Собеседование 9 о горлице, или о Церкви

1. The inhabitant of the forests, the desert-loving dove, calling her partner, fills the air with tender and gentle sounds, and having enchanted her male walking by the water, and flying up to him, she takes him into a fast flight; in unanimous agreement, having built their nest in the branches of a tree, they hatch the chicks in safety and teach them to fly. Some say that the turtle dove is attached to her husband and is chaste, so that if it happens that her male is torn to pieces by an eagle or caught by a hunter, then she does not marry another, but remains faithful to him, waits for him and preserves the memory of him until death. Listen, women, how chaste birds are! So, having before your eyes the image of a turtledove, imitate her chastity. This property also distinguishes the most honest Church. When her husband, Christ, was crucified on the cross and ascended into heaven, she was not married to another husband; but she loves Him, remains faithful to Him and, remembering Him, dies with Him. But so that it does not seem, beloved, that by delving into the memories of the turtledove we are moving away from the Scriptures, let us bring to mind what the Scripture itself says. Blessed David testifies and loudly says: “And the bird finds a nest for itself, and the turtledove finds a nest for itself, in which it lays its young” (Ps. 83:4). Is he talking about a bird? Of course, about a person: “Our soul has been delivered, like a bird from a net that catches a bird” (Ps. 123:7). And the Lord, wanting to show His disciples how different they are from others in holiness, says to them: “not be afraid: you are better than many small birds" (Matthew 10:31). Solomon speaks loudly about the same thing: "Save yourself as a roe from the hand of a fowler" (Proverbs 6:5). And again the divine voice: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which, although smaller than all the seeds, is greater than all the grains and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air fly and take refuge in its branches” (Matthew 13:31–32). So, here too he likens numerous human tribes to birds. He likened the Holy Church to the turtledove, meaning the various gifts of wisdom. And that the Church is decorated in various ways, you can hear about this from David, who says: “The daughters of kings are in Your honor; the Queen appeared at Your right hand, in clothes embroidered with gold, adorned. “And the bird finds a nest for itself, and the turtledove finds a nest for itself, in which it lays its chicks” (Ps. 44:10; Ps. 83:4), that is, under the dense branches of the tree of the cross, raising its newly enlightened children. Jeremiah also remembers this turtledove, saying: “knows its definite times, and the turtledove, and the swallow, and the crane observe the time when they fly" (Jer. 8:7), calling the all-honorable Church a turtledove, a swallow - the desert-loving John, a grasshopper - the eloquent Paul, the church pipe. The Lord commands Abraham about this turtledove: “Take me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young dove” (Gen. 15:9). Scripture recalls this turtledove in the Song of Songs: “the voice of the turtledove is heard in our country” (Song. 2:12). The voice of this turtledove announces to us that the heavenly spring - Christ - appears from heaven. “The voice of the turtledove is heard in our country” today. Let's listen to the voice of this turtle dove: what songs does she sing? “Daughters of Jerusalem! I am black, but beautiful...; Do not look at me that I am dark, for the sun has scorched me” (Song. 1:4-5). “I am black, but beautiful.” I am black because of a previous crime, beautiful because of my imminent repentance; I am black - from grief over my fall, beautiful - from the radiance received at baptism. “Daughters of Jerusalem! I am black, but beautiful." He calls the holy souls of their fathers daughters of Jerusalem. “I am black, but beautiful” - Church of the pagans. Do not look, holy souls, do not look at me, because I have turned black, because the sun of Truth has scorched me, for my previous error. What sun scorched her? In any case, not what is said in Ecclesiastes: “the sun rises, and the sun sets, and hastens to its place where it rises” (Eccl. 1:5). The Sun of Truth rises for us, Christ from Mary, according to the flesh: East is His name; it was setting when He ascended the cross and descended into hell. “The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hastens to its place where it rises.” When He ascended into heaven, then He drew us to Him. “And when,” he says, “I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me” (John 12:32). About this the Sun of Truth and Isaiah exclaims, saying: in those days “the Sun of righteousness will rise and healing in His rays” (Malach. 4:2). When the Sun of Truth rose - Christ, the bleeding woman, touching the hem of His garment, stopped the flow of her blood. “Daughters of Jerusalem! I am black, but beautiful.” If any of those present here is defiled by sin, let him not be afraid: let him only repent and say: “I am black, but beautiful.” If even at her last breath she finds herself in the evening, let her not be afraid: and then “in the evening there is mourning, but in the morning there is joy” (Ps. 29:6). Imitate King Hezekiah: overtaken by illness, he lay on his bed, but, hearing the words of Isaiah addressed to him: “Make a testament for your house, for you will die and not recover” (Is. 38:1), turning his face to the wall, watered his bed with tears of repentance, stopped the flow of the sun and immediately received fifteen years of life. 2. If among those present there is someone announced, let him repent, let him fall to God, be baptized with water, and have his face illuminated. If there is a faithful sinner here, let him wash his body with the water of tears and let his soul shine with the oil of good deeds. If you adorn yourself in this way, if you ennoble your soul with deeds, the Divine Word will love you, touch your heart, draw you to the love of God; Then you too will say: alas for me, “for I am faint with love” (Song. 2:5), because the souls of the saints are struck like an arrow by the love of God. Do you want to hear this from the speaking arrow itself? Read the book of Isaiah, and you will find in him, as the arrow says: “And He made Me a sharpened arrow,” says God the Word, “He kept Me in His quiver” (Is. 49:2). Wounded by this arrow, Jeremiah says to Him: “I was in no hurry to be a shepherd with You and did not desire the day of trouble” (Jer. 17:16). Wounded in the heart by this arrow, David says to Him: “My soul clings to Thee, and Thy right hand receives me” (Ps. 62:9). With this arrow, wounded Peter says to Christ: “Lord! You know that I love You” (John 21:15). Wounded by this arrow, Paul, being connected with Christ, said: “Who will separate us from the love of God?” (Rom.8:35) Wounded by this arrow, the Holy Church said: alas for me, “I faint from love.” Oh, sighs from the depths of the heart, generating streams of Christ's love! Oh, sighs that attract the Heavenly Bridegroom Christ! The Church itself says about this: “let him kiss me with the kiss of his lips” (Song. 1:1). I am betrothed to the Heavenly Bridegroom through the law and the prophets. I, the Church, betrothed from among the pagans, no longer wish to have Moses, or Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or other prophets as mediators, but let Him come Himself: I want to speak with Him mouth to mouth; let Himself be here and “he kisses me with the kiss of his lips.” I hear Jeremiah speaking of Him: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who will recognize him? ( Jer. 17:9 )? I ask Him, I beseech Him: “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his lips.” I hear Amos speaking about Him: “Behold, the Lord stood on a sheer wall, and in His hand was a plumb line of lead” (Amos 7:7). I am looking for him, let him come, let him “kiss me with the kiss of his lips.” Like a wife devoted to her husband, in the absence of her husband, looking out the windows, she looks for him with her eyes, looks out for him both on land and at sea: if she sees a sailing ship, she imagines her husband there, if she sees travelers walking in the distance, she thinks if her husband is between them, and often, running out to meet them, asks them about her husband: tell me where you left him, in what city or village, what he says, what he does, and when will he come? 3. In the same way, the Holy Church, yearning for love and thirsting for His holy kisses, asks all the prophets about Him: have you seen Him, will He come or not? Is He in heaven? Maybe He is shepherding ninety-nine unlost sheep in heaven and will not come to the lost sheep? Tell me: where does He graze, where does He rest, whom my soul has loved ( Song 1:6 )? The questioned prophets respond in the person of Isaiah alone and say: “And we saw Him,” if only That is what you are looking for, “and there was no appearance in Him that would attract us to Him. He was despised and humbled before men” (Isa. 53:2-3). The immaculate bride Church answers: It is He, I love Him, I seek Him, I beg Him, “may he kiss me with the kiss of his lips.” Isaiah answers her: if it is He, he will come, and he will come with great power. “The Lord God comes with power, and His arm with authority. Behold, His reward is with Him and His reward is before Him. As a shepherd He will feed His flock; He will take the lambs in His arms and carry them on His bosom, and lead the milking ones” (Is. 40:10-11). She hears what Isaiah undoubtedly says about Him, and, moreover, calls Him a shepherd: “As a shepherd He will feed His flock; He will take the lambs in His arms and carry them on His bosom, and lead the milking ones,” and asks him: where does He pasture, where does He rest, whom my soul has loved? Isaiah sends her to John, and John says to her: “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Matthew 3:3). She follows John into the desert, holds him back and asks: tell me, are you the Christ? John answers: “I am not the Christ” (John 1:20). And again she asks him: “Why are you baptizing if you are not Christ” (John 1:25)? And John again answers: I am not Christ. Behind me comes (Christ, He) stronger than me: “I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandals” (John 1:27; cf. Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16). And since He still hesitated, she said: alas for me, “I am faint from love” (Song. 2:5). Then John says to her again: don’t cry, stop, wait a little. John sees the Lord approaching and says to her: stop, don’t cry anymore. From a distance he shows Him, holding out his finger, and says: this is the One for whom you are looking. “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). She, hearing that John calls Him a lamb, and Isaiah a shepherd, begins to doubt who to believe: should she believe this or Isaiah? The Lord sees that she began to doubt, and says loudly: “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11), and with these words she resolves her doubt. Then she comes to the groom, hugs and kisses him. And then what is written in David is fulfilled: “mercy and truth met, justice and peace kissed each other” (Ps. 84:11). And in order to fully convince us that here the bride was united with the groom and a spiritual marriage took place, here is the wedding song; I rejoice when I hear the voice of the bridegroom. This joy is fulfilled for me. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:29-30). When consummating a marriage, it was necessary to make a deed of gift in the name of the bride: it was necessary to find paper, a scribe and a cane. The paper was found in Isaiah's possession. There the Holy Spirit commands the writer and says: “Take yourself a large scroll and write on it in human writing” (Isa. 8:1). A cane is also being sought: it was found in David, because he says: “My tongue is the cane of a scribe, the most beautiful of the sons of men” (Ps. 45:2-3). David prepares this Church for marriage: he decorates it, he himself instructs and teaches it, as a marriage organizer, or, as people say, a matchmaker. He inspires the bride: look, child: Hear, O Daughter, and look, and incline Your ear, and forget Your people... And the King will desire Your beauty” (Ps. 44:11-12). Don't think that you are his equal. “Hear, O Daughter, and look, and incline Your ear, and forget Your people and Your father’s house! And the King will desire Your beauty, for He is Your Lord, and you will worship Him” (Ps. 45:11-12). If you listen to me, daughter, “even the rich among the people will entreat your face” (Ps. 44:13). Finally, it was necessary to write what is brought as a dowry by both sides, male and female slaves. On the side of Christ - slaves, on the side of the bride - slaves. Christ gives slaves: Paul, Silouan, Timothy come - slaves of Jesus Christ. And they demand slaves from the bride. To this David replies: “The virgins will be brought to the King after Her, Her neighbors will be brought to You” (Ps. 44:15). The marriage takes place: the Lord comes mysteriously to Cana of Galilee. “Kana” in translation means the creation of God, and the creation of God means the whole world. Here a spiritual marriage takes place, (the Lord) comes to Cana of Galilee, and the whole face of the saints appears there. They bring gifts to the groom, as is customary for marriage, each according to his strength: Abraham - a calf, his wife Sarah - loaves baked in hot ashes, Isaac - firewood, Jacob - kids of goats, Joseph delivers bread, Moses brings lamps, Isaiah sings, and David dances. And since the holy women also needed to take part in this marriage, they also sing; Esther comes, Judith dresses up and adorns herself, and Mary, the sister of Moses, takes the tympanum and says: “I sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted” (Ex. 15:1). And since it was necessary to write praise about this marriage, Paul, praising the marriage, says: “Let marriage be honorable for all and the bed undefiled” (Heb. 13:4). And let him explain to himself that this says about the Church and Christ. What does he say is written? “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church” (Eph. 5:31–32; Gen. 2:24). So, let us not doubt what he explains, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion with the beginningless Father and with the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and in the Patrology of Min, classified as Spuria The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: