Беседа XXVIII

“And God spoke to Noah and his son with him, saying: Behold, I have established my covenant with you and with your seed after you, and with every living creature that lives with you, from the birds and from the cattle, and to every beast of the earth” (Gen. 9:8-10). 1. Having yesterday presented the blessing that Noah received from the Lord because, upon leaving the ark, he created an altar, offered thanksgiving sacrifices and thereby expressed his gratitude to God, we could not extend further, explain the entire reading and show the condescension and care that the man-loving God showed towards this righteous man. Since our speech became very lengthy, we hastened to finish it, so as not to burden your memory with too many (subjects) and not to damage what has already been said with what could have been said. After all, we care not only about saying a lot, but about saying as much as you can retain in your memory and thus get out of here with benefit for yourself. In fact, if we begin to speak more than necessary, and you do not receive any fruit from our words, then what good will it do? So, knowing that we have taken upon ourselves this work (preaching) for your benefit and consider it a sufficient reward for ourselves if we see that you, carefully keeping our words (in memory), succeed (in knowledge), - and you store them in the depths of your soul, constantly reflecting on them and reviving them in memory. Remembering what was said before, you can more comfortably accept what is to be said, and thus, over time, you will become teachers for others. All our concern, all our efforts are to ensure that you all become completely perfect and that nothing contained in the Divine Scripture is unknown to you. Knowledge of this latter, if only we want to be attentive and vigilant, will greatly help us in improving our lives and will make us more zealous for the deeds of virtue. When we see that each of the righteous, who acquired great boldness before God, received rewards for spending their entire lives in temptations and sorrows and showing great patience and gratitude (to God), then shall we not try to follow the same path with them in order to receive the same rewards as them? Therefore, I ask you every day to make some progress (in goodness) and to increase your spiritual edification, to preserve the good you have already done carefully and with great vigilance, and to supplement what is still lacking, so that you can thus reach the very height of virtues, to our praise, for the building of the Church, to the glory of Christ. So I, seeing your tireless desire for spiritual instruction, do not cease daily, although I am aware of my great poverty, to offer you a feast from the Divine Scripture, and, whatever God’s grace gives me, out of His love for mankind and for your benefit, to convey to your ears. So today let us show your love the abundance of love that God showed to the human race, and for this we offer the very words spoken by God to Noah. “And God spoke to Noah and his sons” (Gen.9:8). After he blessed Noah and his sons and said: “grow and multiply,” gave them power over all animals and allowed them to eat them in the same way as “herbal potions,” only forbidding them to eat meat in the blood, God, continuing His care for both the righteous man and his descendants, and always sparing our nature with blessings, adds even greater blessings. “And the God spoke,” it says, “to Noah and his son with him, saying: Behold, I have established my covenant with you and your seed for you, and for every living creature that lives with you, from the birds and from the cattle, and from every beast of the earth that is with you, from all those who came out of the ark. And I will establish My covenant with you, that all flesh shall not die by the waters of a flood, and that there shall not be a flood of waters to destroy the whole earth” (Gen. 9:8–11). Since the righteous man could still be subject to anxiety and be disturbed in spirit from fear, lest, if a little rain should happen, the same flood would again overtake the universe, so that he and all his descendants would be calm regarding this, the good Lord, knowing that even the slightest trouble would be able to disturb him (the experience of past misfortunes can make a person very timid), - since this righteous man could become confused and afraid even from a little rain, then the good God, wanting to encourage him, rid him of all fear and bring him into complete calm and complacency, promises him not to inflict such punishment on him again. 2. True, He already promised this even before the blessing, when He said, as you heard: “I will not put a curse on the ground” (Gen. 8:21); let, i.e. people will do a lot of evil, but I will not subject the human race to such punishment. But now, revealing His inexpressible love for mankind, He again promises the same thing, so that the righteous would be calm and not reason with himself like this: God had previously honored our race with blessings and allowed it to multiply, and yet brought such general destruction. So, in order to eradicate all anxiety from his mind and make sure that this will no longer happen, God says: just as I brought the flood out of love for mankind, in order to stop evil and stop its further spread, so now, out of my love for mankind, I promise not to do this in the future, so that you can live your real life without any fear. This is why He says: “Behold I establish My covenant,” i.e. I sign a contract. Just as in human affairs, when someone promises something, he concludes an agreement and thereby provides the proper confirmation, so the good Lord says: “Behold, I establish my covenant.” He wisely said: “I establish” 227, that is, I am renewing what was completely destroyed for the sins of people, and “I am establishing” (restoring) “My covenant to you and to your seed after you.” Notice the Lord’s love for mankind: I extend, he says, the covenant not only to you, but I declare that it will be inviolable with your descendants. Then, to show His generous goodness, he says: “And every soul that lives with you, from the birds and from the cattle, and from every beast of the earth, is with you from all those who came out of the ark. And I will establish My covenant with you: neither shall all flesh die by the waters of a flood, nor shall there be a flood of waters, which shall destroy the whole earth.” Do you see the greatness of the covenant? Do you see the untold importance of the promises? See how He extends His goodness to the dumb and to the beasts, and not without reason. What I have often said before, I will repeat now. Since these animals were created for man, now they also participate in the benefits provided to man. True, the covenant seems equally common to him and to the dumb; but actually it's not like that. And this is done to console man, so that he knows how honored he is, when the benefit does not stop with him alone, but because of him, all these (animals) participate in the goodness of the Lord. “And all flesh will not die,” he says, “from the waters of the flood, and there will not be a flood of water that will destroy the whole earth.” Do you see how He promises once, twice, and repeatedly not to bring such general destruction again, in order to drive confusion out of the thoughts of the righteous and make him calm about the future? Further, looking not at his own nature, but at our weakness, God is not content with just a verbal promise, but, showing His condescension towards us, also gives a sign that could, continuing throughout all ages, save the human race from the fear of such misfortune; so, even if it rained heavily, even if there was an extraordinary storm, even if a very great flood happened, even then we could not be afraid, but be calm, looking at this sign. “And the Lord God spoke to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have given between Me and you.” 228 (Gen. 9:12). Look what honor the righteous man has received. As man speaks to man, so God makes a covenant with him, and says: “This is the sign of the covenant that I have given between Me and you, and between every living soul that is with you, to eternal generations." Do you see that the sign promised to all living beings extends to eternal generations? God gives the sign not only to all living beings in general, but also forever, to the end of the world. What kind of sign is this? “My arc,” he says, “I set in the cloud, and it will be a sign 229 of the covenant between Me and the earth” (Gen. 9:13). So, after the verbal promise, I give (says God) this sign, i.e. a rainbow, which some produce from the rays of the sun falling on clouds. If, he says, My word is not enough, then I give a sign that in the future I will not inflict such punishment. Looking at this sign, be free from fear. “And it shall come to pass,” he says, “when I bring clouds over the earth, that My bow will appear in the cloud: and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you, and between every soul that dwells in all flesh” (Gen. 9:14-15). What are you saying, blessed prophet? “I will remember,” he says, “my covenant,” i.e. My agreement, condition, promise; and this is not because God himself has a need for remembrance, but so that we, looking at this given sign, do not fear any danger, but immediately, remembering the promise of God, are confident that we will not tolerate such misfortune. 3. Do you see how great is God’s condescension, what care He takes for our race, what love for mankind He shows, not because He has already seen a change (for good) in people, but in order to instill in us with all this the idea of ​​the immeasurable greatness of His goodness? “And it will not be so,” he says, “that the water will become a flood, as if it consumes all flesh,” such a flood will no longer happen. Since God knows that human nature is afraid of this, look how often He repeats the promise, as if to say: if you ever see heavy rainfall, and then do not fear any misfortune, because “the water will not become a flood to consume all flesh,” such a flood will no longer happen, such wrath (of My) will no longer be experienced by human nature. “And,” he says, “my bow will be in the cloud: and I will see 230 that the everlasting covenant between God 231 and every soul that dwells in all flesh will be remembered” (Gen. 9:16). See what humble expressions He uses to inspire people with peace and complete confidence. “And I will see,” he says, “that you will remember My covenant.” So, is it really the view that awakens memory in Him? No, this is not how we should think, but in such a way that when we see this sign, we can calmly rely on the promise of God, (knowing that) God’s promises cannot fail to be fulfilled. “And the God of Noah said,” it is said, “the sign of the covenant, which He has made between Me and all flesh that is on the earth” (Gen. 9:17). You have received, he says, the sign that I gave (as a covenant) between Me and all flesh that is on earth; Do not be troubled in your soul and do not waver in your mind, but, looking at this sign, remain trustworthy yourself, and may all your descendants receive peace from it; Let the sight of this sign provide confidence that such a flood will no longer befall the universe. Let human sins multiply, but I will fulfill My promise, and in the future I will no longer show such anger at everyone. Do you see the abundance of God's goodness? Do you see the greatness of condescension? Do you see the power of trusteeship? Do you see the bounty of the promise? God did not extend His benevolence only to two, three, or ten generations, but promised to keep it until the end of the world, so that we would be admonished by both - that is, that Noah’s contemporaries were subjected to such punishment for their many sins, and that we, by the ineffable love of God for mankind, were worthy of such a promise. After all, sane people are more inclined to fulfill God’s commandments by blessings than by punishments. Let's not be ungrateful. If God honored us with such a benefit even before we did anything good, or better yet, when we did a lot worthy of punishment, then what other bounties will He not honor us with when we are grateful, when we show our gratitude for previous (good deeds) and discover a change for the better in ourselves? If He does good to the unworthy and shows kindness to those who have sinned, then what will we not receive when we abandon sin and practice virtue? For this reason, He shows us many benefits before we do anything good, and He deigns to forgive us when we sin, and does not send punishment (for sins) suddenly, in order to attract us to Himself with all things – both with benefits and long-suffering. Often, too, while punishing some, He wants to inspire others so that, having realized the misfortune of others, they themselves would not suffer punishment. Do you see how inventive His love for mankind is, how everything He does is accomplished solely for our salvation? So, thinking about this, let us not be indifferent, let us not neglect virtue and transgress the laws given by Him. If He sees that we are turning (towards goodness), becoming modest and generally making at least some beginning (of a virtuous life), then on His part He will help us, making everything easy and convenient for us and not even allowing us to feel (the severity of) the deeds of virtue. And in fact, when the soul directs its thoughts to God, it can no longer be deceived by the sight of sensory objects, but, passing by everything sensory, or rather these objects that are before our eyes, it contemplates objects invisible to the bodily eyes and not subject to change, but constantly abiding, unchanging and unshakable. Such are the eyes of the mind: they are constantly directed towards the contemplation of heavenly objects and, illuminated by their brilliance, they look at the objects of real life as a shadow and a dream, without being in the least seduced or carried away by them. On the contrary, if they see wealth, they immediately laugh at it, knowing that it is more fickle than any runaway slave, moves from one to another and never remains in one place, and even causes many evils to its owners and casts them, so to speak, into the very abyss of vice. If they see physical beauty, they are not deceived by it, imagining its fragility and changeability, as for example, sometimes illness destroys all beauty; even without illness, old age makes a previously handsome face ugly and ugly, and death finally destroys all bodily beauty. If someone is seen invested with glory or power, has reached the highest degree of honor and enjoys complete prosperity, they look at him as a person who has nothing lasting and unchangeable in himself, but is proud of the fact that he flows away faster than river flows. And in fact, can anything be more insignificant than all the glory of real life when it is compared with the color of grass? “All the glory of man,” says Scripture, “is like the flower of grass” (Is. 40:6; 1 Pet. 1:24). 4. Do you see, beloved, how truly the eyes of faith see when the soul is directed towards God? Do you see how they cannot be deceived by anything visible, but have correct judgment about objects and are not subject to any deception? However, if you wish, let us again move on to the subject of the word, and, having offered a little more, we will stop teaching, so that what has been said remains in your memory. The Divine Scripture, having finished the story of the Divine Sign, also wants to tell us information about the righteous man and his sons and says: “And the sons of Noah came out of the ark, Shem, Ham, Japheth: Ham was the father of Canaan. These three are the sons of Noah: of these are they scattered over all the earth” (Gen. 9:18–19). Here one may ask why the Divine Scripture, having mentioned the three sons of Noah, added: “But Ham was the father of Canaan”? Do not think, I ask you, that this was added without a purpose: there is nothing in Divine Scripture that would be said without any purpose and would not contain great benefit. So why is it signified and added: “But Ham was the father of Canaan”? Scripture wants to point out to us the extreme intemperance of Ham, that neither such a great disaster (the flood), nor such a cramped life in the ark could curb him, but meanwhile, just as his elder brother had not yet had children, he, during such wrath (of God), when the whole universe perished, indulged in intemperance and did not restrain his unbridled lust, but even then and so early he discovered his vicious inclinations. And so, since a little later, for the insult he inflicted on his father, his son Canaan must be cursed, Divine Scripture first shows and makes known to us both the name of the son and the intemperance of the father; so that when you later see that he will show great disrespect to his parent, knowing that he has been like this for a long time before and has not even been brought to his senses by misfortune. Indeed, such a calamity could completely curb voluptuous lust, and in general nothing is more capable of extinguishing this flame and this fury than intense sorrow and great misfortune. Therefore, whoever, even during such a great calamity, showed such unbridled lust, who can deserve forgiveness? But here we are presented with another, so well-known and repeated question: why is the son cursed for the sin of the father? However, so that we now do not continue the word too much, we will postpone this question until another time, and when we reach the very place (in which this is said), then we will propose a solution that God will inspire. In Divine Scripture, as I said above, there is nothing that was written without any basis or reason. So, we now know that Moses not in vain and not without purpose mentioned the name of his son (Cham), saying: “Cham was the father of Canaan.” Further he says: “Three are the sons of Noah, and of these they were scattered throughout all the earth.” Let us not ignore these words, beloved, but from them we will understand the greatness of God’s power. “Three,” it is said, “these are the sons of Noah, and from these they were scattered throughout the whole earth.” How did so many people come from three people? How could they be capable of this? How did the whole world come from so few? How were their very bodies preserved? Then there was no doctor who would treat, there were no other benefits (to maintain health). The cities had not yet been built, and after such a disaster (the flood) and being in the ark, they came out exhausted and weary. How, being left in such solitude and in such a terrible desert, did they not die? How did you not die? After all, fear and trembling, tell me, didn’t they shake their souls and outrage their thoughts? Do not be surprised, beloved: God did all this; the Creator of nature removed all these obstacles; It was his command, which said: “Grow and multiply, and fill... the earth” (Gen. 1:22), and gave them (the sons of Noah) the power of reproduction. Likewise, the Israelites in Egypt, although they were burdened with “shaving and making boards” (Ex. 1:14), nevertheless, despite this, they multiplied even more; and neither the cruel and inhuman command of Pharaoh, who ordered male children to be thrown into the water, nor the oppression that they suffered from the overseers of the work, could reduce their numbers; on the contrary, they multiplied more and more, because a higher power acted here contrary to (the wishes of the persecutors). 5. So, when God commands, do not try to explain events according to human order. Being above nature, He does not submit to its order, but arranges it in such a way that the very obstacles contribute to the success of the matter. So, even now, from these three (the sons of Noah) He populated the entire universe. “From these three,” says Scripture, “(people) were scattered throughout the whole earth.” Do you see the power of God, do you see how, despite many obstacles, nothing stops His will? The same can be seen in the (Christian) faith. There were so many enemies, so many persecutors: kings, tyrants, and peoples rebelled and used all means to extinguish the spark of faith; but from the persecutors themselves, who wanted to hinder, such a flame of piety kindled that it engulfed all countries, inhabited and uninhabited. Whether you go to the Indians or the Scythians, or to the very limits of the universe, or even to the ocean, everywhere you will find the teaching of Christ, enlightening the souls of all. It is surprising and extraordinary that the Orthodox faith transformed even the most barbaric peoples; and they learned to be wise and, leaving their former habits, turned to piety. Just as from those three (the sons of Noah) the Creator of all things produced such a multitude of people, so He converted the entire universe to faith, through eleven fishermen, not learned, simple, who did not even dare to open their mouths. These unscientific and simple fishermen stopped the lips of philosophers and, as if on wings, flowed around the entire universe, sowing the word of piety in it, uprooting thorns, destroying ancient customs and implanting the laws of Christ everywhere. Neither their small number and simplicity, nor the severity of the commandments (they proclaimed), nor the attachment of the entire human race to ancient customs could serve as an obstacle for them, but all this was eliminated by the grace of God that preceded them, so that they did everything easily, being aroused by the very obstacles to greater zeal. So, one day, having suffered beatings, they left the Sanhedrin rejoicing, not just about the beatings, but because “for the name of Christ they were deemed worthy to receive dishonor” (Acts 5:41); another time, being imprisoned and brought out by an Angel, they again began to do the same as they had done before and, having come to the church, sowed the word of teaching, catching many people to piety; and then, being detained again, they not only did not become more inactive, but showed even greater boldness, standing among the raging and gnashing of their teeth people, and saying: “It is fitting to obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:19-29). Do you see the greatness of boldness? Do you see how ordinary fishermen despise so many people who are raging and ready to commit murder and put them to death? But, hearing about this, beloved, attribute what happened not to the apostles themselves, but to the highest grace, which strengthened and revived their zeal. So blessed Peter himself, when he healed a man lame from birth and when everyone was amazed and amazed at him, with his characteristic sincerity said: “Men... Why do you look at us, as if we made him walk by our own strength or by piety?” (Acts 3:12). Why, he says, were you so amazed and surprised by this event? Did we do this ourselves, did we restore his health with our strength and give him the ability to walk? “Why are you looking at us?” We, for our part, did nothing, but only used our tongue (to pronounce words); everything was arranged by the Lord and Creator of nature. He, the “God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob,” whom you honor as patriarchs; He, “You betrayed Him, and rejected Him before Pilate, destined to let Him go”; He did it; He, who is holy and righteous, rejected him and asked his husband to give you a murderer. Kill the chief of life, whom God raised from the dead, of whom we are witnesses. And by faith in His name, this which you see and know, establish His name: and the faith which is for His sake, give unto him all this wholeness before you all” (Acts 3:13-16). 6. Great is the boldness (of the apostles); Great and inexpressible is the power of grace given to them from above! The boldness of this blessed one (Peter) can serve as the most obvious evidence of the resurrection. Indeed, what greater sign can one demand, when the one who before the Cross could not bear the threat of even a simple servant now confronts the Jewish people in such a way, and alone with such boldness appears before such a crowd, so disorderly, and speaks to it such words with which he can further arouse its fury? Do you see, beloved, how now it turns out to be the same as what I said at the beginning? When someone is inflamed with love for God, he no longer wants to look at objects that are subject to bodily vision, but having other eyes, i.e. eyes of faith, constantly directs his mind to heavenly objects, contemplates them, and, walking on earth, does everything as if he lives in heaven, not encountering any human obstacles to the exploits of virtue. Such a person no longer looks at the pleasures of life, nor at the nasty and difficult circumstances, but, passing by all this, hurries to his fatherland. Just as someone running with great effort through a sensory field does not see those he meets, even if they have encountered him a thousand times, but, directing his thoughts to the field and quickly running through everything, he strives for the intended goal, so exactly the one who tries to walk the field of virtue and ascend from earth to heaven leaves everything visible below, turns all his attention to the field and does not stop, is not held back by anything visible, until he reaches the very top (virtue). For a person with such a mood, what seems terrible in real life means nothing: he is not afraid of the sword, or the abyss, or the teeth of animals, or torture, or the hands of executioners, or any other everyday trouble; no, let them put hot coals in front of him, he will walk along them, as if through a meadow and garden; let others threaten him with any kind of torment, he does not become numb at the sight of them and does not shy away, because his soul has taken possession of the desire for future blessings, and he, as if being outside the body, becomes above suffering and, being supported by the highest grace, does not even feel bodily torment. Therefore, I ask that we be able to easily endure the labors of virtue, let us show great love for God, and, directing our thoughts towards Him, let us not dwell on this field with any subject of present life, but, thinking about the continuous enjoyment of future blessings, let us complacently endure all the sorrows of present life. Let neither dishonor sadden us, nor poverty constrain us, nor physical illness weaken our spiritual vigor, nor human contempt and humiliation make us less zealous for deeds of virtue; but, having shaken off all this like dust, and having assumed a cheerful and elevated mood of spirit, we will thus demonstrate great courage in everything and, as I asked your love yesterday, we will try to reconcile with our enemies and we will purge all other passions from our souls. If we are outraged by unclean lust, let us drive it out. If anger inflames us, let us quench this heat by singing spiritual instructions that show the perniciousness of this passion. “An ardent man,” says Scripture, “is not comely” (Prov. 11:25); and in another place: “Be angry with your brother in vain... guilty of eating hell fire" (Matthew 5:22). If our soul is outraged by the love of money, let us try to flee from this destructive infection and root it out as the root of all evil. And let us try to correct each of the passions that disturb us, so that, by abstaining from evil and doing good deeds, we could on that terrible day be rewarded with the love of God, the grace and generosity of His only begotten Son, with whom to the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. In Greek, ἀνίςημι - I restore. Zlat.: καὶ σοῦ according to some Greek. sp. (Caesareus. VI in "Holmes", etc.) and contrary to Lucian. and ev. text, where ὑμῶν – “by you” (Slavic Bible). Zlat.: ἐν σημείω; in other Greek sp. it is usually read: εἰς σημεῒον - “for a sign.” Zlat.: καὶ ὄψομαι without αὐτὸ – “him” (“yu” in Slav. B.) according to Lucian. and most Greek sp. Zlat.: τοῦ Θεοῦ according to some. Greek lists (Koislian. minuscule 15th from Holmes) and Heb. Masor. t., and contrary to Lucian. and other sp., where ἐμοῦ – “By me.” You might be interested in: