Беседа 3. На первую 3 (чит. вторую) Паралипоменон, где говорится: «Возгордилось сердце его» (2Пар.26:16), также о смиренномудрии, о том, что добродетельному не следует быть самонадеянным, и о том, сколь великое зло – гордость

1. Blessed is God: in our age martyrs have grown up, and we have been honored to see people sacrificed for Christ - people shedding holy blood, which irrigates the entire Church, shedding blood, terrible for demons, desired for Angels, saving for us. We have been honored to see people standing up for piety, winning, being crowned; and were honored not only to see, but also to accept the very bodies of these ascetics; and now we have these crowned ones. However, we now leave the discussion of martyrs to the zealot of martyrs, our common teacher; and now we ourselves will tell you about Uzziah in order to pay off our old debt and satisfy a long-standing languid desire to hear about it. I know well that each of you is yearning to hear about those events; and we prolonged this languor, not out of a desire to increase your grief, but trying to intensify the desire so that our treat would seem more pleasant to you. When the rich offer food and receive well-fed guests, they can whet their appetite with the preciousness of what they have prepared; and the meal of the poor does not turn out to be more brilliant than if those who approach it are hungry. Who was Uzziah, whose descendant was he, whose king, how long did he reign, what good did he do, what did he sin and how did he end his life? We will tell you about all this now, or better yet, as much as we can say, so as not to burden your memory with the multitude of things said, as happens with the fire of a lamp. If you add oil to the lamp little by little, you will provide sufficient food for the fire, and if you pour it suddenly, you will extinguish the former fire. So this Uzziah was a descendant of David and the king of Judah; He reigned fifty-two years, and at first he was virtuous, and then fell into sin. Having dreamed of himself above his own dignity, he wanted to usurp the power of the priesthood. Such is evil - pride; it produces in everyone that he does not know himself, and after much labor destroys the entire treasure of virtue. Other sins usually arise from our carelessness; and it arises in us when we do the right thing. Usually nothing produces pride like a good conscience, if we are not careful. That is why Christ, knowing that this passion comes to us after good deeds, said to his disciples: “When you have done everything commanded you, say: we are worthless servants, because we have done what we had to do” (Luke 17:10). When this beast approaches you, then with these words, he says, lock the doors from him. He did not say: when you have completed everything, then you are worth nothing; but you yourself “say: we are worthless slaves, because we did what we had to do”; speak, do not be afraid, I do not pronounce judgment on your judgment. If you yourself call yourself indecent, then I will crown you as profane. So in another place God says: “You speak in order to be justified” (Is. 43:26). In external courts, after accusation and confession of crimes, death is imposed; and in the Divine Judgment Seat after recognition there is a crown. That is why Solomon said: “Do not justify yourself before the Lord” (Sir.7:5). Uzziah did not listen to any of this, but he entered the church, wanted to burn incense, and did not listen to the priest who stopped him. What about God? He struck Uzziah with leprosy on his forehead in order to punish his shameless face and teach him that this was a Divine judgment seat and that he was not rebelling against people. This is what is known about Uzziah. Now let's follow this story first. This is why I first told you briefly everything that happened, so that when you listen to what Scripture says about this, you would follow it exactly. Be careful. “And he did,” says the Scripture, “what was right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 26:4). By this it testified to his great virtue. He not only “did what was right,” but also “in the sight of the Lord,” and not for show to people, like those who among the Jews trumpeted their alms, distorted their faces during fasts, and prayed at crossroads. What could be more miserable than such people when they endure hardships and deprive themselves of any reward? 2. What are you doing, man? To one will you give account of your deeds, and will you call the other to witness your deeds? Do you have one as a judge, and the other as a spectator? Do you not see how the charioteers, when the whole city is sitting above on the horse lists, driving through the entire space of the field, try to overthrow the chariots of their rivals where they see the king sitting, and his one eye is considered more important than so many eyes? Do you see the King of Angels himself, watching your progress and, leaving Him, are you trying to attract the eyes of slaves like you? Isn’t that why you leave after a thousand competitions without a crown, and after many exploits you come to the Manager of exploits without rewards? But Uzziah was not like that, “he did what was right in the sight of the Lord.” How did he waver and fall after such a righteous life? I am surprised and perplexed by this, or better yet, there is no room for bewilderment, because he was a man, a creature receptive to sin and quick to commit vices. And not only is this disastrous, but also the fact that we must pass through a narrow and cramped path, under threatening cliffs on both sides. If both the complaisance of the will and the difficulty of the path contribute to the same thing, then do not be surprised at the falls. Just as at spectacles those who try to ascend and descend along a rope stretched from bottom to top, if they stare a little, then, losing their balance, fall onto the stage and die, so those walking this path, if they are a little careless, are thrown into the abyss. Truly, this path is much more than that rope and is narrow, and steep, and dangerous, and much higher; it ends at the top, near the sky, and then the procession becomes especially dangerous for us when we are at the top, at the very top; those standing on high feel great fear, and for them there is only one means of salvation - not to look down, not to look at the ground; otherwise severe dizziness occurs. That is why the prophet constantly calls to us: “Do not destroy” (Ps. 56:1), stirring up our soul, which indulges in negligence, protecting and holding it, ready to fall. First we need a little clarification. Why? Because every person, even the laziest of all, when starting a task, first shows great diligence and, with lively zeal and fresh strength, easily takes on what was proposed; but when we have gone most of the way, when our zeal has cooled, our strength has weakened and we are ready to fall, then the prophet appears to us in good time, offers us his saying, like a reed, and says: “Do not destroy.” And the devil then attacks us more strongly. Just as robbers sailing on the sea do not attack ships when they see them leaving the pier (what good is it for them to sink an empty ship?), but when the ships return with a full load, then they use all their cunning, so the evil demon, when he sees people who have collected a lot, fasting, prayers, alms, chastity, and all other virtues, when he sees our ship filled with precious stones of piety, then he attacks, digging under the treasure from all sides in order to sink the ship at the very mouth of the pier and send us back to that pier with nothing. Therefore, the prophet exhorts everyone and says: “Do not destroy.” After such a fall, it is already difficult to get up again: “With the coming of the wicked comes contempt” (Prov. 18:3). We all forgive the one who has fallen at the beginning due to his inexperience, but the one who has fallen after many transitions will not easily be granted forgiveness or justification; such a fall is attributed to negligence. And not only is this disastrous, but many are tempted by such falls, and therefore the sin also becomes unforgivable. Knowing this, we will listen to the prophet and will not corrupt (our life) “to the end.” That is why Ezekiel says: whoever is righteous will then fall, having sinned, “his righteousness will not be remembered, but he will die in his sin” (cf. Ezek. 3:20, 18:24) 4. And he was afraid for the end. And not only this, but also the opposite, he proves great strength. If there is, he says, whoever is a sinner, but then turns righteous, “he will live and not die” (Ezek. 18:21–22) 5. You see how here he shows great concern for the end. So that the righteous, hoping for his own righteousness and giving in to carelessness, does not perish, the prophet frightens him with the end; so that the sinner, despairing after his falls, does not remain forever in his fallen state, he restores it by pointing to the end. You, he says, have sinned a lot, but do not lose hope; there is a way out if you show the end opposite to the beginning. You, he says to the righteous, have done a lot of good, but do not rely on it; It also happens that you fall if you do not maintain the same zeal to the end. Do you see how he destroys both negligence in one and despair in the other? 3. Uzziah did not listen to anything like that, and therefore, relying too much on himself, he fell into a heavy and incorrigible fall. Not every fall produces the same wound in us, but some of the sins deserve only censure, while others attract the most severe punishment. So Paul, reproaching those who did not wait for the brethren at common suppers, says: “I do not praise you” (1 Cor. 11:17). You see: this sin is subject only to reproach, and reproach serves as punishment for it. But this is not what he does when he talks about fornication, but how? “If anyone,” he says, “destroys the church of God, God will punish him” (1 Cor. 3:17). Here there is no longer reproach or censure, but the gravest punishment. Solomon also knew the difference between sins; he, comparing theft with adultery, says this: “A thief is not allowed to go away if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no understanding; He who does this destroys his soul” (Prov. 6:30, 32). Both, he says, are sins; but one sin is less, another is more; he finds an excuse in poverty, but this one has no excuse. And this one, you say, is forced by natural need? But the wife given to the man does not allow this; she deprives him of his justification. This is why marriage and legal use were established, so that the husband could not say anything like that. For this purpose, he was given an assistant - a wife, to curb the raging nature, to tame the waves of lust. Therefore, just as a helmsman who causes a shipwreck in a pier cannot have any justification, so a man who has achieved security through marriage and insults other people’s marriages, or looks lustfully at some wife, cannot have any justification either before people or before God, even if he appeals a thousand times to natural pleasure. However, what pleasure can there be where there is fear, anxiety, danger and the expectation of so many disasters, where trials, investigations, the wrath of the judge, the sword, the executioner, the abyss and execution await? Such a person trembles and fears everything: shadows, walls and the very stones, as if they make a sound; he suspects and fears everyone - servants, neighbors, friends, enemies, those who know everything and know nothing. But, if you wish, let nothing like that happen, let no one know about his daring deeds except him alone and the woman he insults; How will he endure the convictions of his conscience, always having this strong accuser with him? After all, just as no one can escape from himself, neither can he escape from the verdict of this court. This court is not bribed with money, is not carried away by flattery, because it is a Divine court, implanted by God into our souls. Truly, “whoever commits adultery with a woman has no understanding; He who does this destroys his soul” (Proverbs 6:32). Of course, the thief is not exempt from punishment and receives reward, but less. Comparisons do not show the opposite of the objects being compared, but, leaving each of them in its place, they represent which of them is smaller and which is larger. Perhaps you did not understand what was said; therefore it is necessary to say more clearly. Marriage is a good thing, but virginity is better; however, because virginity is better, marriage is not a bad thing; it is lower than virginity, but in itself it is a good thing. So it is here: theft is a bad deed, but less than adultery, although it is bad in itself. Do you see the difference between sins? Let's see what sin Uzziah committed. “His heart was lifted up,” says Scripture, “(2 Chronicles 26:16). Serious wound; this is pride; pride, which is the source of all evil. And in order for you to quickly understand how evil this disease is, listen to the following: other sins are limited to our nature, but pride carried away and cast down the incorporeal force from heaven; she made the devil, who was not a devil before, a devil. We would bring as a witness Isaiah, who speaks of him like this: “I will ascend into heaven... I will be like the Most High” (Is. 14:13–14); but those who do not like allegorical expressions will not accept our testimony; If, together with him, we present Paul as the accuser, then no one will contradict him. What does Paul say in his letter to Timothy? The fact that someone who has recently received preaching should not be elevated to the high rank of bishopric: “He must not be one of the new converts,” he says, “lest he become proud and fall into condemnation with the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6), so that he, he says, having sinned in the same way as the devil, does not suffer the same thing with him. 4. And not only is this obvious from here, but also from what the evil demon advised the first of all people. Just as the good have the custom of advising their neighbors that through which they themselves have become good, so the evil have the custom of suggesting to their neighbors that through which they themselves have become evil. This is one of the types of malice, and the evil ones consider the death of others as a consolation in their own punishment. What did the devil advise Adam? To admit a thought that exceeds one’s own nature is to hope to become equal to God. If this, says the devil, cast me out of heaven, much more will the same thing cast him out of Paradise. That is why Solomon says: “God opposes the proud” (Prov. 3:34; 1 Pet. 5:5). He did not say: God leaves the proud, leaves them to themselves, deprives them of His help, but says: “resists” - however, not in the sense that God needs to take up arms and fight against the proud. What could be weaker than the proud? Just as someone who has lost his sight is defenseless from any offense, so a proud person who does not know the Lord (and “the beginning of pride,” says the Wise One, “is the removal of a person from the Lord” (Sir. 10:14)), having lost this light, is easily overcome by people. Even if he were strong, then God would not need to take up arms against him; For Him, for whom one desire was enough to produce everything, it is much easier to destroy everything. Why is it said: “resists”? In order to show His strong disgust towards the proud. So, that pride is a serious wound can be seen both from here and from other sides. If you want, then on the other hand we will reveal the reason from which this wound occurs. Scripture, when it begins to expose someone, usually not only expresses his sin, but also proves to us the reason for the sin; it does this in order to prevent the healthy from falling into the same sins. And doctors, coming to the sick, even before illnesses, investigate their causes in order to destroy evil at the very source, since whoever, leaving the root, prunes some branches, does nothing other than work in vain. Where does Scripture indicate both sin and the cause of sin? Thus, it denounces those who lived before the flood for having indecent relationships, and listen to what the reason is: “The sons of God,” it says, “saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and took them to be wives whomever they chose” (Gen. 6:2). So what? Isn't beauty the cause of sin? No; it is a work of the wisdom of God; and the work of God can never be the cause of vice. Or vision? No; and it is a matter of nature. So what? The view is evil because it comes from a corrupt will. That is why one wise man, exhorting, says: “Turn your eye away from a beautiful woman and do not gaze at someone else’s beauty” (Sir.9:8). He did not say: “don’t look,” - this happens by itself, - but: “don’t stare,” he says, forbidding an intentional gaze, an inquisitive vision, a long-term vicious examination that comes from a depraved and lustful soul. But what harm, you say, could come from this? “From her,” he says, “love ignites” 6 (Sir.9:9). Just as fire, touching hay or straw, does not hesitate, but as soon as it touches this substance, it immediately turns into a bright flame, so the fire of lust that is in us, when through the gaze of the eyes it touches beautiful and brilliant beauty, immediately ignites the soul. Therefore, do not look at the temporary pleasure brought by sight, but look at the constant torment that comes from lust. Pleasure, having caused a wound, usually stops; and the wound does not stop, but often remains and destroys. Just as a deer mortally wounded by an arrow, even if it runs away from the hands of the hunters, no longer receives any benefit from it, so the soul, struck by the arrow of lust, from an obscene and curious glance, even if it throws the arrow and leaves, is corrupted and dies, seeing this enemy pursuing it everywhere. However, I said (there is no need to allow the word to make long digressions) that Scripture usually shows both sins and their causes. So here too, listen to what it says about Uzziah. It tells us not only that “his heart was lifted up,” but it also added what made it “lifted up.” Why did it exalt itself? “When he became strong,” he says, “his heart was lifted up” (2 Chronicles 26:16). He could not bear the greatness of power, but just as inflammation occurs from satiety, and fever occurs from inflammation, and then death often follows from this, so here pride arose from the great abundance of happy circumstances. As there is inflammation in bodies, there is pride in souls. Then, out of pride, a desire appeared in him for what did not belong to him. 5. We are not talking about this in vain, but so that you will never envy or attribute bliss to people in power, knowing how dangerous their position is, and so that you will never consider those living in poverty and oppression to be unhappy, knowing that this brings greater security. That is why the prophet exclaimed: “It is good for me that You have humbled me” (Ps. 119:71). Look what evil has come from a high position. “His heart was lifted up in pride,” says Scripture, “to destruction” (2 Chronicles 26:16). What does it mean: “to destruction”? Of the vicious thoughts, some do not enter our soul at all, if we protect ourselves with great precaution; others originate within and, if we are careless, grow; if measures are taken against them, they will soon be drowned out and disappear; and others are born, and multiply, and turn into vicious actions, and destroy the entire health of our soul if we indulge in great carelessness. Thus, the words: “His heart became proud” mean that his pride did not remain inside and was not extinguished, but came out and, turning into a vicious action, destroyed all his virtues. A blessed thing is to completely avoid vicious thoughts, just as the prophet said: “My heart was not lifted up” (Ps. 130:1); did not say: it ascended, but I curbed it, and it did not even begin to ascend, i.e. I constantly kept my soul inaccessible to vice. This is a blessed thing; close to it is to immediately drive away the thoughts that enter and not allow them to remain for a long time, so that a field for vices does not form in us. If we are careless to such an extent, then there is a means of deliverance from this carelessness, according to God’s love for mankind, and many remedies for such wounds have been prepared by His ineffable and great goodness. However, let’s finish the word so that what we feared at the beginning does not happen now, so that the abundance of objects does not burden your memory. Therefore, it is necessary to briefly list what was said. This is what mothers do: when they put fruits or sweets, or something similar in their children’s bosoms, so that, due to the children’s absent-mindedness, anything given to them does not fall out, they tightly tie their clothes with a belt to make a barrier on all sides. Let us do the same; We will pull down the wide-blooming word and give it away for memory preservation. You have heard that you should not do anything for show, how great an evil is carelessness, how it easily overthrows even those leading an impeccable life. You learned how much care we need, especially at the very end of life, and that one who has fallen into sin should not despair if he is corrected, nor should a virtuous person rely on himself if he indulges in carelessness. We told you about the difference between sins and that you should not stare at bodily beauty, and we showed you what evil comes from this. You remember what was said to you about pride, as well as about evil thoughts. Keeping this in mind, let's go home; or better yet, keeping this in mind, let us listen to the most perfect instructions of an excellent teacher (i.e. Bishop Flavian). Our words, whatever they may be, bear the signs of youth; and his words, whatever they may be, are decorated with old wisdom. Our words are like a stream rushing swiftly; and his words are like a spring pouring out rivers with great calm and more like the flow of oil than water. Let us accept these streams so that in us “a fountain of water springs up into eternal life” (John 4:14), which may we all be worthy to receive through the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy and Good Spirit, be honor, glory and power, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Almost all manuscripts contain: - 1 Chronicles, but here, of course, 2 Chronicles, which tells the story of Uzziah. St. I. Zl., quoting here the prophet. Ezekiel, quotes his words from 3 and 18 not literally, but in paraphrase. And here St. I. Zl., quoting St. Ezekiel, quotes his words from 18:21–22 not literally, but in periphrasis. You might be interested in: