Слово в среду недели 3-й Великого поста

Now the powers of heaven serve with us invisibly: behold, the King of glory enters; The secret sacrifice has been completed and is being delivered. Let us approach with faith and love, so that we may be partakers of eternal life! What earthly triumph, no matter how great and glorious it may be, can be spoken of in this way? In earthly celebrations, if there is anything important and great, then it usually happens outside, before the eyes of everyone; and what is not visible is often small, even low. But in the Sacraments of the Church, on the contrary: what is visible is often small and seems too simple and ordinary; and the invisible and the intelligible are always high, holy, Divine. So in real worship, apparently, little happens: after the singing of this sacred hymn, in many churches one humble clergyman comes out of the altar with a holy vessel in his hand and with a paten on his head. But the power of the performed Sacrament is always the same: the first saint in the world would not add anything to the importance of what is happening, just as the last of the altar servers cannot take anything away from its greatness. Every time, in every church, together with people, the very powers of heaven serve, completing with their invisible assistance what is lacking in the visible servants of the mystery. Who could believe this, imagining the greatness of the worldly beings? For to say that the powers of heaven serve means more than if someone said: all the kings and rulers of the earth serve. But on the other hand, when you hear that during this sacred rite the King of Glory Himself enters, then all bewilderment disappears immediately. For where the King of heaven is, there must also be His heavenly servants, no matter how high and important they may be. As in human life, the king, wherever he appears - even in the very last hut, even in a dungeon - the very first nobleman considers it a special honor to accompany him, and shows even greater attention and zeal than in the royal palace itself. So it is here. With joy and reverence the ranks of angels stand before the Throne of God in heaven; but with even greater (if greater is possible for them) joy and reverence they come to serve their Lord on earth, in our churches, for here they see in Him what they do not see in heaven; that is, not only His extreme love for us poor creatures, but also His all-surpassing humility, according to which He, being the King of glory, appears on our altars as a sacrifice offered for human sins. In view of such humility of the King Himself, is it possible for His servants to think about their greatness? And behold, now they serve with us, the unworthy, and without a doubt, with a hundred times greater purity, reverence and love than we, the unclean and sinful. Judge after this, my brothers, how necessary and just is what the Holy Church demands of us, that is, that we approach with faith and love what is now offered at the Holy Table. You must begin with faith, because if you begin without faith, then, one might say, you will not begin anything. For what is the Holy Meal at this time for a person without faith? Small in appearance, pre-sanctified bread, or more precisely, a part of bread that is prepared by human hands and, apparently, is not much different from ordinary bread. Only for faith this little bread is more important than anything in the world; only she contemplates in him the life-giving Body and Blood of Christ, in which eternal life is contained for us. That is why we must approach with faith, and, moreover, with living faith, before which the invisible is as visible. For there is also a weak, wavering faith, which is little different from doubt, and therefore bears little fruit for a person. Peter once believed with such weak faith - and drowned. For it was not said to him: “unfaithful,” but “of little faith” (Matthew 14:31)! He had faith, only weak; That’s why she couldn’t save her from drowning. With such faith, many questions are usually raised: what, how, why, for what? Meanwhile, complete and living faith knows no doubts: it, as the apostle notes, “receives faith in all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). There is no need that the apostle said this about love, but we apply it to faith; for true faith and love are inseparable from each other. Therefore, in the present case, faith and love are required: “let us approach with faith and love!” And it seems to me that if we divide the indivisible, then we can still proceed without faith, for faith in this case even requires some effort on the part of our soul, since we must recognize as truth that which is invisible to the eyes of the body; and without love, as long as there is faith, it seems that one cannot even begin, that is, one cannot approach this Sacrament and not immediately be filled with love for the Savior, just as one cannot approach a great fire and not immediately feel the warmth and heat. Indeed, if like produces like, then where is there more room for love, if not at the Sacrament of the Eucharist? What is it other than an expression of our Savior’s greatest love for us? Who, besides Him, feeds you with His Body and Blood? Do not say that this is not worth the work for Him now: for if now it is not difficult for Him to perform this miracle, then think about what it cost to do it in the beginning? For this it was necessary to ascend the Cross, die in agony, be with the villains, and lie in the tomb. Who will do this for you? After this, how can one begin to engage in such love without love? “Let us draw near by faith and love,” as the Church inspires: let us draw near by faith, seeing into what is hidden from the eyes of the body; let us approach with love, we have given ourselves entirely to Him who gave Himself for us to death on the cross. But, my God, how contrary are the dispositions and actions of some people to what should be in the present case! Don’t you notice, my brothers, how at the very time when the Church proclaims: “Now the powers of Heaven serve with us invisibly; Behold, the King of glory enters!” - and when true believers or, which is the same thing in this case, all truly rational ones, are thrown down with reverence, not daring to open their eyes to the Holy Mysteries carried by the priest, as, I say, at this very time others not only apparently continue to revolve worldly thoughts in their souls, but are not ashamed to show their insensibility and absent-mindedness even outwardly - in front of you, so that when others lie down in humility, they stand disorderly, starting conversations, showing laughter on their faces, indecency in their movements? This is how far, I won’t say, unbelief can extend – for such people often don’t have it – but unreason, recklessness and fearlessness! Why even go to church at this point? It is better to sit at home and do something; for such behavior in the church is associated with terrible sin for the soul. In such people - at least this time - there is not only no love for their Savior, but, on the contrary, some kind of hatred and enmity. For how can there not be enmity when you not only yourself do not show respect for the Sacrament of the Lord, but you also outrage the feelings of those who stand in the church and do not allow them to pray with reverence? Isn’t that exactly what they do with their enemies, trying to take away from them the respect they are shown? Probably, such people do not imagine this, but their action is no better; and if the Church says about her faithful children that the forces of heaven are with them in the church, then the opposite must be said about these unfortunate ones, that the forces of hell are with them in the church, teaching them to mock when they should cry; start conversations when one should fall to the ground in silence out of awe. Do not be indignant, my brothers, at such outrage: it is allowed by the Lord for our testing! For He could immediately send thunder and lightning against them. The very powers of heaven, located in the church, would not hesitate to stand up for the honor of their Master, and would turn the insane despisers of the house of God into dust; but God’s mercy endures them, giving them time for repentance, and on the other hand, testing our faith and patience in prayer. Therefore, I say, do not be too embarrassed by this unfortunate example; but even more so, do not be carried away by imitating them. Because what is there to imitate? No matter who such people are, no matter how different they are in the world, in doing this, they are stupider than young children. For a child, when he sees something important and sacred happening in front of him, stands attentively, fixing his gaze on what is happening. Therefore, there is no place here for imitation, but for regret, for how can one not regret such insensitivity and oblivion not only to the holiness of the place, but also to all decency? So that, however, such an example does not have any harmful effect on minors, who cannot yet judge persons and things correctly; then do not leave it to your children to instill in them how badly those who behave in church in this way act, how stupid, dishonorable and ungodly it is, how everyone is dissatisfied with this, in order to instill in them in advance respect for the church of God. For these unfortunate self-willed people act disorderly in churches, in all likelihood, because from a young age there was no one to instruct them and instill in them what a church means, and that here, during the celebration of the Sacraments, the heavenly powers themselves invisibly serve with us. Amen. You might be interested in: