections were revealed, how it acted on the world, what power it possessed over all the elements, over the forces visible and invisible - in all this, for those who have eyes to see, the fate and glory that awaits all the sons of God is signified. But this is a subject that goes beyond ordinary understanding: it is enough to mention it for those capable of reflection. It’s time for us to touch, albeit lightly, on the third part of our interview and say something about how the light of the star of Bethlehem illuminates the whole world. It is not our business, brethren, to repeat before you those errors to which the mind has been subjected and is still, unfortunately, subjected, trying to determine by itself the essence of the things of the visible world and the purpose of its existence; but our business is to say and proclaim out loud that the Sacraments professed by the Christian faith contain enough light to clarify the darkness that, after the fall of man, as the king of the earth, spread over the entire earth. The mystery of the incarnation, and in this regard, is the most luminous, for the Son of God came to save not only the human race, but together with it, in the words of the Apostle, “to lead! everything... in heaven and on earth” (Eph. 1:10). Without any exaggeration, we can say that this one expression: to lead contains more instructions for understanding the past and future fate of the visible world that surrounds us than in many speculations and so-called theodicies of Providence. For what most serves as a stumbling block for speculation in relation to the world? The same as in relation to a person: a visible mixture of disorder with perfection, vanity and insignificance with splendor and life. But faith in the restoration of the whole world by the Son of God shows that the source of this ill-fated state of creatures is the same as our own misfortunes: the falling away of man, and in his person and the entire world subjugated to him, from God. By this same faith it is assumed that the future fate of creatures will depend on the restoration of man by the incarnation of the Son of God, when with man as his king, all “creation will be freed,” as the apostle puts it, “from the work of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). Thus, in the light of the teaching about the incarnation of the Son of God, the fate of the world, so dark in itself, appears clear, and it becomes clear what the world should be, why it is not what it should be, and how it will become what it needs to be, judging by the concept of the perfections of its Creator. Anyone who wants to will find in the mystery of the incarnation a solution to important questions about the very essence and purpose of visible creatures. From this mystery it is clear that the essence of visible creatures, with all its apparent coarseness, does not contain in itself anything unclean and unworthy of God: otherwise the Son of God would not have united hypostatically with human nature, whose essential attribute is bodily existence. Likewise, faith in the mystery of the incarnation decisively and forever eliminates the bewilderment: will the existence of the visible world ever cease and give way to the existence of one spiritual world? It will not and cannot cease, as long as the human body is accepted forever by the Son of God. But by indulging in the flow of such conclusions, we, brothers, can easily go beyond the boundaries of a nationwide conversation: let’s leave this to the educational department; and from this holy place let us turn, at the end of our conversation, a few more words against false reason. What do people devoted to philosophy not do to formulate their speculations about God, man and the world? Where do they not turn for materials for this and for benefits? In what ways are they not trying to open traces to the secrets of existence? The work is not reprehensible, although for the most part, as experience shows, it is fruitless. Why, among these efforts and experiments, forget what should have been kept in mind first of all: the teachings of the Christian faith, its venerable Sacraments and promises? What would philosophy lose if it followed in the footsteps of faith? On the contrary, is everything that is still best in him borrowed, openly or secretly, from the Gospel? As well as everything that is worst in him, isn’t it the very thing in which wisdom dared to contradict the Gospel? And when this is so, isn’t this a clear sign that the final achievement of truth must be sought no other way than with the help of faith? But this is advice for those of little faith; for us, who from youth have walked in the light of faith, who have been planted and established at the source of the word of God, for us, who do not know and do not hear in this sanctuary of sciences any other wisdom than Christian wisdom, which philosophizes not “according to the elements of the world, but according to Christ” (Col. 2:8) - for us now there is one joy. “Come, let us rejoice in the Lord!” Let us rejoice that He came down to us and was not ashamed to take upon Himself our poverty; Let us rejoice that by this descent the whole world is illuminated for us, that in its light we can see our Creator and His relationship to us, our nature and its destiny, temporal and eternal, a hundred times more clearly; Let us finally rejoice in the fact that the very joy announced by the Angels at the birth of the Savior of the world is only the beginning of endless and unspeakable joys. Amen. Word for Christmas Day “The word became flesh” (John 1:14) In these short words, brothers, lies the entire height and depth of the glorious Sacrament, now celebrated by the Holy Church. “The Word became flesh”: the second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Divine Word, born before all ages from the essence of God the Father, has now united with human nature in the person of our Savior, and has united, as the Holy Church teaches, inseparably, unmerged and immutable. Indivisible: since Divinity and humanity, united in Jesus Christ, will never cease to constitute one person; He will forever remain what he has become now - God and man. Unmerged: since Divinity and humanity did not merge into one new nature, but continue to constitute two distinct natures, united only in one person of the God-man. Immutable: for neither humanity was changed into Divinity, nor Divinity was changed into humanity; Both natures have retained all the properties without which they cannot exist. As a result of this unique and wonderful union of the Divine with humanity, Jesus Christ is true God, equal in everything to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and together is true man, similar to us in everything except sin. “The Word is flesh!” To delve into this mystery with capricious understanding, to explore how the infinite Divinity could forever take on the image of mortal humanity, would mean, brethren, to degrade the highest mystery of the incarnation and to assimilate to the weak human mind such an ability and strength that it never had. The Apostle Paul also called the appearance of God in the flesh a mystery that surpasses all our understanding. “The greatness... the mystery of piety: God has appeared in the flesh!” (1 Tim. 3:16). If for Paul, who was caught up to the third heaven and heard verbs that cannot be retold in human language (2 Cor. 12:4), the appearance of God in the flesh was a great mystery: then for us, who, perhaps, are much further from Paul in faith than he was from the third heaven in place, for us the incarnation of the Son of God has always been and will remain the greatest of the Mysteries. However, brothers, we must not turn our attention away from the Mystery of the Incarnation because it is incomprehensible. Faith in the union of the Divine with humanity in the person of our Savior serves as the basis of our salvation; all Christian dogmas are inseparably connected with it; from her our duties must receive strength and life; in it is the source of the most comforting hopes; and therefore a Christian not only can, but is also obliged, for the good of his soul, to constantly keep in his mind the great truth that his Savior is God and at the same time man. The Word of God only requires that we reflect on this truth as we should, without being carried away by the reckless inquisitiveness of the mind, without making it the measure of the Wisdom of God. In accordance with this warning, let us dare, brethren, to lift our mental eyes in reverence to the glorious mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, in order to see what is given to us in it, and what is required of us by it. The Prophet David, once contemplating in spirit the future coming of the Son of God in the flesh, called on all nations to serve Him, but to serve with fear, and to rejoice before Him, but to rejoice with trembling. “Work for the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling!” (Ps. 2:11). The more you reflect on this saying of David, the more you see that it was taken, as it were, from the very essence of the glorious event that we are now remembering. The mystery of the incarnation truly contains everything that can animate us and nourish our hope; but at the same time it contains everything that can awaken the careless and frighten the unworthy. Our Redeemer is God Almighty; So, Christian, you have nothing to fear from the enemies of your salvation, the enemies of truth and virtue. Even though all the tyrants of the world, all the forces of hell have taken up arms against you, you, until you betray your Savior, are completely safe: for no one can snatch you from the hands of His Almighty! – He, if necessary, will shake “not only the earth, but also the sky” (Heb. 12:26), but will not leave your soul in hell, will not allow “His saint to see corruption” (Ps. 15:10). Our Redeemer is God the Wise; So, Christian, you are completely free from the unfortunate fear that the rules of faith and life that the Gospel taught you cannot give you eternal life; You are above those painful doubts to which the best of the people who reached the knowledge of God with their own minds were subject. The Only Begotten Son Himself, “who is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18), confessed God to you: in such a confession, of necessity, all truth, all light and life! Our Redeemer is God, faithful in all His words; So, Christian, believe, firmly believe His glorious and majestic promises, no matter how they may seem to exceed your present poverty and your very understanding: heaven and earth will sooner pass away than even one word of His will remain unfulfilled. He promised to seat the one who overcomes with Him on the throne of glory; - and if you suffer, “like the good warrior of Jesus Christ,” for the sake of righteousness (2 Tim. 2:3), you will certainly sit one day with Him on this throne, even though throughout your entire life you have not had where to bow your head, even if everyone considers you to be the rabble of the world. What prompted the apostles to endure all the labors and dangers, extreme poverty and contempt of the world, the very torment and death? The Apostle Paul answers for everyone that “I know in whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is my Savior, being God, able to keep my pledge” until His glorious coming (2 Tim. 1:12). What made the martyrs despise all the power of the kings and rulers of the earth, all the cruelty of their tormentors, not only not to run away, but even to seek death? The fact that the Savior, for whose sake they sacrificed themselves, is not a weak man, whose power cannot extend beyond the boundaries of this life, but a just and Almighty God, who cannot “forget the fight of love that has been fought up in His name” (Heb. 6:10), cannot leave the victors without a crown of victory. Which, brethren, even now delights the long-suffering life of those who, seeking heavenly things, fatherland, wandering in deserts, mountains, dens and abysses of the earth? What, like Moses, “seeing the invisible” (Heb. 11:27) for the flesh and blood of the Savior, and are confident that He, as the Knower of the Heart, sees all their tears, hears all their sighs and, like the Almighty, sets up abodes for them in the bright house of the Heavenly Father. “Take away the truth of the Divinity of Jesus Christ,” says Athanasius the Great, “and apostleship, martyrdom, and asceticism will fall.” So! for the apostles, the martyrs, and the ascetics flowed and flow not after man, but after the Only Begotten Son of God. So! for all zealots of piety have drawn and continue to draw consolation from the truth that the Savior in whom they believe is the true God, who is always “able to save... those who come to God through him” (Heb. 7:25). The truth is comforting! But, brethren, how little and how few of us does she console! Does anyone become related to the mighty of the earth, does anyone manage to earn the attention of his superiors: what joy and triumph after that! The whole world seems beneath him! And the most joyful news that God, God Himself, has now deigned to enter into the closest kinship with all of us, this news does not touch hearts that shake to the core at the lightest sound of honor! In fact, let us remember, brethren, the accidents that we encountered on the laborious path of life: was our heart, at least to some extent, consoled by the thought that “He is the Everlasting One who came to redeem” us? (Job 19:25). Alas! It is unlikely that most of us at this time, like the Israelites, did not go to other gods for consolation; - and the only true God, and our Savior, Who appeared in the flesh for this purpose, in order to heal all those who are broken-hearted, to bring peace to all those who labor and are burdened, but we did not even think about Him! Our coming to us brings so little joy, Lord! We believe that Your Divinity has not changed through the union with humanity: but in heaven the contemplation of It serves as an indescribable source of joy for the darkness of those Angels, and not on earth It cannot console a small number of people!.. Where is the reason for such an unfortunate difference? Nowhere, brothers, except our sins. It has long been said and proclaimed that “the wicked shall not rejoice” (Is. 48:22) - there is not and never will be! Therefore, until we cleanse our hearts from the defilements of sin, turn with all our hearts to our Savior and begin to live His life, His Divine perfections cannot produce joy in us, for in that case we are not His, and He is not ours. And what would be the benefit of joy? It would only exacerbate our spiritual carelessness. In this state of distance from our Savior, what we need is not joy, but fear. So, let it be announced from the person of the incarnate Lord to those who arbitrarily deprive themselves of joy! The Apostle Paul, having once depicted, for the consolation of the distressed Jews, the venerable perfections of the Messiah, in whom they believed, and showing that He is the Creator of the visible and invisible, bearing “all things by His power” (Heb. 1:3), then, to warn them against carelessness and false hope, he added the following words: therefore, brethren, turn all your attention to Jesus Christ; “For if the word proclaimed through the angels (which is the law of Moses) was sure, and every crime and disobedience received a righteous reward, then how can we escape punishment if we neglect so much salvation, which, having been first preached by the Lord to those who heard from Him,” was firmly proven to us? (Heb. 2:2–3). Let us, brethren, stop our attention on this thought of the apostle; for it contains everything that can induce us to work out our salvation with fear. Our Redeemer is God, “blessed forever” (Rom. 9:5): therefore, what obedience to His commandments, what fidelity to His word is not required on the part of those redeemed by Him? As Almighty God, He has given us by His Divine power “everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3); as an all-merciful God, He sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts with all grace-filled gifts; as the all-wise God, He gave apostles, teachers, and shepherds for our edification: how careful, faithful, and active we must be in order to justify such good advice of God about us! For us there is no longer such a high virtue, there is no such a difficult feat of piety that we would not be obliged to perform. There is no longer for us such a dangerous temptation, such a stubborn habit of evil, which we could not overcome. God is with us, and therefore we should always be with God. God is with us, and therefore we must be righteous and good, just as He is good and righteous. What will happen to us if we do (as we are doing) the opposite? What will happen to us if through a lawless life we ​​make ourselves a fruitless incarnation of God, if through our evil deeds we crucify the Son of God a second time? “Eternal torment,” one pious writer exclaims at this thought, “you seem great to me when I imagine the weakness of the sinful nature of man, but you seem small to me when I remember that a sinner, condemned to eternal torment, trampled on the Eternal Son of God.” So, brethren, hell with all its horrors is small in comparison with the crime of a Christian, who with his sins mocked the Son of God, who became incarnate for his salvation. Much has been given to him, and much will be required of him: what will not be required of us if we destroy this gift? If the cry of Abel’s blood was so strong that it immediately called upon God for vengeance, then what kind of vengeance should not the cry of the Blood of the Son of God call upon the head of sinners? The executions of those who did not show due respect to the face of Moses were terrible: Dathan and Abiron were consumed by fire, the tribe of Korah was consumed by the earth, Miriam was stricken with leprosy. But Moses, according to the teaching of the Apostle Paul, was only a servant in the house of God (Heb. 3:5). The darkness of Moses is nothing in comparison with the one and only Son of God. If, the apostle concludes, “he who rejected the law of Moses... was punished with death without mercy; then how much graver torment do you think the one who tramples the Son of God with his sins will be guilty of,” and swears at the Spirit of grace! (Heb. 10:28–29). O holy brethren, we dare to tell you in the words of the Apostle, turn all your attention to your Savior! He is the Savior, but at the same time he is our Judge; The Redeemer of believers, but at the same time the Avenger of the infidels. So, contemplating His Divinity, we must serve Him, but serve with fear; we must rejoice before Him, but rejoice with trepidation: “If God... does not spare His Son for our sake,... how shall He not also with Him give us all things?” (Rom. 8:31–32). After the Son, God has no great gifts, and those that exist are all ours. Therefore, “rejoice,” says the apostle, “and again I say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). But, rejoice with trepidation! “Let us honor the Son” (Ps. 2:12), now given to us, we honor and kiss - by faithful fulfillment of His commands, by zealous imitation of His example; Let us honor Him so that He does not become angry with those who despise His glory, and we do not perish on our way. “Blessed are all those who trust in Him!” (Ps. 2:12). Purely unfortunate are all those who anger Him with their sins! The Redeemer, who came to save us, being God, is also a man, similar to us in everything except sin. “The word became flesh!” - Again, brothers, joy and fear! And, first of all, joy. - “I was small among my brethren, and young in my father’s house. My brethren are good and great: and the Lord was not pleased with them” (Ps. 152:1, 5), - so David once sang, comparing his former poor and humiliated state with the royal glory with which the Lord exalted him over Israel. This joyful song, brothers, should now be a song of praise for the entire human race. Man is the least among his brothers - the rational beings who surround the Throne of God; he is the youngest, in comparison with them, in the house of the Heavenly Father - in terms of the time of his creation, and even younger - in terms of perfections. His brothers are incorporeal beings - “good and great,” beautiful and powerful. In what ways does the word of God not describe to us the perfection of these elder brothers of ours? They are incorporeal, immortal, sinless, always strong, always easy in fulfilling the will of God. Man, although he was once considered “less than the angels” (Ps. 8:6), but with his sins he humbled himself so much before them that the angels, with all their love for him, could not recognize their brother in him. Despite all this, what do we see now? Our brothers are incorporeal beings - “good and great, but the Lord does not have mercy on them!” He did not deign to take upon Himself the nature of either Archangels or Angels, but accepts the nature (who would have thought?) of a weak, mortal, sinful person! After this, can we not be filled with joy, seeing that our poor nature has been honored with the honor of uniting in the person of our Redeemer with the Divinity Himself, so that “in Him now dwells all the fullness of the Divinity bodily!” ( Col. 2:9 ). How can we not rejoice, seeing that on the glorious and exalted Throne of the Divine, to which we sinners did not dare to raise our eyes without fear, will now sit one who is similar to us in everything, except for sin? Poor flesh, the home of sin and death, with all your weakness and inclination towards sin, I can no longer look at you with the disgust that you yourself deserve. No, you were sanctified when the Most Holy of Holies united with you. In Adam my nature fell, in the Redeemer it was exalted. In the glorified humanity of my Lord I have an undoubted guarantee that my poor humanity will one day be glorified, that my mortal will also be clothed with immortality. Where the Head is, there will be members; where the Firstborn is, there the lesser brethren will also appear; Where Jesus is the Forerunner, His followers will also gather there. “Our life in God,” the Apostle Paul once wrote to the Philippians, “is in heaven, from where we also wait for our Savior” (Phil. 3:20). Why is life in heaven acquired by those who still lived on earth? Because, as the same apostle argues in another place, because the Lord Jesus lives there, in heaven, and in Him we all already live. Well, Divine Apostle, what will be the consequence of this wonderful cohabitation of ours with Christ? That, he answers, is that the Lord “will not only transform our lowly body so that it may be conformed to His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21), but will also seat us all on the Throne on which He Himself will now sit (Rev. 3:21). Such majestic views are revealed to us, brothers, in the future because our Divine Redeemer is a man similar to us! But, at the same time, His humanity contains within itself everything that is needed to inspire us even in the midst of our present disasters. In order to see this more clearly and separately, let us recall one of the purposes for which, according to the teaching of the Apostle Paul, God the Father pleased that His beloved Son should become a man like us. “He had to become like the brethren in everything, that is, to all of us, by the way, for this reason and for this purpose, that the High Priest might be merciful and faithful to those who come to God, to atone for the sins of men: for in him he suffered, having himself been tempted, he might help those who were tempted” (Heb. 2:17, 18). That is, the Wisdom and love of God seemed to be afraid that our Intercessor would not be unmerciful to us if He Himself did not experience our temptations, and for this purpose they determined for Him to take our flesh!.. Could it be more and more powerful than this to console and encourage our weakness? Oh, now each of us can boldly cry out to our Savior for help. He Himself was tempted “in all sorts of ways” (Heb. 4:15), knows all the weaknesses of our nature, knows how difficult it is for a weak spirit to rise above the flesh, how difficult it is for our damaged nature to fight sin. He Himself was embittered, persecuted, and had no place to lay His head; He himself cried out for help when he was abandoned by the Father on the cross. After this, is it possible that He would not hear and send consolation to those who would cry out to Him? To forget, so to speak, the purpose of one’s own temptations, one’s own suffering? And the Angels, who themselves have never suffered, are merciful: He must be even more merciful. And the Angels, who themselves never asked for help, are ready to help: He must be even more ready. After this, there is no reason for us to grumble about our weaknesses and fear temptations: we are weak, but our Savior is the mighty God; and we do not have in Him a High Priest who cannot suffer with us in our weaknesses, but who, like us, has experienced everything except sin. “Therefore, the Apostle concludes, we must boldly approach the throne of grace, in order to receive mercy and find grace whenever help is needed” (Heb. 4:16). In only one case, brethren, this grace-filled boldness and trust cannot at all belong to us: unless our actions and life correspond to the rules of the Gospel. In this case, the Most Holy Body of the Lord and His Most Pure Blood, acceptable in the Sacrament of Communion, will serve for each of us not for the healing of soul and body, but in judgment and condemnation, the more severe, the higher the Sacrifice offered for atonement. Indeed, unrepentant sinner, what are you saying at the future judgment in your justification? If you were judged by God, and not the God-man, you could, although illegally, point out the weakness of the flesh that was innate to you, say that the Law of the Lord is holy and inexorable, and you “are sold to the flesh, sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14). But you will be judged by someone who has a similar nature to you, and you will have to give an answer before the God-man. What do you say in your defense? “I,” He will tell you, “have overcome the world and its temptations alone; everyone burdened me and no one lightened my cross. I conquered the world not for My own, but for your salvation, I conquered with your flesh, “condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:1, 3), I conquered not in an easy fight, but on the cross, being abandoned by My Father. This is what I did for you in the flesh! What did you do? I did not know how to overcome a world already defeated by Me, to overcome not for Mine, but for my own salvation, to overcome with My omnipotent grace. Behold, the traces of the crown of thorns on My head, which, like yours, was sensitive; This is the place where the spear pierced Me; Here are the ulcers from the nails on the hands and feet, which, like yours, could not help but feel torment! What did you do? Show me just one plague that you would suffer for the sake of righteousness, show me just one hair that you would lose for Me. But not only were you not persecuted for the truth, you were also turned away from evil, encouraged to do good with advice, commands, rewards, and fear. And you, drawn to heaven by people like you and by My grace, allowed the enemy to drag you into hell? Slave and crafty slave, your destruction is from you! “When this is so - anyone can think about this - when an unrepentant Christian will be judged much more severely than a pagan and will be subjected to greater punishment because he has disparaged the merits of the Son of God, then the coming of the Savior into the world will serve to greater condemnation of a significant part of the human race, for it is known that those who are called are many, but those chosen are few.” Thus, brethren, this is the truth constantly proclaimed by the word of God; and perhaps (to what extent does not the madness of a sinner extend?), perhaps some, when reflecting on this terrible truth for sinners, reach the most terrible desire that the Son of God should not appear in the flesh for their salvation, so that they would not be subjected to even greater condemnation for sins which they do not intend to forsake. But what of this? Just as we could not bring down Christ the Savior from heaven, so we cannot raise Him from us to heaven. God the Father sent His Son to us once and forever, “and will not repent!” (Ps. 109:4). He will forever be the Savior of the repentant, and the Avenger of the unrepentant; will forever lie “for the fall and... rising of many” (Luke 2:34). Fall, if you will, stumble over Him: but those who faithfully follow His voice will always find Christ in Him - “God’s power and God’s wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:24). But why don’t you, brethren afflicted by sins, find this for yourself in our Savior? You have distanced yourself from Him through your incessant unfaithfulness to His holy law, but He is always close to you with His mercy - behold, He left the ninety-nine sheep and came to seek and save you who had gone astray! You lie down, defeated by sensuality, and is He really on the throne? Is it not in a manger, so that you can come to Him always and everywhere? O brethren, instead of doubts, grumbling and stubbornness, understand better “the Holy One and the Messenger of our confession” (Heb. 3:1), understand His love for you, His meekness and condescension towards all sinners, and you yourself will say: “such is it fitting for us” (Heb. 7:26) Savior! Thank the Lord yourselves for visiting us today, who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. But, Lord, Lord! Apparently, we need not only light, but also healing of the eyes, not only healing is necessary, but also the opening of our lips to receive it. This is also possible for You, for for You everything is possible! Anoint our eyes with the all-healing “colluria” (Rev. 3:18), so that we may see Your light, shining now from Bethlehem; open our mouths to receive the bread of the animal which has now come down from heaven. Otherwise, without Your gracious assistance, we will not stop melting from thirst even at the source of life, and in the house of bread we will die of hunger! Amen. Word on Christmas Day When something new and extraordinary happens on earth, everyone usually asks what it means, what should be done about it and what to expect? The descent to earth of the Son of God, the appearance of God in the flesh, is, brethren, such an extraordinary event, the like of which has never happened before, nor will ever happen again, in comparison with which all other events mean almost nothing. What does it mean? Why did the Son of God descend to earth? What did you bring with you? How can we meet Him, and what should we do? The Church wisely answers all these questions of unspeakable importance in one of her hymns. Having seen the strange Christmas, let us withdraw from the world, turning our minds to heaven: for this reason, the high God has appeared on earth and will draw us to heights (Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, Kontakion 8). So, the purpose of God’s descent to earth is to attract all those who exist down to heaven, the highest goal! The duty of those who, attracted, really want to ascend to the heights, is to get rid of the world and all its vanities - a necessary duty! The means to fulfill this duty and achieve the goal is, according to the instructions of the Church, the transfer of mind and thoughts to heaven - a means that is close to everyone, and the surest, and the easiest! Let us convey, brethren, these truths not so much to the mind, for which they are more or less known, but to our heart, which so often forgets them. For this reason, the high God appeared on earth and would draw us to heights. Exactly for this reason! Otherwise, what could attract Him Himself from heaven to earth? If He had sought glory, He would have gone to the Angels; and what will he find with us besides the manger and the cross? Only our poverty attracted Him. And who won't she touch? Is there any evil that does not rage against the poor human race in all its forms? What doesn't harm us? The earth feeds on our flesh, the waters often flow with our blood, the air breathes with our decay. The higher beings broke their alliance with us and disappeared; lower beings either enmity against us, or groan under the same yoke of vanity as we do. A grain of sand lying at the edge of the sea is more durable than kingdoms; a passing cloud is more permanent than the fate of many lucky people. The very light of our wisdom does not differ much from the light of wandering lights, which do not so much illuminate the path as terrify travelers with their fall. The very beauty of our virtue is like the blush on the face of a dead person. How about helping evil? How about fixing the damage? There is no means for this in anyone or anywhere on earth. We saw the sages: they either cried or laughed at the misfortunes of mankind, but the misfortunes remained. They met the legislators: they put barriers against the flow of evil; barriers have fallen one after another, and the terrible stream is growing and spreading. They rejoiced at the appearance of the friends of humanity: they illuminated the general darkness with some rays of joy, but after a brief flicker, darkness reigned again. Everything has been tried, and everything remains in vain! “I looked, and had no helper: I called, and no one interceded” (Is. 63:5), - this is what the entire human race could say about itself. There was no helper on earth, but there was one in heaven! Neither an intercessor, nor an Angel, but God and the Lord Himself appeared in the flesh, “that He might draw us to heights.” He who created us came to recreate us. And since He who is above all has come, the purpose of coming is above all. It was enough for us to be restored to the first property, but for Him it was not enough! Having restored, He then wants to raise us to a height, to such perfection, which we did not have before. And how to build it? Not calling only as those who are at a distance, not leading only as those who have gone astray, but drawing by force as those who are stubborn, who, without a strong prompting, themselves will not want to go to heaven. A lot was required for this attraction, and a lot was done! How does our Savior draw us? He attracts everyone with the power of conscience, he attracts with the commandments and threats of the Law, he attracts with the promises of the Gospel, he attracts by the example of himself and his chosen ones, he attracts with the service of the Church and her Sacraments, he attracts with his Body and Blood, he attracts with the invisible grace of the Spirit. A Christian, one might say, is entirely in the bonds of God’s love, from the cradle to the grave. Much has already been done through this attraction. How many souls are already on top! What human virtue is no longer in heaven! There are numerous hosts of prophets and teachers, martyrs and ascetics, abstinents and virgins. All are pure, all are bright, all are blissful; and all are such because the Lord of glory and bliss was on earth, drew them with Him to heaven and gave them the ability to become like Him. But amid our poverty and mortality, we do not and cannot now see all the great and beneficial consequences of the appearance in the flesh of the Son of God. This will be fully known when the end of the world and all the gracious orders of God comes, when the time of revelation of the children of God comes, the hour of reward and glory. Then, brothers, we will see from what abyss we were drawn, to what height we were raised, from what we were saved and what we were honored with. But are we, brothers, are we really taken out of the abyss and placed on high? Can the salvation of the world belong to us? For it belongs only to those who, feeling the attraction from above, surrender to it completely and forever, those drawn are eliminated as much as possible from the world and its vanities, constantly concerned about cleansing themselves from all filth of the flesh and spirit. This is a necessary condition for salvation; revealed in the Son of God; Without this, the Lord Himself cannot and will not be able to save us. A corrupt, unrepentant heart is such a heaviness that even His Omnipotence cannot lift to a height. Shall we complain about this? To complain that it is impossible for us to take the earth with us to heaven and bring our idols into heaven? But this would be a lament about the impossible. Thus, heaven itself would become hell. If, by a miracle of mercy, an unpurified sinner were transferred to heaven, he would not find anything heavenly there. The newness of objects and place would have amazed him for a while; but the heart and sensuality would soon demand food akin to itself, but it is not there and cannot be. The hunger and thirst that would result from this would amount to hellish torment in the midst of paradise itself. Terrible for sinners, but joyful for the righteous, this truth makes itself felt with force already here on earth. And here: what constitutes pleasure for a pious person, for example, prayer, fasting, going to church, visiting prisons, etc., produces burden and boredom in a sensual person. And conversely, what a sinner finds consolation for his poor soul is often an object of disgust for a virtuous person. But such a contrast between taste and pleasure should be revealed with even greater force beyond the grave. There, everyone already creates from himself either heaven, if he had the seeds of heaven on earth, or hell, if he gave place to the flame of hell while still in the body. That is why, brothers, all the sacred writers, all the prophets and apostles do not instill in people anything so often and so strongly as to try to cleanse their spirit and body. Without this, the descent to earth of the Son of God and all the means of grace will not bring any benefit; without this, the very blessings of heaven would not bring joy to the poor soul of a sinner, just as a blind or deaf heir does not receive any pleasure from the fact that the inheritance he received includes beautiful places and views of nature, or good-willed musical instruments. Having seen the strange birth of our Savior, let us withdraw, brethren, from the world: let us live in it as our Lord lived, as all the holy men of God lived, not being carried away by his temptations, not being seduced by his examples, not attaching our hearts to his blessings, lifting our thoughts above all that is earthly and temporary, or, as the Church puts it, turning our minds to heaven. This transference of the mind and thoughts to heaven is the very first, very convenient and reliable means of once transferring there with all one’s being. Where does our corruption usually begin? From bad thoughts. Our correction must begin with thoughts. Incessant thoughts about earthly and carnal things destroy us; frequent meditation on heavenly and spiritual things can save us. What is easier than thought? Meanwhile, an often repeated thought means a lot. Just as our bodily vision even takes on the color of those objects that we look at for a long time, so it happens with the eyes of the heart. Start thinking more often about God and His perfections, about the soul and its purpose, about eternity, about conscience, about the ugliness of sin and the beauty of virtue - good desires will soon appear from good thoughts; these desires, at least some, will turn into actions; from repeated actions a skill for good is formed; and there, from the action of God’s grace, a new heart and new life will appear. As for the very image of active ascension to heights, it is indicated to us by the very condescension of the Son of God to us: what brought Him down will raise us up. He was brought down to earth by devotion to the will of the Father: “Behold, I come,” He said to the Father, “to do Your will, O God” (Heb. 10:7). For us, this devotion is the first and direct path to heaven. - He descended to us out of His great love for the poor human race; we will ascend to Him out of our love for Him and our earthly brethren. Works of mercy of all bring us closer to the All-Merciful. He appeared on earth, clothed in all kinds of humility. If we also put on this garment, we consider ourselves damned sinners and rely on the mercy of God alone; then with this humility we will acquire the high that brought Him down, then we will only always faithfully follow in His footsteps - and we will certainly come to heaven, to Him, our Savior. Lord. Amen. Christ is born, praise! Christ from heaven, come down! Christ on earth, ascend! With this sacred song, blessed Damascus began his immortal chants in honor of the present holiday. With this same majestic song, the Holy Church begins, several weeks before the holiday, its pre-festive hymns in honor of its Divine Bridegroom and Lord. The song is high in spirit, deep in feeling and extremely edifying in meaning. It expresses with the same brevity as force the greatness of this holiday, and how it should be celebrated in a Christian way. First of all, the holy hymnist invites one and all to joy and praise: Christ is born, glorify! And indeed, this is the first feeling that naturally fills the entire soul of a Christian, as long as he understands even little the power and purpose of the glorious Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. How can one not rejoice, imagining the Divine greatness of the One Who is Born and the extremely beneficial purpose for which He is born, thinking that with the appearance of God in the flesh, our fallen nature is not only restored to the first degree of honor and bliss lost in Eden, but, in the person of the God-man, is exalted “above all beginning and power” (Eph 1:21), adored for all eternity! How can one not give thanks, remembering at the same time what the Sacrament of the Incarnation cost our Savior, that for this He left heaven and the throne of glory, took the form of a man, deigned to dwell with us on our poor earth, to endure everything that we endure, to endure what even we do not tolerate! And rejoicing and giving thanks, how, together with the hosts of disembodied spirits surrounding the manger of the Eternal Child, cannot sing glory to God in the highest! Oh, may all the sons of fallen Adam gather at this manger, may they form a single choir of praise and may they proclaim the glory of their Redeemer! – Glory, eternal glory, to God the Father, Who, according to His ineffable mercy towards us, “acting in many ways and in manifold ways” for our salvation, finally, “in these last days” (Heb. 1:1-2) deigned to send for this and the Only Begotten “the Son of His love” (Col. 1:13) “who is born of Wives, we are under the law, may the one under the law redeem us, may we receive sonship!” (Gal. 4:4-5) - Glory, eternal glory, to God the Holy Spirit, Who, also pouring out “many and varied” His gifts on humanity impoverished in spirit, finally, by His extraordinary influx, deigned to form in the womb of the Virgin the purest flesh for eternal union with God the Word, so that through this new, Divine Mediator it would then be poured out on all humanity yet in greater, higher gifts! Glory to the Divinity of our Redeemer, which even after His union with our humanity did not cease to be what it was from eternity! Glory to the humanity of our Intercessor, which, after His union with the Divine, became an object of worship for the Archangels and Angels! Christ is born, praise! Give thanks, priests, for a great High Priest is born, who “by one offering will perfect forever those who are sanctified by Him” (Heb. 10:14). Praise, O worldly ones, for He will make us all “...kings and priests” to God (Rev. 5:10). Praise, O wise men, for He has given us from God “wisdom... righteousness... sanctification and deliverance” (1 Cor. 1:30). Praise, O buoys, for He will choose to blunder, so that “by the violence of preaching he may save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). Praise, elders, for the Child is the Eternal God and the Father of the future age. Praise, youths, for whoever is not like a child cannot enter His Kingdom. Praise, little children, for from the mouth of a child He praises Himself. Praise, virgins, for He is born of a Virgin. Praise, O widows, for He, brought into the church, will be preached by the widow. Let all creation glorify and magnify Him, for He is coming to remove the curse from all creation and bring blessing to the whole world! Glorify: share from your heart with the Church those sacred hymns with which she glorifies her emerging Master and Lord; proclaim yourself to His glory, whoever and how you can. Glorify: talk about Him in your homes and meetings, at meals and beds, with those you know and unknown, and especially with your friends and family. Glorify: admonish those who do not know or understand His love for humanity, His manger and the Cross. Glorify: both with your lips and in writing, and even more so with your life and your morals, trying to conform them to the rules taught from Bethlehem. Glory, do not be ashamed of the swaddling clothes and the manger: in them is our glory and salvation! Christ from heaven, come down! And the Angels glorify and act - they preach about the birth to the shepherds, they calm Joseph in a dream, they avert danger from the Divine Childhood; Moreover, it is indecent for people to remain inactive amid praise. Christ is coming to us from heaven: we must show that we are not moving away from Him on earth, but are ready to receive Him. For although He does not need anything on our part, since He Himself is coming to magnify and enrich us all; but in order for the benefits He brought for us to become our property, for this we need to be ready to accept and, so to speak, have a place to place them; and for this we need to abolish ourselves from everything that is occupied in us by the world with its blessings, and that is in no way incompatible with the gifts, with the riches of Christ. Could this happen soon? And can it be without determination and effort? So, souls who wish to meet the coming Lord with dignity, prepare to meet Him! First, as much as possible, distract your thoughts and feelings from earthly worries and worries and direct them to your Savior; stop, confirm both your mind and heart in His boundless love for you, on His humility, poverty and suffering, which rises for you. Decide to dedicate to Him not just any gifts and offerings, whatever they may be and no matter how great they may be, but yourself, your soul and heart, may He be the Lord of your entire life, the beginning and end of all your undertakings and labors. Conceal Him, using all the means for a grace-filled union with Him, which for this purpose were revealed by Him Himself in His word, and offered by the Church in her holy Sacraments. Save yourself diligently, not sparing any sacrifices for the “Visitor of Souls”, not turning away from any difficulties to unite with Him, fighting for this with all the obstacles erected from the world, the flesh and the devil. Proceeding in this way to the meeting of the Divine Bridegroom, you can be sure that He will not pass by the church of your heart, will renew it and decorate it with His very visit, and, like in the house of Zacchaeus, will speak peace and “salvation” to you (Luke 19:9). Christ on earth, ascend! Apparently, when Christ is on earth, it is better to remain on earth: for where Christ, the Lord of heaven, there is heaven. Therefore, the Angels now leave heaven and appear on earth to sing the glory of God in the highest. But Christ is on earth not in order to remain on earth and make it His dwelling place, but precisely so that by His appearance on earth he will show the way to all earthly beings to heaven and give the means to ascend there. After this, to continue to cling to the earth and linger on it means, neglecting the purpose of His appearance on earth, and neglecting one’s own salvation. And what would be on the earth and in the earth that would not encourage one to leave the earth? Doesn't the earth bring back thorns and thistles instead of roses and wheat? Are there not passions and vices, oppressions and untruths, poverty and sorrows on earth? Doesn't the earth serve as a coffin for all living things? If you already love the land, then the one that is promised as an inheritance to the meek, “a new land” (2 Pet. 3:13), in which only righteousness lives! From such a land one may not want to ascend higher, but one must first ascend to such a land, for this promised land is far higher than the present heaven itself, which, like the real earth, is condemned to “pass away with a noise” (2 Pet. 3:10). How to ascend from the earth? Of course, not by earthly means; everything that is from the earth, of necessity, strives and directs itself towards the earth. He who descended to earth in order to lead all earthly creatures to heaven will also provide the means for this; He Himself is already in place of all the means to this, for He will not remain on earth, but will again ascend to heaven, from where it came, and is strong to take with Him everything that will only join Him and put itself at His disposal! So, if you want to ascend to heaven, take hold of your Savior with your whole being, and you will be in heaven with Him. - How to ascend from the earth? First, by ascension of thoughts and feelings to heaven. What is easier than this and more accessible to everyone? But this alone means a lot. The soul is where it thinks; especially where he loves. Love heaven and you will live in heaven. For “where... the treasure..., there is also the heart” (Luke 12:34) (Matthew 6:21); and where the heart is, there is the person. – You can ascend from the earth, burying yourself in the ground: example – John the long-suffering. Like him, buried in the ground, high above the ground!.. You can, on the contrary, soar towards the clouds, beyond the clouds, with your thoughts, even with your body; and, meanwhile, to be deeply buried in the ground, so that there is only one omnipotent (John 11:43): “Lazarus, come out!” - can remove them from the earth’s womb. Let us live on earth, not clinging to anything earthly or perishable, constantly keeping in mind the eternal and the heavenly, transferring our hopes and our treasure there, being in an ever-ready state to move from the vale of exile to the fatherland, whenever we are called there - and what the sacred singer wishes for us will be fulfilled over us, and to which the sacred singer invites us, exclaiming: Christ on earth, ascend! Amen. Conversation on the day of the Nativity of Christ, at the liturgy In accordance with the great purpose of the appearance on earth of the Son of God, His most pure birth according to the flesh took place, as we have seen, brethren, in the most unknown place, at the most silent time; only the Most Holy Mother and Righteous Joseph were ministers of mystery and witnesses to miracles, but what happened in Bethlehem, by its very essence, was so important that it could not help but be reflected throughout the entire universe; the mystery itself, demanding secrecy, at the same time demanded testimony: the whole world needed to know that today was really born not the Deliverer expected only by the Jews from their enemies, but the Redeemer and Savior of the whole world. Accordingly, we will now see movement in all parts of the universe: the angelic world will hasten to appear miraculously in the vicinity of Bethlehem with a solemn doxology in honor of the Eternal Child; the pagan world, led by the mysterious star in the person of the Magi, will bring Him gifts and worship as God; The Jewish world will be divided in two, so that one - its best part, in the person of the shepherds - will rejoice with the great joy of the birth of the promised Savior, and the other - the worst, in the person of Herod and the scribes - will be shaken by the fear of a criminal seeking to escape from the coming Judge, and with a new atrocity will delay judgment and punishment. The events are majestic, wonderful and instructive! Majestic, because it is not only humans who act here, but also worldly beings; The Almighty Himself acts, introducing His Only Begotten Son into the world and, as it were, presenting Him to the attention of those for whose salvation He was sent. The events are wonderful, for extreme greatness is covered here with a veil of extreme simplicity and humility; Moreover, no matter what happens, it happens contrary to the considerations of human wisdom. The events are instructive, for the shepherds, the wise men, Herod and the scribes represent all of humanity and its various relationships to the Savior of the world, so that under these faces each of us can and should see himself and all other people, see and learn what he should do, so that the good part of the magicians and shepherds will receive, and what should be avoided, so that the terrible fate of Herod and his minions does not befall him. Therefore, intending to continue our conversations with you, we consider it our duty, my brethren, to invite you again to attention and spiritual vigor. For until now we have all been protected by fasting, but now, with the onset of the festive noise, the world will not fail to surround us with its vanity and temptations. Just see that you begin your journey with the holy Magi, and end it in Herod’s courtyard, before reaching Bethlehem; or, having reached and worshiped the Divine Child, you will not follow the heavenly instructions - to go from there in a different, new way - righteousness and truth, but you will return to the child killer and betray to him the secret of your Savior and your salvation. Let us arm ourselves against these dangers with a pure and sober thought and, calling upon the grace of the Born One for help, let us first of all focus our attention on those faces who had the good fortune to meet and honor Him at His birth. Were there many of them and who were they? Alas, almost the same thing can be said about the First Coming of the Lord, which, according to the Gospel parable, will follow at the Second, for when the time has come for the Bridegroom of souls and hearts to come, even now - “all of us have rested and fallen asleep!” (Matthew 25:5). - From Bethlehem, no one is visible in the den and in the manger; from Jerusalem - no one, from the other cities of Judah - no one! Who will meet the rising Sun of Truth and enjoy His first rays? Those who don't sleep. Who's not sleeping? The shepherds of Bethlehem, people who, apparently, were further than everyone else from the church and all that is holy. “And a shepherd ran in the same country, keeping vigil and vigil over his flock at night” (Luke 2:8). The object of their vigil was, as is obvious, the dumb; but, being vigilant over them, these shepherds all the more did not leave their verbal flock without guarding - their thoughts and feelings, morals and actions; That is why they were honored to be the first to worship the born King of Israel. Whereas, to shorten the time, they perhaps remembered the past glory of the Fatherland, and told each other, who knew what, about its future greatness, depicted by the prophets - “behold, the Angel of the Lord is in them, and the glory of the Lord is theirs!” (Luke 2:9). Such a phenomenon, in the darkness of midnight, in the mountain heights surrounding Bethlehem, must have presented a most majestic spectacle. But the poor shepherds had no time for the spectacle: “they were afraid,” says the evangelist, “with great fear” (Luke 2:9). They have long been accustomed to earthly noisy phenomena, and even dangers; but what now presented itself clearly went beyond the limits of everything earthly. The pure soul was close to the heavenly; but the weak flesh trembled: “fearing with great fear,” not knowing what to think about the miraculous phenomenon, and perhaps imagining (if fear allowed one to imagine anything) the ancient menacing saying: “No man shall see My face and live” (Ex. 33:20). Therefore, before the joyful news, fear had to be driven out, which was immediately done by the Divine Messenger. “And the angel said to them: Do not be afraid: behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10). Do not be afraid: I am the messenger not of judgment and executions, but of joy and joy, such joy that is announced only now to you alone, and should over time fill everyone with joy. What kind of joy is this? - “For today the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born to you in the city of David” (Luke 2:11). That is, the promised Messiah was born, Whom in Judea, around this time, everyone was expecting, from the least to the greatest, and Whose therefore one name was able to calm and rejoice every true Israeli. “Born... in the city of David,” and not in a den; for the Angel, among the “glory of the Lord” surrounding him, does not discover until the time of all the humiliation of the New Born. This den, however, was so close to Bethlehem that, one might say, it was the same place with it. But how can we find in a city filled with many people, the One who was born and the One who gave birth? - the shepherds could ask if first fear, and then excess joy did not prevent them from speaking. The angel warns this question, preaching: “And behold a sign for you: you will find a baby midwife, lying in a manger!” (Luke 2:12). You,” as he continued, “will, without a doubt, desire to see the Born One in order to worship Him and enjoy His contemplation, - and He, despite your poverty and simplicity, is ready to accept you: just look - He cannot suddenly be found by everyone, but you have to look for him, and not in the place where, according to the ordinary concept, one could assume the presence of the King of Israel: do not look for Him in the synagogue Bethlehem, not in the chambers of the rich, but in the den and in the manger, those mangers that have long been familiar to you, if not built by your own hands. Do not imagine that He was surrounded in this refuge by terrible signs, as on Sinai, or by the army of heavenly powers, as in the visions of the prophets; There is now no glory or greatness around Him: the Virgin Mother and the guardian elder are His retinue! The swaddling clothes and the crib are His symbol! “And behold a sign for you: you will find a midwife lying in a manger.” The sign is simple and close to you, but at the same time true and true, a sign both for your eyes and for your heart. After these words of the Angel it was to be expected that the vision would end; for everything that was necessary was done and said: but instead of this, as soon as the heavenly messenger finished his gospel, “suddenly,” as the evangelist notes, “that is, suddenly and unexpectedly, there was with the Angel a multitude of heavenly howls, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” (Luke 2:13–14). The phenomenon is significant already by its very appearance, for why are there so many heavenly armies when one peaceful messenger was enough? Why such a loud chorus of praise when the gospel itself is already over? Isn’t it obvious after this that this is a consequence of extraordinary joy and delight in the angelic world itself, and something similar to what happens between people who, when they are extremely happy about something and want to please others, then go for this not just one, but many, even all, participating in the joy? And what is this multitude of heavenly howls doing before the shepherds? Does it tell them anything new? Nothing. Confirms the words of his brother? No, there was no need for that. The celestials who appeared did not even seem to care about the shepherds; they are here for themselves; filled with delight, they cannot contain it within themselves, and therefore they sing and exclaim: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men!” (Luke 2:14). This doxology shows, however, the reason that produced such a joyful and extraordinary movement in the angelic world. Pure and holy spirits rejoice that now, with the incarnation of the Son of God, the glory of the Creator of all, stolen from Him by human disobedience and untruths, will be returned; that from now on, with the coming to earth of the great Mediator and Reconciler, peace will reign on it, which the earth has lacked since it was cursed for the disobedience of its Master - that eternal mercy and eternal favor will now rest over the human race, in the person of its new Divine Head. All this is seen by the pure and blessed spirits in all their strength - and they rejoice and triumph, for for them there is no greater bliss than to see the glory of their Creator restored in all its strength, how to be witnesses of the salvation of the human race that perished in sins. Wasn’t there any other reason for joy for the inhabitants of heaven that was closest to themselves? Has not the incarnation of the Son of God and the redemption of man opened up the opportunity and hope for reward in their own circle of what he lost through the falling away of the star? Did not the heavenly armies find a Head and Leader for themselves in the newborn Child of Bethlehem? These are important questions that have already occupied many of the ancient fathers and teachers of the Church. Whoever wants to have a complete answer to them is advised to turn to their godly writings: there you will find what you are looking for, and even more. And for us, from this sacred place, it will be enough to say in the words of the Apostle that “all things were created by the Son of God, even in heaven and on earth; so everything will take place in Him and about Him; that the Father was pleased to dwell in Him, after the Incarnation, for all things to be fulfilled, and thereby lead and reconcile all things to Himself... whether on earth or in heaven” (Col. 1:16–20), and that therefore “in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:10). The appearance of such a multitude of Angels with their laudatory faces should have served as a new incentive for the shepherds to see rather the Divine Child, Who, resting, as the heavenly messenger said, in a manger, nevertheless by His birth delights the whole angelic world; just as this same glorious phenomenon served for the shepherds to eliminate the temptation that could easily be born at the sight of the promised Savior of the world lying in a manger, among poverty and solitude. Therefore, “as the angels and the shepherd men went up...to heaven, they decided to one another, “Let us go as far as Bethlehem, and we see this verb that has passed, which the Lord spoke to us” (Luke 2:15). The natural reasoning of ordinary people, who seem to excite each other to do what everyone has long been ready for from the heart. While the inhabitants of heaven continued to sing a hymn of praise, which perhaps consisted not only of the words given by the Evangelist, until then the shepherds had no time to think about the path - their eyes were occupied with a wonderful vision, and their ears with heavenly sweet voices; but when both are over, the shepherds with all their thoughts enter into the goal of Divine revelation, and immediately decide to go to where the source of miracles is. Determination is apparently worthless; but he will not think in this way who remembers that the shepherds had to, in the middle of the night and the desert mountains, leave their flocks, which were more valuable to them than for any of the current rich men a whole ship loaded with treasures. “And she came and hurried, and found Miriam and Joseph and the child lying in a manger” (Luke 2:16). Just as there, at the appearance of the Angels, everything was majestic, so here the shepherds met only simplicity and squalor. But after the vision and evangelism of the Angel, the Divine Child, in the midst of the misery surrounding Him, should have seemed even holier and more gracious. “When he saw the word spoken to them about this Child” (Luke 2:17). As if to compensate for what the newborn King of Israel now lacked in appearance, the shepherds rush to tell everything they saw and heard from the Angels. Such a story served as a joy for both the Mother and the Elder, who at such important moments, apparently, were left to the mercy of chance. “Mariam,” says the evangelist, “kept all these words in her hearts” (Luke 2:19), that is, considering with them what She herself had already seen and experienced, and at the same time extracting from them guidance for the future, which, judging by the past and present, made us expect new, extreme contrasts in the fate of the Divine Infant. Having shared the revelation received from above with the guardians of the Childhood, the shepherds did not hesitate to share it with others whom they considered worthy of it, and, as the Evangelist notes, they amazed everyone with their words. “They all marveled at those who spoke from the shepherds to them” (Luke 2:18). They marveled, of course, at what was majestic in the vision of the shepherds, such as the appearance of the Angels and their wondrous praise, but even more at what was humiliating in it, such as the den and the manger in which the promised Messiah reclined. “And the shepherd returned, glorifying and praising God for everyone, even as he had heard and seen, as it was said to be done to them” (Luke 2:20). This is how Saint Luke concludes the story about the shepherds of Bethlehem. The conclusion is the simplest, but at the same time full of great praise for shepherds. That they praise and thank God for the extraordinary revelation and honor given to them is natural and necessary; but they praise and give thanks “for all that they have heard and seen,” that is, not only for the Angels and their hymns of praise, but also for the den and the manger, for the swaddling clothes and the tears of the Infant. This means that the humiliated state of the Messiah, so contrary to the general expectations and dreaminess of the Jews of that time, who thought to see a glorious king in Him, did not seduce them at all, and, therefore, they thought more correctly and purer about His face than the entire Sanhedrin of Judea: this already does considerable honor to the mind and heart of the shepherds. But another significant virtue is noticeable in them. Honored by the appearance of the Angel and to be the first to worship the Messiah, the shepherds do not think of gaining any right through this to constant closeness to Him, do not receive any disgust for their poor and low rank, do not seek the mercy of the future King from His Mother and guardian, do not promise or ask for anything, do not express any desire: having done their job, bowed to the Youth, having enjoyed and sanctified His contemplation, calmly They return to their flocks, so that they can gather them as before, and stand in their place, or better said, follow the flocks from one place to another for the whole century, until the Lord calls them to eternal rest in heavenly Bethlehem. And let no one think that this happened in the shepherds from the rudeness and foolishness found in people of such a state: no, this is a consequence of true simplicity of heart and spirit, the mature fruit of devotion to the will of God, wise contentment with one’s lot, freedom from attachment to earthly goods, constant aspiration of thoughts, following the example of the ancient forefathers, to the city above, “who is God’s artist and maker” (Heb. 11:10). Without such a disposition of spirit and a holy way of thinking, the poverty of the state of these shepherds would not only not bring them closer to the Divine Childhood, and would not be worthy of the Angelic Gospel, but would also make them, perhaps, traitors to the secret, enemies of the One who came to bless everyone, but now Himself has no place to lay His head. After this, it is not difficult to understand who the shepherds represent - they portray the simplicity and poverty of those people who, in the lowest place, by the sweat of their brow, carry out the work of their calling, without participating in the least in the noisy movements of public life. Are there many such people? Always and everywhere - most of them. Many, by their very condition, are removed from the direct pursuit of matters of piety, do not know how to read, live far from the church, are tied to their place and cannot leave it: such are warriors, household servants, guardians of secluded rural places, shepherds of flocks and others. All such people may sometimes have a sad thought that they are far from salvation, because they are far from the church and cannot be present at Divine services, even sometimes on the greatest holidays. But souls thus grieving, look at the shepherds of Bethlehem, who, like you, rarely visited the church, did not have the sacred books of the prophets in their hands, did not hear, like others, the instructions of the teachers of Israel, spent most of their time in rural solitude with their flocks, and yet the Angel with the joyful news of the birth of the Savior of the world did not turn to anyone else except them. Isn't this a consolation and a lesson for you? Be content with your lot, no matter how small and low it may be, lead your life in purity and truth, stand vigilantly on guard over your conscience - and you will become like the shepherds of Bethlehem. What prevents you from starting and ending each day with prayer? Sitting down to a meal and rising from it with prayer? Should we put the name of God and the cross of Christ at the beginning of every task? Here is your worship service! What prevents you from being honest, not lying, not slandering, not using foul language, showing mercy, if not to people, then to animals, observing the purity of the soul, if not the body? Simplicity, meekness, humility, patience - these most God-loving virtues belong to you by your very rank; and here is your morality! Follow this path - and you will one day be worthy to worship the Divine Child, no longer lying in a manger, but sitting on the throne of glory. Amen. “...and they opened their treasures and brought Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11) It is not without reason, my brethren, that there are three gifts in the manger of Christ. It could have been more, it could have been less, but three appeared. Is this a sign of the Most Holy Trinity in the Being of God; or as a symbol of the future triple ministry of Christ - prophetic, priestly and royal; or, finally, as an expression of the three parts of the human being, that is, spirit, soul and body? Research about this is left to your faith and your understanding. Our thoughts dwell entirely on the gift-bearing Magi. These wanderers of the East represented, one might say, all of humanity at the manger of Christ; and their gifts represent symbolically everything that can be offered to our Savior from us, His followers. In this regard, gold signifies material gifts; Lebanon - spiritual, immaterial gifts; and myrrh expresses gifts, so to speak, spiritual and material. Therefore, there are people who bring gold to the Lord; there are those who bring frankincense, there are those who bring myrrh; Finally, there are some who bring several gifts together. Who are these people? Thinking about this will reveal to us how each of us, like the Magi, can serve our Lord and Savior. Who brings gold to the Lord? Those who sacrifice for the glory of God and for the benefit of their neighbors bring something from their labors and acquisitions. For example, you created, renovated or decorated the church of God: you brought gold to your Lord. Your gift is pleasing to Him; for though He is now on the throne of glory; but, at the same time, for our salvation he continues to appear in the manger. This manger is on the church altar, where He, one might say, at each liturgy is, as it were, born again, in order to offer Himself again for our sins as a sacrifice to the truth of God. And how often does He suffer need in this manger! Here He needs clothing and cover, light and warmth. Therefore, if you do something for the benefit of the Church, then your offering is as favorable to the Lord as the gift of the Magi who brought Him gold. In the same way, you provided help to distressed humanity, arranged something for the benefit of the sick, orphaned, strange, helpless: you brought gold to the Lord, for He is so loving that He considers the needs and sufferings of those who believe in His name to be His own needs and sufferings; therefore, he will reward them for their help as for helping himself. “Inasmuch as you have made the least of these brothers of mine, you have made one for me” (Matthew 25:40), - this is what He will say at His Last Judgment to those who were merciful to the poor. How much such gold is brought to the Lord? Ah, if we compare what is offered with what is expected at the request of the passions, to satisfy not only needs, our very whims, with even what is clearly sacrificed to the flesh and the world, then it turns out to be the smallest part. The Church of God, for example, stands day and night before our eyes in ruins and asks for help; we would rather build for ourselves a magnificent shelter for our horses and chariots than pay attention to it. The poor man trembles before us from cold, hunger and illness: we will either refuse him with severity, or give him an insignificant contribution; and on the same day they are ready to destroy half the estate in a crazy game, or to show wasteful generosity at some spectacle. Such is our gratitude to the One who “is rich, but for our salvation now we are poor, so that through His poverty we may become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Who brings Lebanon to the Lord? Those who use their abilities, knowledge and arts for His glory and for the benefit of their neighbors, which obviously constitute something that cannot be bought by any gold. All this is God's gift to man; but all this can and should be a gift to God from man, an immaterial gift, higher than gold and silver. This precious Lebanon is brought to the Lord by the city governor when his administration is animated by the spirit of Christ and is aimed not only at civil justice and external peace, but also at maintaining and strengthening good morals and Christian virtues among the people. Such city government is like fragrant frankincense before the Lord and people. The shepherd of the Church brings Lebanon to the Lord when he vigilantly stands guard over souls and hearts against the errors and temptations of the age, unlaxly proclaims the ways of the Lord, instructs the lost, comforts the desperate, and edifies everyone. The mother of the family brings Lebanon to the Lord when, without relying on hired servants, without being carried away by distractions and amusements, she herself devotes her time and abilities to raising her children in the fear of God, to teaching them to abstinence, meekness, prayer and love of mankind. The fragrance of this Lebanon, filling the whole house, then spreads everywhere with those who were brought up in it in piety. The artist brings Lebanon to the Lord when, instead of following the spirit of the times, indulging his artistic human passions and providing them with new food with unclean inventions, he tries to turn all his works and inventions into an instrument of sound Christian taste, into a means of spreading - with grace and beauty - the true and the good. And this Lebanon will perfume many. In general, since there is no person who does not have the ability to do something; then there is no person who could not bring Lebanon to the Lord, using his ability for the glory of God and the true good of his neighbors. The third gift to the Lord from the Magi was myrrh - the last gift, therefore the highest, not only of gold, but also of frankincense. What is this gift and why is it so important? Smyrna, like Lebanon, emits an incense; but its distinctive property is that it is very bitter; therefore, it expresses our misfortunes and sorrows, tears and suffering. Now it is clear who brings myrrh to the Lord as a gift. The one who suffers disasters in life and suffers innocently brings it, does not allow himself either joyless despondency, or cowardly murmurs, or useless cries; who, when enduring disasters, is animated not by proud contempt for people, not by the desperate suppression of every human feeling in himself, but by living hope in God, the thought that through his suffering he is cleansed from sins, perfected in virtue and, what is even more gratifying, becomes like his Savior, who died for him on the cross. Enduring the misfortunes and sorrows of the age in such a spirit of faith and love is also a gift to the Lord, and moreover, more precious than gold, more fragrant than Lebanon. Let all those who suffer hear this, let them understand the advantage of their seemingly bitter, but in fact, if we put faith and the Cross of Christ into action, not a hard situation, and let them hasten to offer their myrrh to the Lord as a gift. The lucky ones of this age cannot do this: they have no bitter need and shortcomings, no myrrh. Many of those who have Lebanon, that is, excellent talents, also cannot do this: they have no serious temptations, no myrrh. It is with you, bloodless passion-bearers of God; you, who, without any fault of your own: some by the lot of birth, others by the vicissitudes of circumstances, others by human malice, others by the frailty of our bodily composition, almost every day greet and end with sighs, and who, perhaps, even this morning greeted the Feast of Christ with tears. Those who look at you condemn your difficult situation; you yourself, perhaps, sometimes fall under the weight of earthly trials, and we, in the name of our Savior, greet you with this precious likeness of His Cross! Take care of the precious myrrh that has been given to you as your inheritance; do not exchange it for any Lebanon, much less for any gold, and do not take away its fragrance with complaints and cowardly murmurs. What's there to complain about? The Lord already sees everything: every tear of yours is counted by Him, every sigh is weighed; and in due time he will take on everything a hundredfold. Amen. Conversation on the Day of the Nativity of Christ, at Vespers “And Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, and behold, a wolf came from the east to Jerusalem, saying: Where is the King of the Jews born; I saw His star in the east and when I came to my breath I worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:1–2) Considering the history of the human race before the coming of the Son of God into the world, and seeing how all the Divine orders for preparing people to receive the promised Redeemer were limited to the Jewish people, you almost involuntarily come to the thought: what happened at that time to other peoples? Were they really left to their own devices in such an important matter, such as the acceptance or non-acceptance of the Savior promised to the whole world? If so, then where is impartiality and heavenly mercy, which all the poor sons of Adam equally need! And what did the Jews do to earn the right to be the only object of special care and love? “Or is the God of the Jews only, and not of the tongues?” (Rom. 3:29). To her - “and tongues!” - answers the Gospel story about the Magi that you heard. For what do we see in her? We see that the pagans not only knew about the promised Savior, not only expected His coming with faith, but, what is especially noteworthy, they were the first to worship Him after His coming and serve Him with their gifts, and even became the heralds of His birth for all of Jerusalem, for the high priests of the Jews themselves. Thus, Providence justified His ways when the time came to justify them! Thus He showed that the Heavenly Father has forgotten no one in His great family - everyone is looked after, nourished, and instructed! And let no one think that the Magi were one exception in the fate of the pagans; on the contrary, they were, as proclaimed in church hymns, only the beginning of the “Church from the tongue.” And indeed, the Christian faith, preached by the apostles, did not spread anywhere so quickly, was not so firmly established, and did not bear such abundant and mature fruits as among the pagans. And all this, without a doubt, is because this vast field, apparently left unattended for so long, was in fact never abandoned by the Heavenly Worker, and, although secretly fertilized, was completely prepared for sowing the Gospel. The Jews, on the contrary, despite all the fact that they were protected by many rituals and rested on the Law of Moses and the Prophets, just as now they will not be so capable of accepting the promised Messiah, and subsequently they will show great inattention and stubbornness, and will become so obsessed with prejudice that the Savior of the world will be lifted up by them to the Cross. And if so, someone will think, then Providence did not achieve its goal, having used so many special cares for the Jews in vain. No, beloved, it has achieved what was needed. For what was necessary? Is it not that the Jews preserved the words and promises of God, entrusted to them for preservation for the good of the entire human race? But all this has been preserved in the best possible way. In this regard, the Jewish people were like a small artificial garden in which plants were preserved during the winter for the coming spring. As long as it is winter, such a helicopter garden is very useful and necessary, but with the onset of spring and summer there is no longer a need for it: what remains in it grows worse than what is left in the free air. A similar thing happened to the Jewish people. When, instead of, upon the coming of the spring of the New Testament, leaving the enclosure of the canopy and rituals, leaving the mediastinum of the laws and institutions of Moses and moving to the free air and sun of the Gospel, this people wanted to stubbornly remain in the artificial greenhouse left by the Householder Himself, then what is surprising if, in doing so, contrary to the order of the Heavenly Master and their own well-being, the Jews became a diviim (wild) tree and barren? Those, on the contrary, from the Jews, who were submissive to the economy of the Divine economy, and allowed themselves to be led out of the winter greenhouse into the summer sun, look how luxuriously they blossomed, what rich fruit they bore for the whole world! For where did John, James, Paul, and Matthew come from, if not from the Jews? Who carried the Gospel throughout the whole world and laid down his life for it, if not the Jews? Even later, if many of the Jews did not believe; even now, if many of them continue to persist, then, while regretting this, we should not, however, forget that blindness, as St. Paul asserts, “came from parts of Israel,” that is, not forever, but for a while. Where? - “Dondezh the fulfillment of tongues will come.” And then what? And then “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:25, 26). After this, wherever and at whomever you look - at the pagans or at the Jews - you just need to look directly, and not superficially - everywhere you will find reasons to revere the ways of the Wisdom of God, which, if, according to the expression of the Apostle, allowed everyone: both the pagans and the Jews to be shut up in rebellion, it was precisely for this purpose, in order to finally have mercy on everyone (Rom. 11:32), so that the “mercy of God” will be abundant, and not from us - “let not all flesh boast before God!” (1 Cor. 1:29). After these reflections, which we hope will not be superfluous for many of us, let us turn to events and listen to St. Matthew as he, one of all the evangelists, tells about the worship of the Magi. One person narrates, for in this respect the evangelists are like singers standing in opposite countries: what one face proclaimed, the other is silent about; they rarely repeat the same thing; and, if they repeat, then either more briefly, or explaining and supplementing what was said to others. Therefore, after Saint Luke told us about the very birth of the Eternal Child and how He was announced to the shepherds and was seen from them, Saint Matthew will now preach the gospel about other, new worshipers of the Childhood - the Magi of the East. “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem Judaism, behold, he came from the east to Jerusalem” (Matthew 2:1). First of all, the evangelist determines the time of the event, for the Magi, as coming from a distant country, could come before the event, and could come long after; but they came precisely around the time when the Son of God was born, so that this extraordinary event would not remain unknown to Jerusalem for long. Such a correspondence in the coming of the Magi with the time of the birth of the Savior shows that everything on their journey was predetermined from above, and that it began a long time before the birth, perhaps as much as our fast begins before the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, which also constitutes for us a kind of spiritual journey to Bethlehem. But who are these people called Magi in the Gospel? Judging by the use of this word in our language, one might think that they were engaged in some kind of secret and impermissible knowledge, and were even in alliance with dark forces. For with us a sorcerer is almost the same as a sorcerer. But nothing would be more unfair in the present case than to have such a thought. For the Greek word magician, used in the Gospel, generally means a wise person, devoted to the sciences, especially to the study of nature, such as astronomers, doctors, botanists, physicists and others. The Magi of the Gospel were similar people, as shown, by the way, by the fact that they were engaged in observing the stars. In addition, ancient tradition testifies that these sages belonged to an exalted class of people, they were leaders of the people and owners of lands: that is why on holy icons they are depicted with crowns on their heads. But all this is not as important for us as the fact that, in the midst of the darkness of idolatry, in the land of unbelief, there were people who so earnestly looked forward to the Joy of Israel that at the first sign from heaven, leaving everything, they undertook a long and difficult journey to worship that King, who lay in a manger and, therefore, could not reward anything for worshiping Him. It is obvious that the Magi were guided by a deep conviction, a lofty thought, a sacred feeling. Where does all this come from among the pagans? From where all good things came from in the Jews - from above, from God. Let us remember that entire tribes of Jews were taken beyond the Euphrates, and most of them remained there even after the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon; that among those in captivity there were also Prophets; that the latter did not limit their instructions to their own compatriots alone, but proclaimed both the word of forgiveness and the words of promise to the pagans; that Daniel especially, this “man of desires and visions” (Dan. 9:23), as the word of God calls him, was even appointed by Nebuchadnezzar as the head of all the wise men of Babylon. Such a head could not help but communicate what was in it to the whole body, that is, to the entire class of Babylonian sages; Especially Daniel could not leave his disciples ignorant of that great and Divine Person, whose proclamation was the essence of all his prophecies. Therefore, nothing prevents, but, on the contrary, everything encourages us to think that the real Magi are the sacred remains of the Church, gathered from the tongue by Daniel in the East. This assumption, however, does not in the least diminish the moral dignity of the Magi of the Gospel. For, firstly, they themselves could not hear Daniel, and if they received anything from the highest wisdom, it was from his disciples, moreover, from the fourth or fifth mouth; secondly, how easy it was for the light of truth, if any was accepted, to be eclipsed and extinguished a hundred times amid the thick darkness of idolatry! How difficult it was for the seeds of life not to die out among the thorns of all kinds of passions that dominated the pagans! It is true that the Magi were engaged in science; but how much science helps faith in our time? Alas, the unfortunate fate of earthly wisdom is not to bring closer, but to lead many away from the faith!.. But in the Eastern Magi we see something completely different. The more enlightened they were, the more zealous they were for faith and holy objects, which could only come from a pure thought and a good heart. For this kindness and purity, without a doubt, they were honored to be the first called in Bethlehem to worship the Savior of the world. Called, I say, for although they were looking for the birth of the King of Israel; but they probably would not have gone without a special calling - from above, even having heard about His birth. “We saw,” they say, “His star in the east, and I died”; It means that if they hadn’t seen it, they wouldn’t have gone. Why was the star, and not something else, used to call the Magi? Because, without a doubt, the Magi themselves were engaged in observing the stars; and behold, Providence acts on them through the very thing to which they are accustomed. However, the actions of this star are so amazing, its course is so unusual, even opposite to the course of all known luminaries, that one involuntarily has, following Saint Chrysostom, to see under this star an intelligent force, which, by the command of God, this time took the form of a heavenly body in order to guide the eastern sages to Bethlehem. Indeed, look what is happening to this wonderful star! Having appeared in the east to the wise men, when they were still at home, the star then hid and was not visible: for, having come to Jerusalem, they speak of its appearance as something past: “we saw His star in the east.” But upon leaving Jerusalem, the star appears again and walks before the Magi - “walking before them,” which does not and cannot happen with a material star. And when the Magi approached Bethlehem, “a star was a hundred above, where the Child was” (Matthew 2:9). How can this happen to an ordinary star? How will she become “above, where the Child is?” and how will the place of His abode be indicated? This can only be done by a small luminary, consisting of intelligent power, or directly controlled by it. But why, someone will ask, did the intelligent force, if it existed and acted in the star, not act directly on the Magi, appearing to them in the form of a man, and did not become their leader, as, for example, the Archangel once traveled with Tobit? Because, without a doubt, the Magi were not prepared for such a phenomenon, that in this form it was not necessary for them and would not have had such a beneficial effect on them. The providence of God, argues Saint Chrysostom, in His revelations to people is in accordance with their morals, acts on them through what is more characteristic of them, as it is generally a trait of wisdom to act in this way. Therefore, the Magi, as observers of the secrets and order of nature, among other things, of the heavenly bodies, are called by the star. But how could they know from the star that no other King had been born, but the King of the Jews? For let us suppose that they were awaiting the birth of this King; Let us assume that the star was extraordinary in size and light; but still she had no lips to tell them this. “I see this thing as not being a single star,” answers Saint Chrysostom, “but also God, who in the beginning moved their soul, created the hedgehog under Cyrus, having established it, so that he may let the Jews go.” The star, as one must think, by the time of its appearance and its position (among star observers, both were distributed among peoples and countries) suggested the idea that the Messiah proclaimed by the Prophets was now being born in Judea; and the rest, that is, firm confidence in this thought and the determination, leaving everything to go to worship the Newborn, is produced by grace, always inherent in pure souls. In all this we can already see a special order from above, but even greater in what follows. Under the guidance of the star, the Magi were able to come straight to Bethlehem. This would eliminate all danger for them, even for the Childhood Himself, from Herod; if they had not entered Jerusalem. But from whom would Jerusalem then learn about the birth of its King? But he had to find out in such a way that he could not later say: I don’t know, I haven’t heard, it wasn’t told to me; and yet in such a way that this knowledge does not in the least harm the mystery of Bethlehem. The Magi will do all this by appearing in Jerusalem; and they will enter Jerusalem because the star, having appeared to them in the east and lifted them, so to speak, from their places, then, perhaps soon after the start of the journey, will disappear from sight. Where to go without her? It was natural to turn to the capital, where kings and rulers of nations usually live and, therefore, are born. And “behold, wolves... came to Jerusalem, saying: where is the King of the Jews born; I saw His star in the east and came to worship Him.” – The language of bewilderment, apology and self-encouragement. Circumstances required all this. For the Magi must have come to considerable bewilderment and confusion when they entered the borders of Judea, and did not hear anything about the birth of the King of the Jews; even more so - when they reached Jerusalem, and no one said a word about it. For if even one person spoke about this, then they wouldn’t even have to ask. But when everyone was silent, naturally it was necessary to turn to questioning; and so they ask everyone who landed on the moon: “Where is the King of the Jews to be born?” Show us the place that should have been known to everyone without question. We are not asking in vain about what, apparently, none of you yourself knows, but for the most important reasons; We were brought to you by curiosity, not by any earthly sights, but by a sign from above: “we saw His star in the east.” How could we not come after this? So where is your new King? We are drawn to Him not by any benefit or politics, but by deep, spiritual respect and faith: “Let us come and worship Him” - to render the honor that is due from all to a Person so great and sacred. But, wise men of the east, do you know who is now sitting on the throne of Judah? Have you thought what your words might cost the born Child, even to yourself? The Magi either do not know this, or do not want to think about it; both could be in them. As foreigners, they, firstly, might not know the political relations in which Judea was located; but even if they knew about Herod’s illegal rule and cruelty, then in them, as extraordinary people and completely devoted to the guidance of the heavenly and who had already experienced its effect, they could have the courage to reveal their thoughts, do their job, despite any consequences, testify to the truth before the kings and not be ashamed, not afraid. The providence of God, however, long ago arranged everything so that the boldness and preaching of the Magi, having served to admonish and shame Jerusalem regarding the birth of the Messiah, would not in the least bring danger to the preachers themselves, as we will see in our next interview. How shall we conclude the present? Let us conclude with what we began - by reflecting on the ways of the Wisdom of God, but no longer in relation only to Jews and pagans, but in relation to ourselves. Constantly enjoying the midday light of the Christian faith, using (if only we really use) all the grace-filled means that it provides for our enlightenment and sanctification, and seeing at the same time how even a large part of the human race remains hitherto in the darkness of paganism or Mohammedanism, without the Gospel and the Cross, without the spirit and life-giving power, some shudder at this striking contrast and come to dark thoughts regarding the Divine world rule, they become discouraged and think that God’s Providence does not provide the desired care for these our brothers in humanity. We do not condemn your sensitivity, your participation in the fate of humanity: you, who have such thoughts and, perhaps, suffer from them. But do not be quick to judge the paths of Divine Wisdom, which are as distant from our paths as heaven from earth; do not allow yourself to think that we can ever be more humane than Him who did not spare His Only Begotten Son Himself, but gave Him up to torment and death for all of us. Can this Only Begotten Son forget those for whom He ascended the Cross? How He accomplishes His work, that is, the work of our salvation, and where we do not at all expect it; example and proof are the Magi. If the Gospel story had not brought these pagans out of the darkness that hid them and presented them before our eyes, who would have thought that in Persia and Arabia they were so diligently awaiting the coming of the One whose birth they did not know in Jerusalem itself? It was not in vain that the Supreme Apostle of Christ proclaimed that “fear God in every way and do what is right and is pleasing to Him” (Acts. 10:35); and the example of the Magi shows that such people can indeed exist in any language. How is natural human righteousness, necessary for the justification of every person before the Judgment of God, fulfilled in this case by the righteousness of Christ; how Christ is proclaimed and made known there; how wonderful branches, without human help visible to us, cling to this life-giving vine: all this is the secret of Providence! And when the mystery of Providence is, then, without a doubt, the mystery of mercy. If it is hidden from us, it is of course because it could not be revealed for our benefit; and, moreover, hidden not forever, but for the time being. The great and holy day of revelation will come, on which just as all our deeds will be laid bare in the face of the whole world, so in the face of all people all the ways of God for the salvation of the human race will become clear. Now, instead of fruitlessly regretting the fate of people not illuminated by the light of the Christian faith, the duty of a true Christian is to leave their fate to mercy and Divine Wisdom and, on his part, to use the word of edification and an example of a good life to admonish them, to edify his own salvation with fear and trembling. For who would not be horrified by the example of the Jews, who, using all the most extraordinary means to sanctify themselves, nevertheless turned out to be so little capable of accepting the Promised Redeemer? What happened to the Jews can also happen to us, Christians: the Kingdom of God, so close to each of us, may finally pass us by, just as it passed by the Jews. So, let us be careful that when the Lord comes again in His glory, the pagans and unbelievers do not precede us Christians at His throne, as they preceded the Jews at the manger. And if only they had foreshadowed it! Even worse may befall us. For it was not in vain that the Savior Himself said that at this decisive time, “many people from the east and the west will come and lie down... in the Kingdom of Heaven: the sons of the kingdom, as we Christians now call ourselves, will be cast out into outer darkness” (Matthew 8:11–12). This is something we should think about most of all when remembering the holy Magi. Amen. Conversation on the second day of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, at Matins The prophet Isaiah, in a plaintive speech on behalf of God against the unbelief and stubbornness of the Jews, by the way, says this: “The ox has known him who acquired it, and the ass has known his master’s manger: but Israel has not known Me, and My people have not understood” (Isaiah 1:3). An ancient tradition claims that this prophetic image was literally fulfilled during the birth of our Lord in the flesh; because at His manger, together with the Mother and the righteous Joseph, there were supposedly two animals: an ox and a donkey, which served them during the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem and now with their breath warmed the air in the cave of Bethlehem, too harsh for the newborn Child. A touching picture of poverty and humility, and at the same time a new, sharp denunciation of the people of Israel! For let us suppose that he did not know about the place and time of the birth of his Savior and therefore could not, even if he wanted, to serve Him with this as he should: but now he learns this from the Magi, he learns in such a way that all of Jerusalem, starting from the king, will begin to move. What will the news, so joyful, produce? “It will apparently produce a lot, but at the same time nothing significant.” Herod will gather the high priests and scribes and ask them the question: “Where is Christ born?” (Matthew 2:4) The chief priests and scribes will review all the prophets and say that He is born in Bethlehem of Judea. And then? - then the Magi, just as they came alone to Jerusalem, so alone they will go to Bethlehem, and will find the Divine Infant there just as with one Mother and Joseph, as the shepherds who were there before found them. And then? Then the Mother and the Elder will understand the Child and will flee at night to Egypt from the sword of Herod. Thus, the Prophet, even now, standing at the manger of Bethlehem, could repeat his ancient complaint with even greater force: “The ox knew him who acquired it, and the donkey his master’s manger: but Israel did not know Me, and My people did not understand!” What is the cause of this terrible blindness of the Jews? Lack of light? But the wise men from afar, from a foreign country where idolatry reigned, came to worship the King of the Jews. Let us suppose that they are excited by the appearance of a star; But didn’t the Jews have prophetic writings that were worth any star? Moreover, the star did not shine for the Magi alone; Anyone could look at her. The very appearance of the eastern sages in Jerusalem was already instead of a sermon and a great banner for the Jerusalemites, for it showed that the whole world was beginning to move. How could the Jews remain motionless? How can everyone not rush to Bethlehem? Not to go, not to find out, not to find, even if it was associated with labor and danger, for the work of salvation is worth all labor and all danger? But we will not see anything like this in the Jews. Why? From criminal indifference and coldness, because everyone loved their temporary peace more than their eternal salvation. For there is nothing heavier and more immobile than a soul devoted to the world, hardened and nailed to earthly pleasures: it chases after small and insignificant things like a child: it cries when a trifle is taken away from it, but does not look at the biggest and most important things or turns away, just as children hide when they are shown something majestic. So it was with the Jews. St. Paul expresses himself most justly when he says that they rested on the law. It was as if the rites of Moses were like a soft pillow for them: performing them mechanically, accepting circumcision, making prescribed sacrifices, giving tithes, performing ablutions, the Jews thought that in this way they were doing everything that was needed, and that after that they had no choice but to enter the future Kingdom of the Messiah, and thinking so, they fell asleep in carelessness. The idea that to enter this Kingdom requires truth and righteousness, or at least sincere and unrepentant repentance of sins, that this is a glorious Kingdom, and having come, it can bypass them, as unworthy, and go to the pagans - such a thought never occurred to anyone. But in reality something else happened: the despised pagans turned out to be much more capable of the Kingdom of God; joyfully accepted what the Jews foolishly rejected, and thus captured, so to speak, the blessed inheritance from natural sons and heirs. But let's look at the events themselves. “When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3). Herod suddenly learned about the coming of the Magi, for his suspicious nature, according to the testimony of the Jewish historian, forced him to guard all the entrances and exits of his kingdom. It was impossible for him not to be embarrassed by the question of the Magi about the birth of the King of the Jews. For Herod, although he was called the king of Judea, was an illegitimate king, a foreigner, enthroned by the Romans, and who did not atone for his imposture in any way, except for extreme cruelties, which extended to the point that, on one suspicion, he put to death even his own children. Without trembling, such a tyrant could not even think about the birth of the great Descendant of David, whose future dominion he, no doubt, imagined in no other way than in a sensual form, that is, that the Messiah would overthrow him from the throne and demand from him an account of all cruelties and madness. “But for the sake of it,” asks Saint Chrysostom, “Jerusalem is embarrassed; for the prophets foreshadowed the Savior and Benefactor and Liberator from the beginning of the existence of Christ? It is fitting for them to boast that a King has been born to them, and I will bring the country to them; and they will have all their servants." Indeed, if the people of Jerusalem had a sound understanding of the Messiah and, at the same time, love for Him, then the news of the birth of the Messiah should have delighted them extremely, as the fulfillment of long-standing, age-old expectations, as the beginning of the gracious Kingdom of God on earth and the glory of the people of Israel. But this was not the case with the Jerusalemites; and, meanwhile, everyone, on the occasion of the news of the birth of the Messiah, immediately imagined new persecutions from the same Herod, and was troubled in spirit. Many were embarrassed by the fact that they had an unclean conscience, a life that was not Israeli, and pagan morals; But with such qualities, how can one appear as the Messiah? How to appear in His Kingdom? But be that as it may, only Providence, obviously, achieved its goal in this case, letting all of Jerusalem and, consequently, all of Judea know through the Magi that the hour of the event of the prophecies had come, that the long-awaited Savior had come, that the Old Testament was ending and the New was beginning. “Hearing... the king was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” Herod, thus embarrassed, probably had the first thought - to destroy the terrible news, to destroy the messengers themselves. But when inhumanity inspired such a thought, habitual cunning and cunning (for Herod was as cunning as he was cruel) held back and suggested something else. “What good is it,” thought the tyrant, “if I kill the Magi now? The news spread from them will not be destroyed, but rather will be strengthened. And what is most important is that the newborn Baby will survive in this way, for now it is still unknown where He is and who He is. It is better to take advantage of this opportunity in another way: order to gather the high priests and scribes, find out from them where, in the opinion of these superstitious Jews, their Christ should be born; then send the Magi to Him, and through them find out where my future rival is: then nothing will save Him from my revenge; then, if it turns out to be necessary, the Magi will pay me for their news and the dangerous excitement caused by their arrival among the people.” All this seemed to Herod, without a doubt, the height of wisdom and ability to act in accordance with the circumstances, and meanwhile, all this would serve no other purpose than to fulfill the intentions of Providence - to make known to all the people of the Jews the birth of their King. “And having gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, they asked them: Where is Christ born?” (Matthew 2:4). Herod could not have acted better in this case, if he had actually been a zealous honorer of the God of Israel and the promised Messiah; for, firstly, this already serves very much to the honor of the Newborn, that a whole class of people, the first in the state, the most sanctified and the most learned, together with the king, is concerned not only with His person, even with the place of His birth; and secondly, it is of no small importance that all the high priests and scribes, after diligently comparing the prophecies, will say loudly and firmly exactly what has now come true in practice, that is, that Christ, as he should have been born, was actually born in Bethlehem of Judea. A better and more complete testimony of the truth in this case cannot be imagined; and we owe it to the same Herod, that is, to his deceit, or better to say, to Providence, which caught him in this deceit. But what about the high priests and scribes? “They said to him: in Bethlehem Judaism” (Matthew 2:5). “Look,” notes one teacher of the Church, “how the high priests of the Jews, despite their moral badness, correspond to the purpose of their knowledge, showing the people what is in the law and the prophets. That is why the Savior in due time will say: “Everything that you are commanded to observe, observe and do; but do not do it by deeds” (Matthew 23:3). For the deeds did not exactly match the words; just as, for example, now the high priests will show the way to Bethlehem, but they themselves will remain in Jerusalem, like those soulless signs standing on the main roads, which always show the way to everyone, but they themselves never move. It was impossible, however, for the high priests not to know or not to tell the truth now; because it has long been depicted in Scripture very clearly. “For this is what is written by the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way less than among the rulers of Judah: from you will come a Leader who will shepherd My people Israel” (Matthew 2:5–6). Some of the later Jews began to attribute this prophecy not to the Messiah, but to Zerubbabel, under whose leadership the Jews once returned from captivity in Babylon; but such false interpreters are ashamed by the testimony of their ancestors, the entire Sanhedrin, which, as you see, attributes this prophecy to the Messiah. Moreover, Zerubbabel, although he belongs to the tribe of David, was not born in Bethlehem: and it is impossible to say about him what the prophet further says about the Leader who has to come out of Bethlehem, that is; that “He came forth from the beginning from the days of the world” (Mic. 5:2). Having heard about the decision of the Sanhedrin of Judea, the Magi must have been quite surprised how these people, having in their hands such prophecies that made it possible to determine everything by them, did not know until now that Christ was really born. But now they could be surprised by many other things in Jerusalem, if they had the desire and time to judge the actions of others, and not mind their own business. The Magi could have thought one of two things, looking at the Jerusalemites: either that Providence has a special reason for hiding the birth of the Divine Child from the Jews, or that the Jews are extremely careless in this important matter; and probably they thought both, for both actually happened. For a time, Herod alone could appear to the Magi in the most favorable light. For what, it seemed, could be purer and nobler than his actions? Being king over the Jews, he not only is not angry, apparently, for the news of the birth of the King of the Jews, not only does he not hide this news, but he also gathered a whole council of people for an impartial study of the place of His birth. This alone brought him praise in the eyes of the Magi; and even more so how he dealt with them next. For what does Herod do? “Then Herod called the wise men, and from them you tested the time of the stars that appeared” (Matthew 2:7). That Herod calls the Magi secretly, and that with such diligence he inquires about the time of the appearance of a wonderful star - this could give rise to suspicion about his sincerity and intentions, but in order to penetrate this abyss of deceit, one had to have a look that was not as simple and kind as the Magi had. On the other hand, all this could easily be interpreted in the kindest way, honor as a consequence of the prudence of Herod, who did not want to worry the people for the time being with his open communication with strangers, who wanted to more accurately know all the circumstances of the event, which was apparently so desired for him. Moreover, it was easy for the Magi to establish themselves in these last thoughts when Herod, having taken away the necessary information from them, not only did not return them back, not only did not keep them in Jerusalem and did not deprive them of their freedom, not only did not show any kind of displeasure, but he treated them like a king and himself sent them to Bethlehem and, having sent them, said: “When you go, test what is known about the Childhood: when you will find, tell me, that I may go and worship Him” (Matthew 2:8). The words are cunning: a kind of apology and secret, inconspicuous punishment. “You see for yourself,” Herod seemed to say to the wise men, “that this is an extremely unusual matter, that this whole event bears the stamp of mystery. It was told to you in the east, but all of us in Jerusalem knew nothing until now. It is clear from the prophets that the Messiah must be born in Bethlehem; but where exactly and how? – this is not specified. Yes, perhaps, Providence does not want anyone to know this ahead of time. You are called to the One born by heaven itself: therefore, go alone for now, so as not to cause untimely rumors and noise; but, having learned everything more precisely, come back and tell us. Then, if this turns out to be in agreement with the position of the Born, I will be the first - openly or secretly, as it will be better for Him - to hasten to appear to give the honor due to Him: “and I, too, will worship Him.” “Shed”, that is, having rejected all pomp, without chariots and bodyguards, without any retinue, in the form of a simple wanderer and pilgrim. So, it seemed, everything was thought out by Herod’s cunning. But this very deceit will serve to stop his cruelty. The Magi will now leave Jerusalem comfortably, even with honor. They already know where Christ is born; All that remains is to hurry to the goal of your desires. And here they are on their way. But when some perplexities were over, others were to appear. There is more than one house in Bethlehem: where to turn? We must again seek and ask, just as they asked in Jerusalem. But for Jerusalem, the question of the birth of the King of the Jews was necessary, because it served as a proclamation of the Messiah; for Bethlehem - not needed. Time itself was extremely precious: the cruelty of Herod, hidden for a while, could suddenly awaken and fall into disaster over Bethlehem prematurely, when the Salvation of the whole world was still contained in it. Moreover, the patience of the Magi has already been quite tested; time to reward them for their faith and concern. All this has been calculated, weighed by Providence, and the heavenly leader is again before the Magi. “And behold, the star which they had seen before in the east walked before them” (Matthew 2:9). You can judge the joy of the holy travelers when they again saw their first leader, who, moreover, now appeared to them no longer in his former, vague form - only appearing in the east - but having undertaken, so to speak, to lead them directly and directly: “and behold, a star... walking before them!” And “she rejoiced with great joy... when she saw the star” (Matthew 2:10). They rejoiced: for they saw that their journey was not in vain; they rejoiced because they had again apparently passed from human hands into the hands of God, and again entered into direct communication with heaven itself. In Jerusalem, no matter how flattered they were, no matter how cunning they were, the good heart of the Magi, filled with true love for the Born One, could not help but be burdened internally, not feel that they were not in their place - not desire the same freedom, the same direction from above. And behold, the wonderful star is back before them! The short route to Bethlehem has now been completed even faster; so Herod could not gather new thoughts, and the Magi, following the star, were already at the end of their path and their desires. “The star came, one hundred above, where the Child was” (Matthew 2:9), that is, it probably descended from a height so that it was possible, by its rays falling down, to easily recognize the desired place. What place is this? Evangelist Matthew calls it a church: “and he came to the church.” This means that Saint Mary and Joseph had already left the den and found refuge in some house in Bethlehem itself, which, no doubt, the holy elder did not fail to take care of, lamenting the fact that this could not have been done before, during the birth itself. Or maybe the Divine Child remained in the den and manger until now, and Saint Matthew calls this same den a church, for the word “church” is used in Scripture about any dwelling, even about birds’ nests. But be that as it may, even if the place has changed, then everything else remains the same: the former simplicity and poverty, the former silence and solitude; so that if the Magi were led by external splendor, then now there was something to be tempted a hundred times in the position of the newborn King of Israel. For how did they find Him? - “When he came to the church, he saw the Child with Mary, His Matter” (Matthew 2:11). Here is the entire retinue of the great King, foretold by the prophets and the star! Even Joseph, apparently, was now absent, absent, of course, for the sake of necessary things and, perhaps, by secret order of Providence, so that the Magi would not imagine that he was the father of the Child. However, it can be said about the Magi that they were above everything visible, for, despite the poverty surrounding the Child and Mother, as soon as they saw Him, they “fell and bowed down to Him”; that is, they showed such a sign of respect as is appropriate for the face of the Divine. Why did they show such respect? Is it through clear insight into the mystery of His Divinity? But the apostles themselves did not suddenly achieve such insight; such insight is not clearly found in the Scriptures even of some of the prophets. What brought the Magi to the foot of the Child? The pure heart was cast down, to which the sight of God was promised, and which now, anticipating the clear conviction of the mind, involuntarily bowed before the Word made flesh, just as John, while still in his mother’s womb, leaped with joy at the mere approach (in place) to This Divine Childhood, who was also in the womb of the Mother. “And she opened her treasures and brought him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Three gifts, as if as a sign of the Trinitarian Divinity and to signify the three types of intercessory service of the God-Man: gold as the King and Head of the human race; Lebanon as the High Priest and Teacher; myrrh, as a Man and Intercessor, who has through His death to destroy the power of death. Gold, frankincense and myrrh were brought, as the best of all that was in the East, for which the homeland of the Magi was famous. However, even here, according to the remark of Saint Chrysostom, the sublime direction of their thoughts is visible: they do not offer any of those sensual sacrifices with which the Jews themselves expressed respect for the true God, but bloodless gifts, thereby signaling and, as it were, beginning the worship of the New Testament and our spiritual sacrifices. Therefore, the same Saint Chrysostom calls the Magi “the firstborn of the church.” Appearing before the new Tsar with gifts was required both by the zeal and custom of that time; and meanwhile, gifts have never been so needed and at the right time as now. For the position of the Holy Virgin and Joseph was most cramped. Even from what they had in Nazareth, they could not take much, hoping to return soon; and now, as we will see, there was a flight to Egypt. Why would they go to this foreign country without the help received from the Magi? Thus, their gifts, one might say, were a gift from above - for the path. To whom? To the One who came to enrich us all with His unconditional poverty! To the One who Himself gives everyone life, breath and everything! When you think about this, brothers, you become lost in thought in the abyss of the Divine condescension and the humiliations that our Savior endured for us. But we still cannot give up self-love and worldly pride, we will not learn to love, like Him, simplicity and humility; still devoted to the luxury of insane and criminal pleasures of sensuality! Now there was only one difficulty left: how and where should the Magi return? In the natural course of affairs, they, without a doubt, would now go back to Jerusalem - to Herod, to keep their promise, and to share with him and with all of Jerusalem that joy and holy delight with which their soul was filled. But this would be fraught with extreme danger for the Adolescence and for themselves. Who will enlighten the holy wanderers? The star could no longer do this; another remedy was used. “Having received the news in a dream, he could not return to Herod; he would return to his country by another route” (Matthew 2:12). “The news was received in a dream”: this means that they spent not just a few hours in Bethlehem, but a day or two. Was it possible to soon leave the place where they had been going for so long and with such zeal, not to enjoy the repeated sights of the Divine Childhood, not to ask His Mother about everything, not to find out all the circumstances of the birth, so wonderful? “The news was received in a dream”; just as it happened, and will happen more than once, with Joseph. It is not said, however, what the Angel said to the Magi in this dream: it could have been enough to enlighten the impersonal, secret illumination of thought, but such that the Magi could not help but regard it as the voice of God, which must be followed unswervingly. Do you want to know what happened to the Magi later - at home? The Gospel does not say this, for it takes them out on Wednesday and deals with them no more than they were given to participate in the great event of Bethlehem. But the Holy Tradition, both in other cases and in this one, supplementing the Gospel story, says that the Magi were not content with making a trip to Judea; throughout their lives they continued to follow the star, proclaimed to everyone what they themselves were honored to see, and thus, having fought a good fight on earth, they were awarded eternal glory in heaven. Their incorrupt bodies were subsequently transferred from the East to Constantinople, and themselves became an object of reverent worship for believers. All this, without a doubt, is instructive, but for us the most instructive thing about the Magi is their holy journey, as an example of faith, love, devotion and patience. Thus, at the manger of Christ there are two kinds of people - shepherds and wise men, that is, the simplest people and the most educated people. Why is this so? Let us understand that our Lord and Savior accepts each and every one: bookless simplicity is also pleasing to Him when it is combined with the faithful fulfillment of one’s calling, with purity of conscience and life; Human wisdom is not rejected by Him either, when it knows how to subordinate itself to illumination from above and use its knowledge for the glory of God and for the benefit of others. This is how it was now, at the very beginning; So it will be afterwards: for the most part fishermen will be elected to the rank of apostle; Paul will also be taken, instructed in all the wisdom of the Jews. Therefore, if anyone is a shepherd of Bethlehem, that is, a simple and unbookish person, let him not be bored with his simplicity: the Savior will have enough light and wisdom so that with the Gospel and illumination from the Spirit, he can replace for him all the manuals of human sciences and arts, and enlighten him in everything that is necessary for his salvation. If anyone is an Eastern sorcerer, that is, a person familiar with the sciences, possessing much knowledge, let him not rely on his wisdom, but seek the heavenly light, let him follow it with the humility of the Magi, being confident that if he wants to bring the gifts of his abilities and knowledge to the one born of Childhood, then they will now be accepted by Him with the same favor, although He Himself has no need for them. Amen. Homily on the second day of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, at the Liturgy We saw, my brothers, that the Magi, as a result of the message received in a dream, departed from Bethlehem to their fatherland by another route, and not through Jerusalem, as they were supposed to do at the request of Herod. We don’t know whether the reason for this order was revealed to them, but the reason was important. In the gloomy soul of Herod, at the first news of the birth of the King of the Jews, a terrible intention immediately arose to destroy his future rival, as this bloodthirsty despot imagined Him to be. Belonging to the number of Jews by one name, having no faith in his soul, much less faith in the prophets and their predictions, Herod for this very reason did not at all share the holy expectations of the people of God regarding the coming of the Messiah, and did not have any favor towards His Person; on the contrary, seeing in Him an emerging branch of the tribe of David, to which by all rights belonged the royal throne, he considered the Messiah such a dangerous enemy for himself and his house, against whom he must use all means. The most reliable thing seemed to be to take His life; and so, Herod is now only waiting for the return of the Magi and news from them about who exactly and where this Child is, in order to give the command to kill Him. Therefore, it was necessary for the wisdom of God to take measures against this madness; and they were taken, through the removal, for a time, as we will see now, of the Divine Childhood not only from Bethlehem, but also from all the borders of Herod’s dominion. “And I went away to them (the Magi), behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying: Rise up, understand the Child and His Mother, and flee to Egypt, and be there, down to the river: for Herod wants to seek the Child, and destroy E” (Matthew 2:13). The holy elder could not have expected such a sad dream, after what he directly saw and heard before this in reality. For what did you see and hear? I saw shepherds leaving their very flocks in the middle of the night in order to hasten to worship the Newborn, and eastern sages with gifts before Him; I heard about the wonderful star, about the praise choirs of Angels, about Herod’s intention to come and worship the Youth. After such joyful events and news, one could lie down for the night with the confidence that all difficulties and temptations were over, that now a series of the most comforting phenomena would continue. It was different in the future, and in the immediate future at that! “And to the wise men who had departed, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream”: - that is, on the first night, probably, after the wise men; for it was impossible to delay: Herod’s anger did not sleep. “The wicked will not sleep,” says the Wise One, “unless they do evil” (Proverbs 4:16). But what about the angel who appeared? “Rising,” he says, “understand the Child and the Mother, and run to Egypt.” “Rising,” that is, without delay at all, on this very night, this very hour. “Understand the Youth and the Mother”; wake me up, if necessary, take me by the hand, lead me, even if I don’t want to go - on such a path, at such an hour. "The Youth and the Mother"; first of all, the Child is the main treasure, and with Him the Mother; Mother, and not your wife, as I previously called Her at my first appearance, for now you know everything; you know that This Offspring has no father, this Wife has no husband. “Understand and run”, as one runs from a house in which there is a fire, as one escapes from an animal or an enemy - with as much speed and effort as possible. “And be there, there is a river in Dondezh.” You will not remain in Egypt forever, but for a time until the storm passes: then I will appear to you again and tell you what to do; for you are under a special Providence, no evil can befall you; the power of the Most High is with you everywhere; therefore there is no reason to be discouraged and despair. Despite such a warning and at the same time reassurance, if Joseph had wanted to listen to flesh and blood this time, then, as St. Chrysostom noted, there would have been many reasons for him to be confused and contradictory. You could, holy elder, say to the Angel: you yourself said before that the Born One will save His people; and now what happens? He does not save Himself either; To save His life, we must leave our homeland and move to a foreign country - and how to move? Suddenly, without preparing, without any means, giving in to dangerous flight at night. Where is the fulfillment of what is promised? But Joseph did not say or think anything like that. Why? Because,” the same Saint Chrysostom answers, “he was a “faithful husband”: faith and fidelity to the heavenly leadership, devotion and obedience were the main properties of Joseph’s soul; and these properties occurred because in this soul there were no earthly views and attachments, one pure love reigned, which, according to the testimony of St. Paul, “has faith in all things, trusts all things, endures all things... nothing falls away” (1 Cor. 13:7-8). In this respect, Joseph is very similar to Abraham, so that if Abraham were now with the Holy Virgin, he would act in the same way as Joseph acts. What is he doing? What is commanded. Joseph “rose up, gave water to the Child and His Mother overnight, and departed for Egypt” (Matthew 2:14). The words are simple, but express deep devotion and together the action is the most touching. Imagine a holy elder suddenly rising from his poor bed in the middle of a gloomy night; imagine how he, filled with what he heard from the Angel, with weak feet approaches with reverence the sleeping Maiden and Child, and quietly awakens Her from sleep; how he then humbly announces the urgent need to immediately leave not only his home, but also his fatherland, and go without delay to Egypt; how then the Holy Twin immediately gets ready for the journey, packs a small number of necessary things; how the Mother takes the sleeping Child into her arms and places Him with Her on a poor animal; how the old man follows them with trembling feet; and all this at night! Tell me, which of us could decide on such a path without extreme need? For the path from Bethlehem to Egypt is still extremely difficult and dangerous: it is necessary to go through mountains and wilds, through waterless places, among shifting sands, in constant danger from animals and robbers. And it is along this path, at night, that the Savior of the world now runs, reclining like a Baby on the Mother’s breasts! But why, someone will ask, was Egypt chosen as a place of refuge, and not some other land? Because from the side of Bethlehem, Egypt was the closest of the better populated, contiguous countries; because in Egypt there were many Jews, among whom Joseph and Mary could more easily find refuge for themselves; because, finally, Egypt spiritually forms a deplorable state of sin and death, from which the Son of God came to lead the human race, just as Moses once brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. In addition, the evangelist adds that through the flight to Egypt the ancient prophecy about the Messiah was to be fulfilled, in which on behalf of God it is said: “Out of Egypt I called My Son” (Matthew 2:15, Hosea 11:1). Reading this passage from the prophet, another may think that the word “Son” here means not the Messiah, but the very people of Israel, once brought out of Egypt: for the prophet speaks about him before and after these words, just as ancient and modern Jews try to interpret this passage. But we do not need to argue much with them in this case and defend the Evangelist, who refers the said words not to the people of Israel, but to the Savior. For what need is there if the prophet seems to be speaking about the people of Israel? Is not the Promised Redeemer the head and representative of this people? Could the fate of the Messiah be foreshadowed in the fate of Israel? “Who,” continues Saint Chrysostom, “can be more accurately called the Son of God? Is it the One who worshiped the calf, served Beelphegor and sacrificed children to demons, or the One who is Son by nature and honors the One who gave birth? Therefore, the evangelist, as the organ of the same Spirit of God, by whom the prophets prophesied, it is not in vain that he now sees in the flight of the Savior into Egypt the fulfillment of what was once prefigured by the presence of the people of Israel in that same Egypt.” How the Child and the Mother reached Egypt, where they moved in, what happened there to Them, or to Egypt from them, how long the stay lasted - the Evangelist does not say a word about all this, for the purpose of his story is not to embrace and list all the deeds of the Son of God and everything that happened to Him (thus, as St. John notes, the whole world could not contain “written books” - John 21:25), but in order to show from what He did and from what happened to Him that He is definitely the promised Savior of the world and the Savior of all people. Complementing what was left silent by the Evangelist, the ancient legend says that when the Divine Infant with His Most Pure Mother entered the first Egyptian city - Iliopolis; then all his idols and idols fell, just as the image of Dagon once fell from the Ark of the Covenant, which was brought into his church, and that some of the Egyptian priests had long been expecting this miraculous fall and shame of the idols, preceded by the prophecy of Jeremiah, who was once in Egypt. The same legend still indicates the place of residence of the holy family, the source from which it quenched its thirst, and the remains of a tree under which it found refuge from the heat of the day. These are the circumstances, without a doubt, that Saint Chrysostom had in mind when he said in the ears of his listeners that the Lord would sanctify the entire country of Egypt with His coming. Traces and fruits of this sacramental consecration were revealed in abundance in Egypt soon after the ascension of the Lord, with the first sermon of the apostles. Egypt, having assimilated, in the words of St. Chrysostom, the Redeemer at the time when it accepted and kept Him in flight from Herod, did not turn out to be alien and ignorant of Him before the apostles. Nowhere did the Christian faith take root so quickly and spread with such force as in Egypt. The first Christian school was formed there, which provided both mentors and defenders of Christianity throughout the terrible time of persecution from the pagans; there arose the first hosts of holy desert dwellers, who remain to this day examples of ascetic life; Many confessors and martyrs came out of Egypt. Four centuries after the birth of the Savior, Egypt was still so rich in Christian faith and virtues that Saint Chrysostom could compare it to the sky, filled with all kinds of luminaries. Now something else - the lamp of the Church of Alexandria has long, long ago faded and was almost moved completely from its place: but “who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamps” (Rev. 2:1) will not forget the place of His refuge from Herod’s persecution, and, having saved himself in Egypt, will not allow him to perish in the darkness of Mohammed’s delusion. He who has eyes to see can already notice there the dawn of the future day of divine knowledge. “And there,” the evangelist continues, “there were Herod’s dead bodies” (Matthew 2:15). For it was possible to return back earlier, for example, immediately after Herod’s fury over Bethlehem and his babies ended. But Providence did not allow this, in order to completely free not only the Child from any new persecution, but also the Mother and the Elder from new fear and concerns for Him. Herod, however, could not long be the cause of the Messiah’s wanderings outside His earthly Fatherland: his days were already numbered, although, as we will see tomorrow, he managed to add one more terrible act to many atrocities. Leaving now our Savior in Egypt, let us draw, brethren, from His flight to this country that instruction which naturally follows to our guidance on the paths of life. And we may encounter something similar to what happened to our Savior in different forms, that is, danger and persecution. What should we do in this case? Just as He did - not to go into danger, to evade it as much as possible, not to expect any extraordinary means from above for our salvation, but to use those that are in our hands. For did not the Son of God have miracles and signs for His salvation from Herod? Even now He could imagine, if He wanted, more than twelve legions in His defense (Matthew 26:53), but instead of Angels he uses the Elder and the Mother; flees, like the last of the sons of men, into Egypt, and thus saves Himself. We should do the same, using natural means for our safety, and not tempt the Lord by expecting miracles and signs in our defense, which are never squandered unless absolutely necessary. In addition, looking at the Divine Infant fleeing to Egypt, and thinking about the difficulties this journey was fraught with both for Him and for the Mother and the elder, we must perceive the spirit of courage and patience and drive away the seductive thought that, after we have begun the work of our salvation and have embarked on the path of truth and righteousness, we should no longer be subject to adversity and grief. No, whoever wants to work and serve the Lord must, in the words of the ancient sage, “prepare his soul for temptation.” A true Christian is an everlasting warrior and ascetic. A great reward and peace awaits him, something awaits him that the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, and that has not entered the very heart of man; but where does he wait? Not here on earth, but there in heaven. Here there is “many sorrow for the righteous”; here “in patience” you need to gain your soul. With all this in mind, we too “let us persevere with patience toward the feat of salvation set before us, looking as an example to the very Author and Finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus, Who, instead of the joy and peace set before Him, endured flight into Egypt, careless of its shame” (Heb. 12:1–2) and so, having gone through the whole ladder of humiliation and suffering, “sit at the right hand of the throne.” majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3), may we all be worthy to see the heights for our small sufferings, and we all - by His omnipotent grace. Amen. Conversation on the third day of the Nativity of Christ We have already, my brothers, brought to your attention many sad events; although we set before you the story of the birth of the One who brought with Him salvation and joy to the whole world; Many of you, perhaps, have already shed many grateful tears over the manger of your Savior by those of you who follow the Gospel story of His birth not with the cold curiosity of spies, but with faith and love, taking to your own heart everything that He endures in the very first days of His existence on our poor earth. But now we should occupy your attention precisely with what is most sad and soul-stirring in the Gospel story: we will already see the hypocrisy, and the bloody fury of Herod, not only the confusion of the Jerusalemites, but the crying and despair of the Bethlehemites, we will see streams of blood and tears, and whose blood? Innocent babies beaten mercilessly in their cradle. Whose tears? Fathers and mothers who were disgraced by Herod's mad sword. Truly, if anything can outrage the senses and perplex the mind, then such a sight. But it will not outrage us and will not plunge us into despondency if we look at it not from some hill in Bethlehem, but from the holy heights of mountainous Zion. For if the entire earthly life of the God-Man was nothing other than one great sacrifice of Himself for the sins of the entire human race, which, having begun in the manger of Bethlehem, ended only on Calvary; What is surprising if, with this great, all-reconciling sacrifice, at the very beginning a place is given to other small but pure sacrifices, such as the infants of Bethlehem were? “Then Herod, seeing that he was quickly reproached by the wise men, became very angry and sent to kill all the children who were in Bethlehem and in all its borders, from two years old and lower, according to the known test from the wise men” (Matthew 2:16). “Then,” that is, when the time had passed during which the Magi, according to Herod’s calculations, would certainly return to Jerusalem, and when, probably as a result of a report from Bethlehem, he learned that the Magi had already gone to their fatherland - “another way.” Such an act on the part of the Magi, instead of causing anger, could have brought Herod to his senses, let him know that the fate of the Child was under the special Providence of the Almighty, and that, therefore, he was attempting the impossible, plotting to take His life. For why did not the Magi return? Obviously because they penetrated his soul and bloody plan. And who could tell them about this except the One who knows all the secrets of hearts? The child killer, without a doubt, did not reveal his terrible intention to anyone, therefore, if the Magi found out about him, it was from above, as it actually happened. And the thought of this should have stopped Herod and forced him to give up his crazy intention. But not only does he not do this, but from here he takes the opportunity for a new, terrible frenzy, for “an insensitive and incurable soul,” as Saint Chrysostom notes, “does not accept any healing given by God.” The simple and most reasonable act of the Magi seems to Herod an unbearable offense and a reproach: he imagines himself deceived, despised, and desecrated. The more he cheated with the wise men and pretended, the more sensitive the failure was to him. Is it possible? He was outwitted, he, Herod!.. Therefore, now not only the bloody but cold policy of the tyrant begins to operate in him, but also the offended pride of the cunning man, who was reputed to be invincible in intrigues. What is he doing? He throws away the mask he had been wearing until now and directly takes up the sword in his hands. “The Magi have left me,” the tyrant, boiling with shame and anger, thinks to himself, “but the Child will not leave, for I have in my hands the key to His life, left by these same Magi; I know, although vaguely, His whereabouts. They said that the star appeared to them at such and such a time; This means that the Baby must be of such and such an age: let it be more; and we will take it higher so as not to miss the victims. What to regret? Take the measure of two years, and order to beat all the children of Bethlehem who belong to this age. But He may not be in Bethlehem itself? Yes, this can be: it is necessary, and from this side, to expand the measure - let the death of infants extend to the entire vicinity of Bethlehem. Where it comes to my throne and the security of my dominion, there is no point in sparing an extra hundred victims.” “And he sent and slew all the children who were in Bethlehem and in all its borders.” “Beat all the children”: that is, it was done exactly as intended and ordered. Cruelty took all measures so that not a single one of the doomed victims would survive, just as indeed none would survive except that great Sacrifice, which in due time would be offered on the cross for all, and now, for the sake of all, saved by Providence through removal to Egypt. Such cruelty, so as not to alarm the people’s feelings too much, was undoubtedly carried out in the most secretive way: they could suddenly take away children under two years of age under some plausible pretext, for a certain time only, even with benefit for the parents, and then suddenly commit an atrocity. Can you imagine, my brothers, what happened to the hearts of fathers and mothers when they learned the terrible secret! It is not in vain that the Evangelist says that “then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet will be fulfilled, saying: a voice was heard in Rama, weeping and mourning and much crying: Rachel wept for her children, and did not want to be consoled, for they were not” (Matthew 2:17-18). Truly, if ever tender Rachel, like the foremother of the people of Israel, had to rise from the grave and begin to cry and sob again about the fate of her children, now. In the prophet, she appears to have risen from the grave and accompanied with tears the Israelites, led from their homeland through Ramah, the place of her burial, into Babylonian captivity. Now there was no captivity; but heavier than any captivity lay on the neck of Israel the iron yoke of Herod’s dominion; and it is true that more than one mother of Bethlehem, mourning her child, repeated those words that the prophet emanated from the lips of the weeping Rachel. Meanwhile, the evangelist, relating the prophecy of Jeremiah to this deplorable case, thereby calms our feelings, as if saying this: do not be embarrassed by what you hear a lot and do not regret about mothers and babies. If the latter lose their lives, and the former lose their consolation, it is not because everything in this world was left to the malice and madness of such monsters as Herod was, and that the fate of each of us is not controlled by God’s Wisdom: no, Herod goes on a rampage and kills children by permission from above. In this case, as in all others, everything was foreseen and determined long ago, because it was predicted long ago. And since the eye of an all-powerful and all-good Being was watching over this bloody spectacle, it was allowed only for the most wise reasons and for the best purposes. And what would be the reasons and goals? - someone will ask. Wouldn't it be better to eliminate this infanticide altogether? Not to betray innocent babies as victims of Herod's madness? Not to redeem them with the death of the life of the Redeemer of the whole world? Not to connect His birth in Bethlehem with such a bitter memory for the Bethlehemites? Let us not, brethren, take away the importance of these questions: they once attracted the attention of such a teacher of the Church as Saint Chrysostom, and forced him to enter into reflection on the mysterious ways of God regarding the fate of man on earth. By following this lamp of the universe, it will not be difficult for us to bring light into the darkness of our bewilderment. The slaughter of innocent babies was allowed: what could be done? Hold Herod's hand? But what, would there be human freedom then? In this case, perhaps, one can wish that the hand of every villain would be restrained. But then the whole order of things and actions would change; atrocities would perhaps disappear, but virtue would also lose all its value; for it would not become the fruit of pure arbitrariness, but a consequence of necessity. Or should I say to each of the mothers of the beaten babies, just as Joseph was told: understand your child and flee from Bethlehem? But in this way, firstly, everything would come into motion in Bethlehem, and the secret of the birth of the Messiah would be revealed to everyone. Moreover, not everyone had the same faith and obedience as Joseph: others would not have believed an Angel who appeared not in a dream. And so, Providence allows things to go on in their usual order, at the same time preparing a righteous execution for those who commit evil so furiously, and a hundredfold reward for those who suffer so innocently. “But is it possible, despite all this,” you say, “not to regret the fate of the babies?” Of course, such a fate is pitiful: you must, however, beloved, know well what you regret. What did the babies lose? Life is temporary. How much does this life mean and what is it? We believe everything in it and are ready to give everything for it: our very conscience. And look how the holy men of God looked at this vain, rebellious and painful life. “Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” ( Rom. 7:24 ) Paul cries. “Woe is me, for my coming continues!” (Ps. 119:5) - exclaims Saint David. What David and Paul groaned about is now given to babes: is this a deprivation, or rather a reward? The babies did not remain to live in this world; and what awaited them on it in those days? Firstly, the greatest spiritual temptations awaited. For these were times of extreme impoverishment of faith and love. Having come of age, overwhelmed by the corrupting spirit of their time, they could easily join the enemies of the Messiah, and, together with others, participate in a mad cry before Pilate: “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:25). The greatest material misfortunes also awaited the slain, for the times of turmoil, civil strife, and the terrible last war of the Jews with the Romans were coming, so that the Savior, not without reason, said on the way to Golgotha to the wives weeping for Him: “Weep for yourselves and for your children: the days ahead are coming; who do not finish” (Luke 23:28–29). This is precisely the bliss (sad, but bliss) that the mothers of Bethlehem now received. Having taken refuge from the sword of Herod, the babies, having matured, could repeatedly become victims of the sword of Herod’s descendants, or the cruel Roman procurators. What was better - to suffer martyrdom at an innocent age, without feeling its horrors, without experiencing life and its pleasures, or knowing them, reaching full age and strength, committing to family relationships, and what is most important in this case, having denigrated your soul and body with sins and passions? Let us not ignore one more remark of St. Chrysostom that the Providence of God would not have acted “in such a way, pre-empted by being a baby; If only they were great and had great power to correct something.” Finally, there was nothing indecent for the Divine Child to allow His birth in Bethlehem to be accompanied by the martyrdom of the infants of Bethlehem, who were the same age as Him. This is a reward for Bethlehem that suddenly so many martyrs will emerge from it that an honor guard for the King of Glory is recruited from it. Bethlehem did not give Him shelter in even one of its public abodes; and He gives the first places in His heavenly abodes to the Bethlehemites! Those of age were not able to accept crowns; and behold, they were given to their children! But we have already dealt with the fate of these children enough; It’s time again to turn to the Eternal Child. “When I died to Herod, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying: Rising up, understand the Child and His Mother, and go to the land of Israel, for the one who seeks the soul of the Child is withered” (Matthew 2:19–20). “I will kill Herod” - from this very ordinary expression, one might think that Herod’s death was ordinary. Meanwhile, it was the most painful and terrible. The hand of God was so obviously heavy on the tyrant that he himself attempted to end his days by force several times. Devoured alive by worms, Herod apparently passed from temporary to eternal torment. And the evangelist, it seemed, would have been very proper to point out such a death as an execution for the persecution of the Divine Childhood and for the beating of the infants of Bethlehem; but he does not say a word about this, for such is the property of God-inspired writers that they are dispassionate like a mirror; they say no more and no less than what is inspired to them by the Holy Spirit. since the language of human reproaches is indecent to this omnipotent Spirit, the holy writers do not reproach anyone: they only say what Herod, Pilate, Judas, Caiaphas did; but their judgment and condemnation are left to Him who will in due time judge all. “I will kill Herod.” This death followed very quickly after the migration of the Holy Family to Egypt, for the Savior was born in the last year of Herod’s reign. And since with the death of Herod the reason for the wandering ceased, then the Angel again appears with the news of this, and with the command to return to the land of Israel. “Rising, understand the Child and His Mother and go to the land of Israel.” Go already, and don’t run, as was said before: for there was no need to rush. “Izomrosha bo”, it is added, soul-seeking Youths; Although only Herod died, he alone also sought His soul. But here we also have in mind Herod’s minions, who all seemed to die with him, for they lost their strength and ceased to serve his madness and malice. “And he rose up, gave drink to the Child and His Mother, and came to the land of Israel. Having heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea in place of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there: and received the news in a dream, and departed to the borders of Galilee and came to dwell in the city, we are called Nazareth: that what was spoken by the Prophets might be fulfilled, that he will be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:21-23). Reading this passage, some ask: why is the Angel appearing twice and Joseph admonished twice? If, according to the prophecies, the Savior was supposed to dwell in Nazareth, then why not tell the heavenly messenger directly when he appeared: understand the Child and go to Nazareth? In this way, the cause for bewilderment and fear would have been eliminated for Joseph, and at the same time the reason for the new appearance of the Angel to admonish him. This is what some ask, and are even ready to turn this circumstance into a condemnation of the Gospel stories. And we, for our part, would ask such people if they knew the state of Joseph’s soul at that time? Are you sure that she did not need this fear in any way? Did not the bewilderment that arose from this serve to strengthen and reveal some good quality in Joseph? For Providence, being vigilant over the fate of the Divine Child, at the same time exercised the faith and humility of His Mother and Joseph in various ways. For this purpose, as we have seen, various temptations were allowed upon them; this could also be due to perplexity and indecision regarding the choice of future location. “Hearing... that Archelaus reigns.” One of the sons of Herod, the eldest, and like him very prone to cruelty. Having not yet been confirmed on the throne by Caesar of Rome, Archelaus, during the Easter holiday, put to death more than three thousand Jews for their mere dislike towards him. A rumor about such actions could not inspire confidence: “I was afraid to go there.” “But why,” someone asks, “should we be afraid of the One Whose all entrances and exits were protected by Providence? Isn't this a sign of cowardice and mistrust? No. That Joseph was generous and faithful, everything else vouches for this; but he saw that Providence did not want to use signs and wonders unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, although he could not fear that Archelaus or a similar tyrant would cut off the thread of life of the Divine Child; but he could - and rightly so - fear that some new danger would again cost great difficulties and sorrows for the Baby and Mother. Why, “being afraid to go there: but the news was received in a dream, and went into the borders of Galilee” (Matt. 2:22), which belonged not to the cruel Archelaus, but to his meek brother, Herod Antipas; for Caesar divided the kingdom of Herod into four parts, according to the number of his sons, calling them therefore not kings, but tetrarchs, or tetrarchs, as they are called in the Gospel. “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth” (Matthew 2:23). In the same place where the Holy Virgin lived during the first days of her betrothal to Joseph and where the gospel from the Archangel followed Her. Joseph, of course, had a ready-made family home there, which, given the poor situation of the Holy Family, meant a lot. In this despicable and insignificant, in the opinion of the people, town (which is why they said: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” - John 1:46) the Savior of men is destined to spend his earthly life until the time of His revelation to the world! As if to justify this, the evangelist adds that Nazareth, and not another place, was chosen for residence, “that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he should be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:23). With this prediction, everything that was despicable in the eyes of the Jews is taken away from Nazareth, for where there is prophecy, there is glory. "Spoken by the prophets" and not by the prophet; therefore, do not look for this prophecy directly from any prophet, in a certain place, literally: you will not find such a prophecy in any Holy Book. But as soon as you pay attention to the spirit and power of words; then in every prophet you will find more than one place where the future Messiah seems humiliated in everything, therefore, in his place of residence, where even this very word is used. Prophecies are generally like paintings: each of them has its own specific meaning and purpose; but, in addition, from the combination of different prophecies, as from a combination of different pictures, new images arise, which were also meant by the holy writers, especially by the Holy Spirit, who fulfilled them with Himself. Without being guided by this rule, you will not see much in the prophets and, perhaps, you will find a reason to criticize the writers of the New Testament, allegedly they saw in the prophets something that was not in them, as inexperienced and little-thinking people do, posing as far-sighted. “He will be called a Nazarene” - not in the form of an honorary name befitting a Person as strong as the Messiah, but in the form of a reproach, as, indeed, the Jews called the Savior a Nazarene in reproach, and even to this day they call it. Amen. Conversation on the Day of the Circumcision of the Lord “And when the last days were fulfilled, let them circumcise Him, and call His name Jesus, who was called by the angel before he was even conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21) The event about which the Evangelist narrates and with which we now intend to occupy your attention, brethren, took place before what we talked about last time, for the flight to Egypt occurred not only after circumcision according to the law of the Divine Child, but, probably, also after His bringing, on the fortieth day, to the church. But we did not want to interrupt the narrative of the Gospel, and the connection that is between the worship of the Magi and the flight to Egypt. On the other hand, when is it more appropriate to turn the present legend of the Evangelist into a subject of reflection, if not on this day, dedicated by the Church to the remembrance of the circumcision of the Lord? Reverent reflection on this Sacrament will also give us the best lesson as we enter the new year, showing by the example of the Savior why a Christian should use the time, with each new year, as if again given to him by the grace of God. “And when the last days were fulfilled, let them circumcise Him, and call His name Jesus, who was named by the angel before even being conceived in the womb.” First of all, let’s say what circumcision was like among the Jews and why it was observed. Circumcision in the Old Testament Church was a sacred rite and at the same time a Sacrament, through which every newborn Israelite was introduced into a covenant with God, as the Supreme Ruler of the Jewish people. The institute of circumcision was God Himself, who commanded Abraham to perform it for the first time on himself and his family; it consisted in circumcision of the foreskin of every male child, and was performed on the eighth day after birth, as if on the day of the fullness of human existence on earth, if judged in relation to the days of the creation of the world. As a result of circumcision, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob became the God of the circumcised baby, with which the latter acquired all the promises given to the forefathers of the Jewish people; just as the circumcised one took upon himself the obligation to fulfill everything that was prescribed to this people on behalf of God, through Moses and the prophets - all rituals and decrees, both moral and civil. Therefore, circumcision soon became popular, a distinctive sign of the Jew, a symbol of his union with God, proof of his rights and evidence of his duties. Failure to participate in circumcision was tantamount to renouncing Judaism. God Himself threatened for this not only with the deprivation of all rights, but also of life itself: “that soul will be destroyed from its generation: for My covenant is destroyed” (Gen. 17:14). Since circumcision was so important and instituted by God Himself, and yet was a bloody and painful rite, it was chosen as a sign of the covenant, of course, not without important reasons and purposes. Which ones exactly? It was not said to either Abraham or Moses, as if in order to accustom the people of Israel to perfect obedience and unconditional devotion to the will of God. But the very essence of the Sacrament sufficiently indicates its purpose. And, firstly, in circumcision there is evidently presupposed in every one born a natural uncleanness, which must be rejected, even with the sacrifice of body and blood; Consequently, the generally fallen, sinful state of human nature and the need for its correction and purification are expressed. Secondly, circumcision reveals a person’s readiness and determination to fight the corruption of his nature, and especially to crucify his flesh with its passions and lusts. Thirdly, circumcision testified to faith in the coming Redeemer of all sins and the Purifier of all human impurities, Who through His cross would kill and cut off all the evil nesting in our fallen nature. The circumcised through the shedding, in the spirit of faith, of his blood, entered, sacramentally, into participation in the blood of the Son of God, the only Source of all purity and healing. Therefore circumcision is called the seal of the righteousness of faith. since spiritual reasons and goals do not exclude material motives, circumcision could be chosen as a sign of the covenant and for its beneficial effects on the very physical well-being of the Jewish people. All these reasons and goals clearly did not concern the venerable person of the Messiah, the Son of God. Circumcision was not necessary for Him, neither as a symbol of the covenant with God, for the Son is always “one with the Father” (John 17:11); nor as a sign of natural impurity and the need for cleansing, for He was born of the Holy Spirit, did not commit a single sin, and appeared in the flesh not in order to achieve cleansing Himself, but in order to cleanse each and every one with Himself. Why now accepts the Son of God circumcision, like the last of the sons of Israel? In order that He took upon Himself not only our nature, but also all the sins and untruths of our nature, He took upon Himself the latter completely and forever, and sins and impurities for a time, in order to be responsible for them and in order to blot them out with His righteousness and His sufferings, the Apostle Paul wisely noted that the Son of God, in accordance with this purpose of His incarnation, He even appeared “in the likeness of the flesh of sin” (Rom. 8:3), that is, not in the kind of flesh that we would have had if we had remained sinless and innocent, but in the like that which we have now, after our fall. Having appeared in this flesh as the Intercessor and Redeemer, the Son of God was therefore subject to all the rites and purifying means that were prescribed in the Law of Moses for the unclean sons of men. It is for this reason that He now accepts circumcision, circumcising in Himself the impurity of human nature, just as for this reason He will be brought into the church and redeemed, like the firstborn, by two chicks of doves; for this reason he will receive baptism from John, although it was performed for the remission of sins, of which there were none in Himself. since the Son of God will accept all these rites and Sacraments not for Himself, but for us; and since with a one-time, personal acceptance of them, He will replace the repeated acceptance of them from all the sons of men: then, accepting the Old Testament rites, the Savior will thereby abolish them, as if they are no longer unnecessary, and free all His followers from them. That is why in the New Testament there is no longer any circumcision, no sacrifice on the fortieth day, no baptism of John, no Passover of Israel: all this ended on the face of our Savior; and this very thing is expressed by Saint Paul when he says that God the Father sent His Son, “we are under the law (ritual), so that he who is under the law may redeem, so that we may receive sonship” (Gal. 4:4–5); that is, let us, like mature children, be free from the ritual law that was a mentor for minors. “When the holy days are fulfilled.” From this expression one might think that the circumcision of the Lord took place on the ninth day, meanwhile, it took place on the eighth, as it always happened. For folk modes of expression vary among different peoples: especially Jewish ones are often very different from ours. We notice this in order to show how unreasonably some of the common people sometimes undertake to interpret Scripture and, not understanding well the sacred language, and therefore the meaning of the sacred books, they deduce from words and expressions what is not in them at all, they themselves fall and plunge others into the grossest errors. Since circumcision took place on the eighth day; this probably happened, not in the den, but in Bethlehem. In such a case, a priest could be called to perform it; otherwise, Joseph himself, as the head of the family, could have done it, having every right to do so. Thus, if a secret was still needed, it remained in full force. If in birth according to the flesh one can see the great condescension and exhaustion of the Son of God, then in circumcision it is even more so, for at birth He took upon Himself our nature, which is the work of His holy and all-powerful right hand, and in circumcision the Son of God deigned to endure what does not follow in itself from human nature, but is a consequence of our uncleanness and sinfulness, which did not exist in Himself at all. The circumcision of the Lord is the visible beginning of His sacrifice on the cross, for all other types of humiliation and suffering that He will endure for us throughout his life constituted a bloodless sacrifice, but here - iron and blood, a visible harbinger of nails and the crown of thorns. “And having called his name Jesus, he who was called an angel was not first conceived in the womb.” How circumcision shows the state in which the Lord found us, and what needed to be done to heal us from sinful leprosy; so in the naming of His name it is indicated what He brought with Him for us, and what we can expect from Him. For what does the name of Jesus mean? Salvation. Which? Everything: spiritual and physical, temporary and eternal, visible and invisible. What evils does the fallen human race suffer from! He suffers from darkness in the mind, from anger in the will, from impurity and languor in the heart, from illness and death in the body. All these forms of evil will be destroyed by the Son of God; He saves from all of them completely and forever. For this very reason the name of Jesus, or Savior, is given to Him; for He accepts it not in the way names are often accepted among us just to bear a name, but in order to actually realize it. Therefore, this name was given not by chance, at the request of, for example, the Mother or Saint Joseph, but from above, from an Angel, even before His conception in the womb: “those named by an Angel are not even conceived in the womb before.” And the Angel, without a doubt, did not conceive it himself, but received it with reverence from the Lord of the Angels Himself, “from Him,” as the Apostle notes, “every fatherland in heaven and on earth is named” (Eph. 3:15). That is why “there is no other name under heaven... in which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), except the name of the Lord Jesus; Therefore, before this venerable name we must bow “every knee will bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10–11). We do well, my brothers, that, out of a sense of reverence, we do not give this name to anyone. Which Christian would dare to bear the name of Jesus? But the extremely bad thing is that this all-holy and sweetest name passes from the realm of reverence for many to the realm of inattention and oblivion. For are there such Christians who are ashamed to pronounce this name, especially on certain occasions? And why are they ashamed? So as not to appear uneducated to people!.. Our false education has reached that far! And she commands to pronounce with feeling the name of Socrates and Plato, the name of every person who, through his actions, has emerged from the circle of ordinary people!.. What do all the great names in the world mean before the single name of Jesus? For we will repeat again - the word of the apostle is true and worthy of all acceptance, “for there is no other name under heaven... by which we all must be saved,” except this Divine name. And when our salvation is in him, how can we not love him and revere him? Loving, how not to repeat it often and with pleasure? Having reverence for him, how can we not value him and inspire respect for him in everyone whom we can influence? The ancient Christians were so able to assimilate the sweetest name of the Savior that after the martyrdom of Saint Ignatius it was found visibly imprinted on his heart. If such perfection exceeds our weakness, then at least let us not be like the pagans who do not know the name of Jesus. “Those who are called an angel are not even conceived in the womb first.” Thus, before conception in the womb, the name of the Angel was given to John the Baptist (Luke 1:13). The same name was once given by God Himself to Isaac, when he was still in the loins of his father. Likewise, names were given in advance from above to others. For what? In order to strengthen the prediction of birth by naming the one who is about to be born, as if already born, and in order to express by name his true character and life. For we give a name at random, as it happens, for external reasons, not having in mind the qualities of the one to whom we give, for we cannot even know them; Therefore, our names for the most part do not correspond to the person and the deed; Yes, we don’t pay any attention to it: but from above, from heaven, everything is visible; there it is completely known in advance what the person being born will be like and what will happen to him. Accordingly, the name is given; and given in this way, it perfectly expresses a person, his character and life. Now this is with some only, but in the Hereafter it will be with everyone; there our local names will disappear; everyone will receive, as the Seer of Mysteries says, a new name, “which no one knows, except accept it” (Rev. 2:17). This new name will, without a doubt, express a completely person, so that the name will also have a face. Having this truth in mind, even now, if it happens to choose a name for him, then he will choose one that was in his soul and heart, and would express what he strives for primarily, that is (For what else should a person strive for?) some kind of virtue. But it’s time for us to turn from a long-past event to the present day, which, in comparison with other days, also bears a special and significant name - the new year. Like the beginning of a new year, this day requires a new lesson, one that would be worth remembering all year. – Where can we get a similar lesson for ourselves and you? Let us take the person and example of our Savior - in what is now happening to Him, in His most pure circumcision and the sweetest name that was given to Him. Do you see how He Who is the purest and most holy began His life and actions? By circumcision. Isn’t it all the more important for us, unclean and defiled by sins, to use the time given to us to perform spiritual circumcision in us, that is, to cut off all ungodly thoughts and prejudices, to eradicate all soul-crushing passions and desires, to blot out all spiritual and carnal defilements? Otherwise, it would be better for our life to be shortened than to continue in sins and iniquities. If, by the mercy of the Lord, it continues, then this is a sign that there, grief, they are waiting for our repentance, they have been waiting for a long time, since we strayed from the path of righteousness and truth. Let us enter into the spirit and purpose of the new year; let us understand the true and only benefit that we can derive from time, not just for a while, but for all eternity; Let’s stop looking for salvation where it can never be found, and let’s turn to Him who was then sent, for whom He came in the flesh, and for whom He has now shed His Blood in order to save us all. More than once, but many times this day, He has appeared to us with this atoning Blood, with His touching example and with salvation for us. Se paki appeared now, appeared for some, in all likelihood, for the last time. Let us not close our eyes again, let us not turn away our ears as before; Let us also take the knife of Christian self-sacrifice and, in the spirit of faith in the all-powerful name of Jesus, we will begin to circumcise everything that is found in us that is carnal and contrary to the Law of God. In this way, the new year will truly become for us a new summer of grace, and we will celebrate the feasts of Christ not as alien, but as our own, the meaning of which is imprinted on our heart and life. Amen. Conversation on the week of the Nativity of Christ Our past conversation with you, my brothers, could have ended the reading of the Gospel stories about the birth of our Savior, for everything that the Evangelists tell us about this glorious event, and the most important part of the church traditions about it, have been brought forward by us and presented to your attention. But forgive me if we, like farmers, want to protect what was sown with memories and, having collected together all the main impressions, hand them over to your mind and heart for preservation. Perhaps for you, like travelers at the end of their journey, it will be pleasant to turn your gaze back, take another look at what you have passed, bring to mind what you have heard, and draw from it for yourself a reserve for the path ahead. For, although with the end of these festivities we will not continue the readings of the Gospels, but will turn to a different kind of conversation, you will, without a doubt, give up following the acts of the Lord with pure thought, and following the example of what you and I have done throughout these days, during the festivities in His honor, you yourself will consider the event being celebrated, delve deeper into its meaning and purpose, and thus extract from each festivity spiritual food for your mind and hearts. What did we see and what did we learn? We saw the grave temptations to which the Most Holy Mother of the Lord and Saint Joseph were subjected before the birth of the Lord, during the birth and after that, until their return from Egypt. And they learned not to be afraid of temptations, not to consider them something alien to those who work for the Lord, but to look at suffering and hardship as inevitable companions of a truly pious life, which, consisting of self-sacrifice and struggle with flesh and blood, therefore itself is nourished and supported by faith and hope in the blessings of the future, and not by bliss and joys in the present. We saw the Divine Child from the very birth of the world, and even before, surrounded by all kinds of earthly humiliations, humbly inscribing His venerable name among the subjects of Caesar, having no place to bow his head, reclining in a den and a manger; and the rich and noble learned not to put either their glory or their wealth behind great things, but, on the contrary, to look at them with fear, as temptations and dangerous temptations for our aged nature; the poor and thin - not to be faint-hearted because of their thinness and wretchedness, but, on the contrary, to use them as natural guides to that precious poverty of spirit with which the kingdom is promised. We saw the humble shepherds of Bethlehem, at the voice of the Angel, flowing into Bethlehem, and the first to enjoy the sight of the Savior of the world; and they understood that no state is close to salvation, that a faithful servant, no matter where he stands, will never be forgotten by the Master of the House, and that therefore it is the duty of every true Christian to think not about what kind of guard he stands on, great or small, but about standing faithfully and without slumbering on this guard, leaving his temporal and eternal destiny to the Lord. We saw the wise men of the East with their knowledge and gifts at the feet of the newborn King of Israel; and we realized that the Author and Finisher of our faith does not in the least reject human knowledge when it does not go beyond the limits of faith and humility and does not recklessly encroach on the secrets of His wisdom; that He, on the contrary, loves to reveal Himself in signs before those who, not relying on their wisdom, lift up their eyes to grief and expect illumination from above. They saw the babies of Bethlehem, like the first spring flowers, suddenly reaped by the sword of Herod; and we noticed with reverence that our earthly life does not have an unconditional value in itself; that deprivation of it is not evil, as long as it occurs according to the will of God, just as, on the contrary, its continuation does not constitute a blessing when life itself is not used for good deeds. We saw the madness and cruelty of Herod, who inhumanly took the lives of innocent babies and attempted to kill the Son of God Himself; and they realized with horror into what abyss of evil and bitterness unbelief and passions plunge a person; How else in this life, moving from lawlessness to lawlessness, with unrepentance, can one descend to the state of outcast spirits. We saw how the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the entire Jewish people, living under the shadow of the law of Moses and always feeding on prophetic words, did not know how to grow into the proper measure of faith and love for the promised Savior, did not understand the time of their visit, missed the precious opportunity to meet the rising Sun of righteousness; and we adopted the rule - not to rely on the fact that we are Christians, not to rest carelessly on rituals and Sacraments, but to show our faith through deeds, to demonstrate our Christianity by good morals and a pure life, without which we, like the Jews, will be rejected at that time, when the Lord comes again. This is what we saw, and could not help but see; for all this lies, so to speak, on the very surface of the manger of our Savior. If anyone had decided to stay at this manger more, to pay attention to everything around them, he, without a doubt, would have found even more objects for both surprise and instruction. To such a one we can point, first of all, to the wonderful combination in the face of the God-Man of greatness and humiliation, as a result of which the Son of God is constantly visible in Him, glorified by the Angels, heralded by a star in the east, worshiped by the wise, and the Son of Man, resting in a manger, fleeing to Egypt. It may indicate an amazing agreement between prophecies and fulfillment, without any violation of human freedom. Everyone acts according to their own will. Joseph, for example, hurries to Bethlehem, and the Magi to Jerusalem; and each, meanwhile, by his action fulfills what was foreseen and predicted for several centuries, fulfills it without thinking about it at all. The rage of Herod himself had long been predicted and was already mourned by the prophet. We can point out the remarkable relation to the birth of the Savior of the world to the most important modern events in the then human world. Everything, for example, then came together under the unity of command of Augustus Caesar, as if as a sign that, as noted in one church hymn, that with the appearance of the Leader and Head from heaven the “multiple command of men” should cease 2. The Church of the God of War in Rome, which had been open for such a long time, was closed at that very time, as if to prove that indeed, as the Angels sang, “peace had appeared on earth” (Luke 2:14). But what is most important is that the believing soul, which knows that the Son of God dwelt in the womb of the Virgin in order to then by faith dwell in the soul and heart of each of His followers, will find nowhere a better teaching about how a person, on his part, should serve this blessed indwelling, except for the example of this same Most Holy Virgin. The character of Her and Saint Joseph is the best example for souls who long for a mysterious union with the Lord. Meditate, my brothers, study for yourself, feed your spirit, enjoy your heart! For what could be more beneficial for a Christian than to follow with pure thought and feeling all the traces of the life and deeds of his Lord and Savior? Moreover, when He appeared among us, He lived and acted as one of us, precisely in order to set an example for us, so that we might follow His footsteps. And we, finishing our conversations with you about the birth according to the flesh of our Lord, feel the need to prostrate ourselves in spirit before the Divine Infant, and thank His goodness for allowing us, unworthy, to bring to His manger our wretched reflection on the miracles that accompanied His birth. He who has angels and archangels as servants, who raises up prophets and apostles, whose heavens tell the glory and the whole Church speaks praises, has no need of our weak word and preaching. But by speaking about Him, we thereby sanctify our thoughts and lips. Oh, if only, as you and I now stand before the manger and swaddling clothes of our Lord, it would once be given to stand with you before the throne of His glory! Then, instead of every word, we would fall at His foot, and in the voice of the holy elders, seen by the Seer of Mysteries, we would exclaim: “Thou art worthy, Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast taken upon Thyself our nature and “thou hast redeemed us with the blood of God!” ( Rev. 4:11, 5:9, 12 ). Amen. Honorary of the Nativity of Christ You might be interested in: