Слово на Страсти Господни

“Then two thieves were crucified with Him, one on the right hand and one on the left” (Matthew 27:38). Where the mystery of the reconciliation of God with man was accomplished and the sacrifice was made for the sins of the whole world, on Golgotha, it was fitting, apparently, not for many to stand, but for the one all-sanctifying Cross of the Son of God, in order to concentrate the gaze and attention of the entire universe: meanwhile, we see here not one Cross of the Redeemer, but with it two others. Whose? - Not prophets, not apostles, not righteous people, not even ordinary people, but robbers - villains! Can this be without mystery, and this mystery without teaching for us? If a skilled painter does not allow any person or thing to appear in his picture without a special purpose, much less would the wisdom of God allow the crosses of thieves to stand at the Cross of the Redeemer of the World, if they did not contain something important and instructive for everyone. What does this wondrous tri-cross mean?.. It seems to me, brethren, that it expresses the property and meaning of all our human crosses, expressed so that each of us, looking at Calvary, can immediately without difficulty recognize under what cross he himself is, and what he should expect from his cross-bearing. To be sure of this, let us, brethren, approach with attentive thought closer to the mysterious tri-cross of Golgotha, and consider each of the crosses standing there separately. The First Cross of the Only Begotten Son of God, our beloved Savior. Here, before any reflection, let us cast ourselves down in spirit before this Cross and worship those Divine plagues from which the whole world was healed. What would have happened to us, what would have happened to the whole world, if this all-reconciling Cross had not been erected in the middle of the earth to save the perishing human race? May this good deed never leave our memory! Let no one forget by whom and by what we have all been redeemed! And if it is fitting for us to boast, “let it not be,” like the Apostle Paul, “to boast except about the Cross of the Lord... Jesus!” (Gal. 6:14). But, having thus rendered the appropriate veneration to the Cross of our Lord, let us not, brethren, fail to notice what in this Cross should serve as the subject of our imitation. We said that the crosses of Calvary depict the properties and fate of all our crosses. Is it difficult to understand whose and what crosses are depicted by the Cross of the Son of God? The crosses of those who, like their Savior, suffer, having done every good thing possible for them, suffer not from themselves and for themselves, but completely innocently, according to the will of God alone, from human malice or foolishness. Although such blameless sufferers are extremely rare in our evil and sinful age; however, they may be found between us, and perhaps where we least expected. May these pure souls now approach the Cross of their Savior, and may they believe their own sufferings to be His most holy sufferings! And, firstly, good and holy souls, aren’t you sometimes troubled by the dangerous thought that your lot is too heavy, that no attention is paid to you from above, that you seem to be completely abandoned by the Heavenly Father, abandoned while you yourself have never abandoned His most holy will and do not feel any special guilt? When this tempting thought comes to you, brothers, hurry in spirit to Calvary, stand at the foot of the Cross of Christ, and see what happens on it. Who more than our Savior had the right to mercy or gracious help in the midst of His suffering? Isn’t He the Only Begotten Son of the Father’s love, in whom the Father, as He Himself testified more than once, placed all His good pleasure? Was it not He who did the will of His Father and considered its fulfillment to be waste for Himself? Isn’t He doing the work “that the Father gave Him” even now – on the altar of the cross? But turn around and see: “Even if there is a disease, like His disease!” He suffers as none of us suffer; endures what the thieves crucified with Him did not tolerate; suffers even from them. And what can we say about people? The Heavenly Father Himself, from Whom in these terrible moments, apparently, one should have expected all help, all consolation, the Father Himself leaves his beloved Son!.. Who, after this, has the right to grumble about his fate and say or think that his virtue is worthy of a better lot? Ah, beloved, if your virtue really is what you imagine, then it is worthy of exactly what you have been given to endure, for in this case it is worthy of the best reward; and the Lord has nothing better and more precious than the Cross on which He laid down His soul for us. Will you complain that He shares this very Cross with you? Is it really better if He expressed His favor towards you with gifts of earthly happiness? But His enemies are always ready to accept these gifts; How can He distinguish His relatives and friends from them, if not by His own Cross? So, do not betray His trust and hope in you; prove that you know how to appreciate His Cross, and carry it with patience, in the form in which it was given to you, carry it until it is removed from you by the hand of Providence, or until you yourself lay your soul on it. Souls faithful to the Lord fully feel, brethren, these important truths, and therefore, having been worthy to suffer for the Beloved, they not only do not allow any words of displeasure and murmuring to come out of their mouths, but they also try, following the example of their Savior, to turn their sufferings to the benefit of others, rousing by their example all those who suffer to uncomplainingly endure their lot. Particularly the objects of their loving care are those sufferers who, like the repentant thief, accepting their deeds, need grace-filled assurance that their temporary misfortunes do not entail eternal misfortunes. Not having the right to say to those of the Divine: “Today you will be with Me in paradise!” - souls faithful to the Lord, affirmed in the same faith and love for Him, do not doubt about His name to broadcast to each of them: “dare, beloved, to gather on the cross, dare: in the paradise of our Savior there is a place for you and me; Let us just endure to the end, pray and trust.” This is how, I say, they endure their suffering and this is how souls who are faithful to their Lord act towards themselves and others! Their cross reflects not only all the essential parts and features, but also the most, so to speak, shades of the Cross of Christ. Blessings to you, faithful and courageous souls! Continue your rites of the cross until the end! Continue to burn in the fire of pure love and spread the fragrance of Christ around you! “If we knew who you are, we would hasten with the kiss of love to kiss your very wounds, which you suffered for Christ!” The second cross of Calvary is the cross of the prudent thief. If it were necessary to put any inscription on this cross, then the most appropriate thing would be to inscribe these words: repentance and faith! In fact, where can we find such high and living faith, such fiery and fruitful repentance as we see on this cross? And this, of course, was the reason why the wisdom of God allowed this cross to stand at the right hand of the Cross of the beloved Son of God, so that, that is, sinners, looking at this cross, would learn how, through faith and repentance, they can move from the robber’s cross straight to heaven. May all those burdened with sins and the consequences of sins—sickness and suffering—hurry to this cross, and may they themselves receive the word of edification from the lips of the prudent thief. How little time he had for repentance! How few resources he could have at his own disposal! And yet, his repentance is so complete that you don’t see what to desire more. Because what is not here? Recognition of one's sins is the deepest and most sincere; disgust for the former lawless life is the most firm and decisive; enduring the punishment for sins due according to the laws is the most resigned and complacent; surrendering one's eternal lot to the will of the Son of God is the most complete and humble. In addition, as if in reward for the temptation from his previous falls, the penitent extends a word of admonition to his unfortunate brother, and for this he forgets all his own suffering. Isn’t this a rare trait of pure and high love? And the faith of the penitent! It was not in vain that Blessed Augustine did not hope to find such a faith in the whole world. Exactly, we need to look for it, at least in the whole world. For, judge for yourself, in whom does the thief now believe? In the One who Himself hangs, like him, on the Cross, abandoned by everyone - by the Father Himself! - How does he believe? - How did some of the best of Jesus’ disciples believe? for he calls a man crucified and approaching death the Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord of heaven and hell, on whose word everything depends. Is this not exactly the high faith in the Crucified One that Saint Paul will later seek among his disciples? Let those of us stop abusing the example of the thief justified on the cross, who, despite the multitude of our sins, in the hope of God’s grace, put off their repentance from day to day, thinking of bringing it in the last minutes of their lives. But, unfortunate brethren, who told you that you will certainly have these last minutes in your power? Who assured you that along with this you will also have the grace of God necessary for repentance, and that it, careless and swept away by you throughout your life, will not leave you in its turn at the end of it? Who, finally, will guarantee that in your last minutes you will even have enough firmness and presence of mind to, despite physical suffering, engage in the work of your salvation? Alas! No matter how many times we happened to see people at the gates of death who spent their lives without the fear of God, we always found them completely stricken with the fear of death and despair, speechless like sheep of the slaughter... And such people hope in the moments of death to imitate the unparalleled faith and love of the prudent thief!.. No, my brethren, if the goodness and wisdom of God allowed the cross to be erected on the side of the Cross of Christ, then this was done not under the cover of laziness and unrepentance, but solely so that none of the lowest sinners would give in to despair about their salvation. Therefore, in the example of this prudent thief, as we have seen, true repentance is personified in all his essential features; Yes, we understand that if the gates of heaven are always open for everyone, then they enter into them, however, only those who are capable of the fact that heavenly mercy, no matter how great, can never turn into indulgence in unrighteousness. Which sinner uses the example of the thief saved on the cross as he should? The one who, having felt the action of the punishing right hand of God, immediately turns to his conscience, and recognizing himself as fully worthy of what he endures, tries not so much to reduce or end his suffering, as to heal the wounds of his conscience, to reconcile himself with God, at the same time using all means to erase the unfortunate traces of his sins over his neighbors. Thus, the sufferer, no matter how great his sins, if he remains in the spirit of repentance and faith to the end, can be firmly confident that the word of pardon will not pass him by, that the gates of heaven will not be closed in front of him. And whoever, despite his distress, into which sin usually plunges his servants even in this life, continues to be negligent about his salvation, and instead of repenting of previous iniquities, seeks insane joy in new atrocities, let him read with trepidation his future fate in the terrible fate of the unrepentant thief, to whom belongs the third cross of Calvary. Looking mentally at this cross, I don’t know, brethren, how to begin my speech about it - with words or with tears? He is so pitiful and terrible!.. He is pitiful not because of the excess of torment (the unfortunate person endures it no more than his prudent brother, perhaps even less), but because of its end and consequences. For what will finally come out of so much torment? Nothing, except that they will serve as the beginning of the torment of hell, where, strengthened in evil, the soul of the unfortunate person is already apparently striving by itself. And yet, how blessed could be the fate of this robber! How enviable was his share on the cross itself! He had to die: but to die in the country of the Son of God, to give up the ghost with Him who came to save the world; - What greatest righteous person would not consider such a death to be his greatest mercy? It was given to the robber by tuna. How little remained to be added to this gift of mercy on his part, so that together with his brother he could pass from the cross to heaven! All that remained was, so to speak, to bow your head, open your lips for pleasure, utter two or three words from a contrite heart... The unfortunate man is definitely beginning to speak... but, my God, what comes out of his mouth? Blasphemy, the most insane blasphemy against the One who alone can save him!.. At least, won’t he stop, won’t he come to his senses, won’t he come to his senses and feelings, having heard a touching reproof from his brother? After this reproof, no more blasphemy was heard, but alas, no more prayers of repentance were heard; this silence is despair!.. Tell me, brothers, is it possible to adequately mourn such bitterness in sin? And yet, in this way, we need to mourn not just the cross of the dead thief, but the crosses of many, many of us!.. For this terrible cross was allowed to stand on Calvary, of course, for no other reason than the fact that there are many similar crosses in the world, and that a loud admonition is needed for those to whom they belong. Indeed, look at what this ambitious man is doing, who, having crept to the top of honors through dark and low ways, did not know the limits of his arrogance and contempt; but, finally, overthrown by the vicissitudes of fortune, he became the object of universal contempt. It would be time for him, the best time, now to learn that human distinctions and honors are empty smoke, to admit his previous guilt before God and people, and to strive to win the honors of the highest rank, the crowns of heaven. Everything, both inside and outside, reminds the proud and malicious soul of this; she alone does not see her position, remains unrepentant and again builds plans after plans; gets lost in vain efforts and torments himself with them; not seeing success, he blasphemes and complains about everything, except himself. Isn't this a copy of the unfortunate original of Golgotha? Look again at what is happening to this rich man, who, without disgracing either God or people, apparently had hitherto worshiped only silver and gold; his deity, to whom he was so faithful, finally completely betrayed him; His pieces of silver made themselves, as the prophet put it, wings and flew away from him forever. Isn’t it a favorable opportunity for this unfortunate person to see that wealth and earthly acquisitions are vanity, to see and turn his soul and heart to the acquisition of indestructible and inalienable blessings; use your very real poverty for this, bearing its weight in the spirit of repentance and faith? But, hardened in the love of money, the soul does not understand the day of its visit. Instead of thanking the Lord and saying: “It is good for me, because you have humbled me” (Ps. 118:71), the impoverished rich man dares to curse his fate and blaspheme the Providence of God. Is this not a copy of the terrible original of Golgotha? Look, finally, at this unfortunate victim of passions, at this remnant of man... An excess of strength once seethed in him, which, used wisely, could constitute the happiness of the one who possessed them, and joy for many; but these forces are all squandered madly at the demands of blind passions; and now the unfortunate man, even before noon, must wait for the sunset of life's sun. So that it seemed better, even more inevitable now, than to think about your soul, return from a distant country to your father’s home, try to erase as much as possible the traces of your foolishness, collect all the remainder of your mental and physical strength and sacrifice it to God? This very thing was already said to the unfortunate sinner by his spiritual father; His own conscience had reminded him of this more than once. But what is a spiritual father, what is a conscience for unrepentant hearts? The voluptuous man sees an abyss in front of him, already senses within himself the flame of the fire of Gehenna, and yet, stubbornly wants the oil of his life to burn to the last drop in honor of the idols of the students!.. Is this not a copy of the terrible original of Golgotha? There are many more such sufferers in the world, whose crosses, compared with the cross of the dead robber, would, perhaps, be similar to him in everything, or slightly different from him: but instead of listing such crusaders, it is better to extend, like a prudent robber, a word of fraternal admonition to all of them. What are you doing, unfortunate brothers? Why don’t you see your dangerous situation? Why don't you take advantage of your misfortunes for your salvation? Your sufferings are great, but were your sins easier for the Son of God, who suffered for you? The world has betrayed you, abandoned you, despised you! Despise him, abandon him too; rise above everything present, and direct your thoughts and desires to the age to come. Instead of annoyance, grumbling and blasphemy, thank God that your sinful blindness did not continue to the end; give thanks and take advantage of God’s mercy, which could not reveal itself in any better way over your poor soul than by depriving you of earthly blessings, which would and would destroy your soul. It is clear from everything that you will no longer leave the cross on which you are now suffering: do not miss the precious opportunity to pass from it directly to heaven. These, brethren, are the thoughts that arise when thinking about the mysterious tri-baptism of Golgotha. The Wisdom of God could have surrounded the Cross of our Savior with something that would have reduced the temptation of this Cross for a sinner, but She surrounded this Cross with the crosses of thieves, apparently sacrificing the glory of our Savior to our salvation, so that we, that is, by looking at these crosses, would learn to recognize under what cross each of us is under. Well done to the one who, paying attention to his cross, will find in it some semblance of the Cross of Christ, the Cross of innocence and self-sacrifice! May he guard this precious Cross and not change it for anything in the world. It is good for him whose cross turns out to be similar to the cross of a prudent thief, the cross of faith and repentance. May he continue to bear, if possible, the fruits of these virtues. But woe, unspeakable woe to him who, having found in himself and his fate a resemblance to the unrepentant thief of Golgotha, does not hasten to move away from this terrible example and move to the right land of faith and repentance! Amen. You might be interested in: