Беседа 18

“You have heard that it was said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you: do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him; and whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer clothing too.” (Matthew 5:38–40) Exposition 5:38–48. Why was the law given, tit for tat? – What does it mean not to resist evil? – The command to turn the other cheek to the one who struck him expresses the general law of kindness. – Evil is defeated by patience. – The commandments of non-resistance are easy to fulfill. – Fulfilling them benefits those who offend. – One must endure even suffering without resistance. – Nine degrees of kindness. – The highest degree of virtue is prayer for enemies. – A model of kindness given by Christ. – The admonition to treat those who are angry as if they were sick, to warn each other with greetings and to be prepared for all sorts of insults and contempt – for God. 1. Do you see that the Savior, prescribing above the commandment to pluck out the tempting eye, did not mean the eye itself, but such a person who, through his friendship, harms us and plunges us into the ditch of destruction? Indeed, if here He offers such a high rule that it does not allow an eye to be snatched out even from someone who would snatch it from us, then could He command someone to snatch out an eye from himself? If anyone condemns the old law because it prescribes such vengeance, he, in my opinion, has no idea of ​​the inherent wisdom of the Lawgiver, does not take into account the circumstances of the time, and does not know how sometimes useful leniency can be. In fact, if you consider who those who heard this command were, what was the disposition of their spirit, and at what time they accepted this law, then you will recognize the wisdom of the Lawgiver and see that both the law on vengeance and the law on kindness were given by the same Lawgiver, and both were prescribed quite timely and with the greatest benefit. If the Lawgiver had proposed these high and great commandments from the very beginning, then people would not have accepted either these commandments or the previous ones. Now, having offered both of them at a decent time, He corrected the entire universe with them. On the other hand, the Lawgiver prescribed - an eye for an eye, not so that we tear out each other’s eyes, but so that we keep our hands from offending; after all, the threat that makes one fear punishment curbs the desire for criminal deeds. Thus, the Lawgiver little by little sows piety in the hearts when he commands that the offended one pays equal for the evil done to him, although, according to the demands of justice, the instigator of the crime would be worthy of greater punishment. But since He was pleased to dissolve justice with love for mankind, He condemns the one who committed a greater crime to a punishment much less than what he deserves, thereby wanting to teach us to show great meekness in the midst of suffering itself. So, having cited the decree of the old law and read it from word to word, the Savior again shows that it is not the brother who commits the offense, but the evil one. Therefore, he adds: “But I say to you: do not resist evil” (τω πονηρω). He does not say: “Do not resist your brother,” but: to the evil one, showing that the offender does everything at the instigation of the devil, and thus, placing the blame on another, greatly weakens and suppresses anger against the offender. Well, you say: shouldn’t we resist the evil one? It must, but not in the same way, but as the Savior himself commanded, that is, by the willingness to endure evil. In this way you will truly defeat the evil one. After all, fire is not extinguished with fire, but with water. And in order to know that in the Old Testament, victory and the crown remain on the side of the one who suffered the offense, consider what happens in this case and you will see that the advantage remains on the side of the offended. In fact, whoever first raises his hand to commit a lie, he tears out two eyes - both from his neighbor and from himself. Therefore, he is rightly subjected to general hatred and countless accusations. Meanwhile, the offended person, although he will repay equals for the evil done to him, will not do any evil, which is why many even regret him, since he is pure from sin in this matter, although he has repaid equals for equals. And although the misfortune is the same for both, the judgment about them is not the same, both for God and for people, and therefore, the misfortune is no longer the same. So, the Savior first said: “He who is angry with his brother in vain is subject to judgment, and whoever says: “you are foolish” is subject to fiery hell”; here he demands even higher wisdom, commanding the offended not only to remain silent, but also to turn the other cheek to the offender, and thus overcome him even more strongly with his generosity. And He says this not only in order to give the law commanding us to endure insults, but in order to teach us kindness in all other cases. 2. Just as in the case when the Savior says that “whoever says: “You are a fool” is subject to fiery hell,” he means not only this offensive word, but also any reproach in general, so here He not only prescribes that we generously endure only strangulations, but that we are not embarrassed by any other suffering. That is why, just as there He chose the most sensitive offense, so here He mentioned a blow on the cheek, which is considered especially shameful and constitutes a great offense. By giving this commandment, the Savior has in mind the benefit of both the one who strikes and the one who suffers them. In fact, if the offended person arms himself with the wisdom that the Savior teaches, then he will not even think that he has suffered an offense, he will not even feel offended, considering himself more of a warrior than a person who is being beaten. And the one who offends, being ashamed, will not only not strike a second blow, even if he were fiercer than any beast, but he will also blame himself extremely for the first. Truly, nothing restrains those who offend so much as the meek patience of the offended. It not only restrains them from further impulses, but also makes them repent of the previous ones, and makes them move away from the offended, marveling at their meekness, and finally, from enemies and enemies they become not only their friends, but even their closest people and slaves. On the contrary, revenge produces completely opposite consequences. It causes shame to both, embitters them and inflames their anger even more, and the evil, extending further, often leads to death. That is why the Savior not only forbade the one who was struck from being angry, but also commanded him to satiate the desire of the one striking so that it would be completely unnoticeable that you suffered the first blow involuntarily. Indeed, in this way you will strike the shameless one much more sensitively than if you hit him with your hand, and you will turn him from a shameless person into meek. “Whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer clothing too.” The Savior wants us to show the same kindness not only when they beat us, but also when they want to take our property away from us. Therefore, he again proposes an equally high rule. Just as there He commands one to conquer with patience, so here too by yielding more than the covetous man expects. However, He did not just propose this last rule, but with reservations - he did not say: “Give him your outer clothing too,” but “and whoever wants to sue you,” that is, if he takes you to court and wants to start a case with you. And, just as after the commandments - not to call a brother crazy and not to be angry with him in vain, in His last sermon He demanded more, commanding to turn the right cheek, so now, after the command already expressed - to make peace with an opponent, He again extends His demand even further, ordering not only to give to the opponent what he wants to take, but also to show greater generosity. Well? Are you really going to tell me to go naked? We would not be naked if we followed these commands exactly; on the contrary, they would still be much better dressed than everyone else. Firstly, because no one will attack a person who has such a disposition of spirit, and secondly, if there were someone so cruel and merciless that he would dare to do this, then without a doubt there would be even more people who would cover a person who had ascended to such a level of wisdom not only with clothes, but, if possible, with their very flesh. 3. And if someone happened to walk naked for the sake of such wisdom, then there would be no shame in this. Adam in paradise was naked and not ashamed (Gen. 2:25). And Isaiah, who walked naked and without shoes, was more famous than all the Jews (Is. 20:3). Joseph then especially shone (with virtue) when he left his clothes. It is not at all bad to be naked like that, but it is shameful and ridiculous to dress the way we dress now, that is, in precious clothes. That is why God glorified those, but condemns us through the prophets and the apostles. So, let us not consider the commandments of the Lord impossible. They are both useful and very convenient to perform, if only we stay awake. They are so saving that they bring the greatest benefit not only to us, but also to those who offend us. Their special advantage lies in the fact that, by convincing us to endure insults, they thereby teach those who cause them to be philosophical. In fact, when the offender considers it important to take away the property of others, and you actually show him that it is easy for you to give even what he does not ask, and thus contrast his begging and covetousness with your generosity and wisdom, then imagine how much admonition he will receive, not in words, but in deeds, learning to despise evil inclinations and love virtue! God wants us to be useful not only to ourselves, but also to all our neighbors. So, if you give what is required without any dispute or trial, you will benefit only yourself. If you give something else in addition to what is required, then you will also let your opponent go better. This is what the salt means, which the Savior wants His disciples to be; she preserves herself and preserves other bodies salted by her. This is what that light means; he shines for himself and for others. So, since the Lord has made you one of His disciples, enlighten him who sits in darkness; teach him that he did not take from you by force even what he demanded from you; Convince him that you do not consider yourself offended. Thus, you yourself will earn more respect and respect when you assure him that he did not take anything from you, but that you yourself gave it to him. With your meekness, turn his sin into an occasion for the manifestation of your nobility. If this seems very high to you, then wait - you will see that this is not the height of perfection. The Savior does not stop here yet, prescribing for you the rules of enduring insults, but extends further, saying: “And whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go with him two miles” (Matthew 5:41). Do you see to what height of wisdom the Savior raises you? He says that even when you give your enemy both your outer and lower clothes, you should not resist him if he wanted to subject your naked body to suffering and labor. He wants everything to be common - both bodies and property, and for us to serve both the poor and those who offend us. The latter is a duty of courage, and the former is a duty of philanthropy. That is why He said: “And whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go with him two miles,” raising you even higher and commanding you to show new experiences of generosity equal to the previous ones. If His previous commands, which require much less, bring such great bliss to those who fulfill them, then think what fate awaits those who fulfill these latter ones, and what, even before rewards, are those who in the human and passionate body show perfect dispassion. If they are not only not offended by insults, blows, confiscation of property, not only are they not defeated by anything else like that, but also thirst for great suffering, then imagine what kind of soul they have. That is why Christ, as he commanded to act when delivering blows and when depriving property, so precisely commands to act in this case. What am I saying,” he seems to say, “about insults and taking away property? If someone wanted to subject your very body to heavy and exhausting labor, and unjustly, then even then you must defeat his unjust desire and become superior to him. “To force by force” means to force someone unjustly, without any reason and with resentment. But be ready for this too; be ready to endure even more than what he wants to inflict on you. “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). With these words the Savior demands less than with the previous ones, but do not be surprised by this. The Savior usually does this: He always adds the small to the great. If these words are small in comparison with the first, let them, however, be heeded by those who take someone else’s property and distribute their own property to harlots, and thus kindle a deep fire for themselves through unjust gain and destructive waste. By ordering here to lend, the Savior does not mean giving money on interest, but a simple favor. And in another place he demands even more, saying that we should give to those from whom we do not expect to receive. “You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:43–45). This is the highest pinnacle of virtue! This is why the Savior taught not only to patiently endure being blown, but also to turn his right cheek, not only to give away his lower clothes along with his outer clothing, but also to walk two miles with someone who forces him to walk one! He offered all this so that you could fully readily accept what is much higher than these instructions. What is higher than them, you say? Not to consider the enemy who causes you offense is even something higher, since the Lord did not say: do not hate, but love; did not say: do not offend, but also do good. 4. But if we look more carefully at the words of the Savior, we will see that they contain a new command, a much higher one. In fact, He commands not only to love our enemies, but also to pray for them. Do you see to what degrees He ascended, and how He placed us at the very top of virtue? Look and count them, starting from the first: the first degree is not to start insults; second - when it has already been caused, do not repay equal evil to the offender; third - not only not to do to the offender what you suffered from him, but also to remain calm; fourth - to give oneself over to suffering; fifth - to give more than what the offender wants to take; sixth - do not hate him; seventh - even to love him; the eighth is to do good to him; ninth - pray to God for him. Do you see the height of wisdom? But the reward is also brilliant. Since the command is great and requires a courageous soul and a great feat, the Savior promises a reward for its fulfillment that was not combined with any of the previous commandments. He promises here not land, as for the meek, not consolation and mercy, as for those who mourn and are merciful, but the Kingdom of Heaven, but that they will be like God, as much as possible for people: “That you may be sons,” he says, “of your Heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:45) 10. Notice that He neither here nor before calls God His Father; but there, when he spoke about oaths, he called Him God and the great King, and here he calls Him our Father. He does this because he wants to leave the conversation about it until a decent time. Explaining, then, what God-likeness consists of, He says: “For He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unjust,” that is, God not only does not hate those who offend Him, but even does good to them. Of course, there is no equality here in any way, since not only the benefits of God, but also the greatness of His dignity surpasses everything that can be imagined. You are insulted by someone like you, but His is a servant, and, moreover, one who has received countless benefits from Him. When you pray for the enemy, you benefit him with words, and God benefits him with very great and wonderful deeds, illuminating him with the sun and sending rains every year at a certain time. And with all this, I accept your equality with God, which is only possible for a person. So, do not hate a person who does you harm, when through him you acquire such benefits and achieve such great honor. Do not curse the one who offends you; otherwise you will suffer an insult, but you will lose the fruit - you will suffer harm, but you will not receive a reward. And this is extremely crazy - having endured the most difficult, you cannot endure the easiest. But how is this possible, you say? You see that God became a man for you, that He humbled Himself so much and suffered so much for you, and do you still ask and wonder how you can forgive the insults of your equals? Don’t you hear what He says on the cross: “Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)? Do you not hear what Paul says: He who ascended into heaven and sits “at the right hand of God, he also makes intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34)? Don’t you see that even after His crucifixion and Ascension into heaven, He sent apostles to the Jews who killed Him, who brought them countless benefits, and together suffered from them countless evils? But are you quite offended? What did you suffer that would be similar to the suffering of your Master, Who, after the countless benefits He had shown, was bound, suffered strangulation, scourging, spitting from slaves, and finally suffered death - and the most blasphemous death of all deaths? If you are much offended, then for that very reason you must do even more good in order to receive a most brilliant crown for yourself and to save your brother from an extremely cruel illness. When patients who are in madness inflict blows and insults on their doctors, the latter at that time especially regret them and try to cure them, knowing that their insolence comes from excessive illness. In the same way, have the same disposition of spirit towards those who plot against you, and act in the same way with those who offend you, because they are completely sick and do everything completely involuntarily. So, free your enemy from his heavy pride, make him give up his anger, and deliver him from the fierce demon - rage. Seeing people who are going crazy, we shed tears, and we don’t think about going crazy like them. Let us do the same with those who are angry, because they too are like those possessed by demons, or even more unfortunate than them, because although they are possessed, they have not yet lost their minds. That is why their rage is unforgivable. 5. So, do not attack someone who is lying down, but take pity on him. When we see a person suffering from bile, suffering from dizziness and trying to vomit up this harmful phlegm, we immediately offer a hand, support the tormented person, and do not turn away from him, even if we soil his clothes, but we only try to somehow save him from such a difficult situation. Let us do the same with those who are angry, let us help them as if they were spewing out bile and tormented, and we will not leave them until they have vomited out all their bitterness. And when such a person calms down, he will give you the greatest gratitude. Then he will clearly know what disorder you have saved him from. But what am I saying about his gratitude? God Himself will immediately crown you and reward you with countless blessings for freeing your brother from a cruel illness. Yes, and he will honor you as his master, and will always look with reverence at your meekness. Do you not see how those in labor bite the women standing near them, and yet the latter do not feel pain? It would be more accurate to say: they feel it, but only endure it courageously, condoling for those suffering and tormented by birth illnesses. Be jealous of their generosity and do not be weaker than women. When these wives give birth - and those who are angry are more cowardly than the wives themselves - then they will recognize you as a husband. If these commandments seem difficult to you, then think that Christ came for this purpose, to plant them in our hearts, and to make us useful both to enemies and to friends. Therefore, He commands to take care of both; about the brothers - when he says: “If you bring your gift”; about enemies - when he orders to love them and pray for them. And he encourages you to do this, not only pointing to the example of God’s goodness, but also to the opposite: “For if you love,” He says, “those who love you, what is your reward? Don’t tax collectors do the same thing” (Matthew 5:46)? Paul confirms the same thing: “You have not yet fought to the point of blood,” he says, “striving against sin” (Heb. 12:4). So, if you fulfill the commandment of love for enemies, then you remain with God; if you leave her, then with the publicans. Do you see that these commandments are not yet as great as the difference between the tax collectors and God? So, let us not think about the difficulty of the command, but let us imagine the reward, and think about who we will become like when we fulfill this command, and with whom we will be comparable when we do not fulfill it. The Savior commands us to make peace with our brother, and not to leave him until we completely destroy the hostility. When he speaks of everyone in general, he does not impose such an obligation on us, but only demands what depends on us, and thus eases the difficulty of the law. Above, He said: “So they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:12); now, wanting His disciples not to be annoyed with their persecutors for the same thing, he commands them not only to tolerate those who do this to them, but also to love them. Do you see how He destroys from the very roots anger, addiction to the flesh, to wealth, to fame and to this life? He already did this at the beginning of His sermon, but much more now. Indeed, the poor in spirit, meek and weeping casts out anger from himself; the righteous and merciful destroys the addiction to wealth; the pure in heart is free from evil lust; he who is persecuted, suffers insults and is slandered, learns to completely despise temporary things, and remains pure from arrogance and vanity. Having thus freed the listener from all these bonds and prepared him for exploits, Christ again in a different way and with great care plucks the indicated passions from his heart, starting with anger, and destroying all the power of this passion, when he says that he who is angry with his brother, calling him a crazy and empty man, deserves punishment; that the one who brought the gift should not begin the meal until he stops the hostility; that he who has a rival, before he sees the judgment seat, must turn him from an enemy into a friend. Then he again turns to lust and says that he who looks with lustful eyes deserves punishment as an adulterer; he who is seduced by a lustful wife or husband or anyone else close to him must cut off all such from himself; He who has a lawful wife should never remove her from himself and turn his gaze to another. With these suggestions the Savior plucks out the roots of evil lust. Following this, He curbs the love of wealth, forbidding swearing, lying and holding back even the shirt that someone has on his body; commands to give outer clothing and not spare even the body to serve the one in need. Thus He finally destroys the addiction to wealth. 6. Finally, the Savior adorns all these commands with a most beautiful crown, saying: “Pray for those who use you and persecute you,” and thus raises His disciples to the highest heights of wisdom. How to endure being strangled is a higher feat than being meek; giving away your shirt and outer clothing is more important than being merciful; to endure insults is a higher virtue than to be righteous; to endure beatings and not resist when forced to go means more than to be a peacemaker; so, in the midst of persecution, to bless the persecutor is much more important than to be persecuted. Do you see how He little by little raises us to heaven itself? So, what will we be worthy of, who have received the command to zealously try to make ourselves like God, and yet, perhaps, have not yet become equal to the tax collectors? Indeed, if publicans, and sinners, and pagans love those who love, and we do not do this either (and we do not do this when we envy the good glory of our brothers), then why should we not be subject to punishment, being lower than the pagans, while we should be superior to the scribes? How, tell me, can we see the kingdom? How can we ascend into its sacred vestibule, being no better than publicans? This is what the Savior points to when he says: “Do not the publicans do the same thing?” What is especially surprising in the teachings of Christ is that He offers rewards for exploits everywhere in great abundance: He promises those who strive that they will see God, and will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, and will be sons of God and like God, and will have mercy, and will be comforted, and will receive much reward in heaven; and if somewhere it was necessary to mention something regrettable, he mentions it briefly, so that the name of Gehenna, for example, He used in such a long conversation only once. In other cases, He corrects the listener with gentle admonitions, convincing him more with exhortations than with threats, for example, when he says: “Do not publicans do the same thing?” Or: “If the salt loses its strength”; Or: “He will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Sometimes He puts sins instead of punishment, leaving it to the listener to conclude from the severity of the latter about the severity of the punishment, for example, when he says: “he committed adultery with her in his heart”; or: “Whoever divorces his wife... gives her a reason to commit adultery.” To admonish those who have intelligence, there is no need to mention punishment, but it is enough just to imagine the severity of sin. That is why, in the present case, He presents pagans and tax collectors as examples, so that His disciples would be ashamed, seeing with what kind of people He compares them. Paul did the same when he said: “So that you do not mourn like others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13), and “like the Gentiles who do not know God” (1 Thess. 4:5). Moreover, these words: “Do not the pagans also do the same?” (Matthew 5:47) The Savior also said in order to show that He does not require anything excessive, but a little more than usual. With this, however, He does not conclude His word, but ends it with an indication of rewards and good hopes, saying: “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). He often mentions heaven throughout His conversation in order to arouse the hearts of His disciples by introducing the place itself, since at that time they were still rather weak and rude. So, presenting everything that has been said so far, let us show all love to our enemies. Let us reject that ridiculous habit that many foolish people suffer from, waiting for those they meet to warn them with their greetings, and thus are not jealous of what contains great bliss, but pursue what is worthy of laughter. Why don't you greet him first? Because, you say, he expects it. But that’s why you yourself had to hurry so that you could get the crown. No, you say, I don’t greet him precisely because he really wants it. What could be worse than such madness? Since, you say, he strongly desires to provide me with an opportunity for a reward, that’s why I don’t want to take advantage of this opportunity. If he warns you with his greeting, then you will not receive any benefit, although later you will answer him in the same way; if you hasten to express your greetings to him first, then you, as if bargaining with his pride, will receive great benefit for yourself and reap abundant fruit from his arrogance. So, will we not be extremely insane when, having the opportunity to acquire such a great benefit with two words, we let it slip out of our hands, and ourselves fall into the same recklessness for which we condemn another? If you accuse him of expecting a greeting from another first, then why are you imitating what you yourself condemn, and trying to adopt as good what you yourself call evil? Do you see that there is nothing crazier than a person living in anger? Therefore, I beg you, let us avoid this evil and ridicule-worthy habit. This disease has dissolved countless friendships and caused many discords. Let us, therefore, warn others with greetings. If we are commanded to endure even when our enemies stifle us, force us to accompany them and expose us, then will we deserve any forgiveness if we so persistently refuse a simple greeting? You will say: I will be scorned and spat upon when I do him such an honor. So, so that man does not despise you, do you insult God? So that a raging slave equal to you does not despise you, do you despise the Master, Who has benefited you so much? If it is unreasonable that a person equal to you despises you, then it is even more unreasonable that you despise God, who created you. Moreover, note that he who despises you thereby provides you with an opportunity to receive a greater reward, since you endure this for God, obeying His laws. And what honor, what crowns can compare with this award? I am better prepared to endure all kinds of insults and contempt - for God, than to be respected by all kings, since nothing, nothing can compare with this glory. Let us seek this glory as the Savior himself commanded, and not caring in the least about human judgments, but in everything showing true wisdom, we will organize our lives according to it. Thus, even here we will anticipate the blessings of heaven and the glory of the crowns of heaven; we will treat people like angels, and dwell on earth like heavenly powers, freed from all lust and all earthly passions; and together with all this, let us also receive indescribable blessings, which may we all be worthy of through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, power and worship with the beginningless Father and the Holy and Good Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. in Chrysostom - “you will be like the Heavenly Father” - I.N. You might be interested in: