Слово первое в Великий Пяток

“Lord, who has believed our hearing, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isa. 53:1). Thus, six centuries before the death of our Savior on the cross, one of the great prophets of the people of God began his preaching about it! Through the action of the Holy Spirit, the veil of the future was lifted before him, and he clearly saw the humiliated state of the Son of God on the Cross, in order to later announce it to his contemporaries, and through them to the entire human race. Struck by the terrible spectacle of Golgotha, the prophet, instead of preaching to people, turns his speech to God and asks in bewilderment: is it possible to speak about such objects in human hearing? And shouldn’t I hide everything I saw in the depths of my own soul? Lord, who has believed our hearing, and to whom has the arm of the Lord revealed itself? I am ready, as he would say, to proclaim what has been revealed to me in the light of Your face, but where are those who are able to accept what is proclaimed? Before the Cross of Your Son, the greatest faith is needed: how to find it among people? Lord, who has believed our hearing, and to whom has the arm of the Lord revealed itself? More than two thousand years after this prophecy, and more than eighteen centuries after its event on Golgotha - now that the Cross of Christ, having been erected in the midst of the whole earth, became the salvation of one and all - now one would seem to expect that the word of the cross will no longer find a contradiction in the minds and hearts of men, that at the first tidings of the mystery of redemption accomplished on Golgotha, everyone will bow their ears and open their souls to the acceptance of eternal life. But, my brothers, what if the ancient prophet were resurrected and stood before us now, do you think that he would leave or change for us the beginning of his sermon on the cross? Are you sure that, looking at all of us - both those standing here and those absent - he would not exclaim again: “Lord, who believes our hearing, and the arm of the Lord is revealed to whom”? Ah, if there were faith in us, would the rich man today begin to mercilessly close his womb at the sight of his fellow man demanding help? Would you weigh every mite given to a beggar a hundred times and how it was given? In the name of Christ, who died for us and rose again, when, moreover, for everything given, this same One who died and rose again promised to repay - there - a hundredfold? If there were faith in us, would the confidant of wisdom begin to seek solutions to the mysteries of human existence, the perplexities of his soul and conscience anywhere other than the Gospel, when it was given for this purpose, so that we would know who we are, where we come from and why? If there was faith in us, would we so madly indulge in the temptations of the world and the criminal charms of the flesh, would many of us set the whole purpose of our lives in the satisfaction of feelings and passions, would we fall so low before every idol of worldly pride and lust? If we had faith in us, could death lead us to such bleak sadness, when our Savior Himself descended into the tomb for this purpose, so that life and incorruptibility would shine out from it for all of us? Ah, when there was faith in the hearts, then Christians were like lights among the darkness of Judaism and paganism; then the word spoken by a Christian was stronger than all obligations, the example of a follower of Jesus was better than all the rules of human wisdom; then without regret they parted, when necessary, with all the blessings of the world, without a murmur they endured the greatest sorrows and hardships, they went to the very torment and death with joy. And now, in whom there is true faith, he is not like others, and no matter what rank he is in, he reveals himself to be a person who apparently belongs not only to earth, but also to heaven. Whoever has faith is even now - is he rich - rich not so much for himself as for others, not in gold and silver, but in humility and love; whether he is poor and suffering, he is poor and suffers without grumbling, with hope, as befits an heir to eternal life; whether he is wise, does not exalt himself with his knowledge, throws it into sacrifice, at the foot of the Cross of Christ; whether he is simple and unbooked, he values ​​simplicity itself as if it were a treasure. He who has faith is still chaste, pious and righteous, meek and loving, self-controlled, humble and simple. He who has faith even now looks at life as a journey, at the visible world as at a temporary hotel, at his flesh as at the prison of the immortal spirit, at the tomb as a place of peace. But are there many of them? Show me a Christian about whom you could immediately, without hesitation, say: behold, the servant of God! Behold a follower of Christ! On the contrary, how many Christians are there, about whom it is difficult to say whether they have any faith! How many Christians are there who, if they were to convert to paganism, would not have to make any change either in their way of thinking or in their way of life, except to take a different name for themselves! - Why say too much? Look around you: today is the day of the death of our Lord and Savior; now He has ascended to the cross for our sins, that He may provide us all with justification and eternal life; Shouldn’t all the followers of Jesus now gather at His tomb? But how many people who are now left at home sit in idleness, do not even know what to do or how to spend their time, and, meanwhile, do not rush to the church, to the foot of the Cross of Christ!.. Who is to blame for our coldness and insensitivity? Is it not You, Lord! You may have done little to enlighten and enlighten, touch and excite, warm and attract us to You!.. But what more could have been done? Appear, sinner, whoever you are, at this tomb and tell yourself what needs to be done for you and what has not been done. You had to be brought out of the darkness of natural ignorance into the light of God: and so many lights of the knowledge of God were kindled over you that infants now know more about God and eternal life than the great sages of the ancient world knew. You needed an example of a good and righteous life, an example of pure love, humility and patience: before you is the life and deeds of your Savior, in which not in words, but in deeds, the whole law and all the commandments. You also needed healing from spiritual relaxation: and you are surrounded by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the prayers and sacraments of the Church. You need all the armor to fight the enemies of your salvation: and it is always ready in the treasury of the Church. So, appear, sinner, at this tomb and tell your Savior yourself what needed to be done for you and what was not done. He loves you so much that if, really, what is needed for you, He rises from the grave and goes back to the cross... Meanwhile, beloved brother in Christ, let us consider impartially whether we have done and are doing with you what we could and should have done, so that faith and the Gospel of Jesus do not remain fruitless in us. We have a mind: do we use it to understand our duties, our soul and conscience, to understand the Divine face of our Savior, His teaching, life and death, raised for us? – We have will and freedom, capable of following either the law of God and the voice of the Gospel, or the inspiration of feelings and passions: did we act with this will and freedom as the Gospel commands, did we stand in truth and righteousness, did we fight with our own passions and lusts? We have been taught many natural and supernatural means to eradicate evil habits in us, to cleanse our nature, to strengthen a good disposition in us, to protect us from temptations and temptations, to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil: how many of these means have we used in our work, and do they not even remain unknown to us until now, due to our neglect of them? Who is to blame after this if not ourselves, if we still remain in darkness and coldness, in sins and uncleanness, in insensibility and spiritual death? If you, a man, were a stone, you could be taken and shaped as the builder pleased. If you were a tree, you could be planted and replanted as the gardener wanted. If you, a sinner, were a creature, although alive, but unreasonable and deprived of freedom, you could be treated as they do with the dumb. But you are a human being, you have been given intelligence and arbitrariness, given for all eternity. Once he has given you these gifts and advantages, the Wise Creator will never take them back. After this, what remains for the omnipotence of God to do with you, except to instruct and admonish you, to convince and touch, to ask and pray for your own salvation? And look - how does this omnipotence not admonish, convince, ask and pray for you: by the very cross and tomb of His Only Begotten Son, crucified and buried for you! “See,” it says, “see what your sin is worth, what sacrifice it required for your salvation, see and understand what will finally happen to you if you do not take advantage of the sacrifice made for you!” Amen. You might be interested in: