Беседа 19

“Be careful not to do your alms in front of people so that they can see you.” (Matt. 6:1) Exposition 6:1–15. Vanity imperceptibly attaches itself to virtue. – God looks at the intention of the one who does good deeds. - How one should do alms and prayer. – The Savior’s commandment does not prohibit prayer in church. – In church, decorum should be observed during prayer. – What is required from the person praying is not a loud cry, but heartfelt contrition. – Consistency in prayer. – Why do we need to pray if God knows our needs? – Calling God Father contains the teaching of all virtue. - Explanation of the Lord's Prayer. – Forgiveness of offenses is primarily commanded by Christ. – It most of all likens a person to God. – Prayer for revenge on enemies angers God. – Remembering your own sins is the best way to learn to forgive offenses. 1. Finally, the Savior drives out the most destructive passion - vanity, this frenzy and rage, which even virtuous people are possessed by. At first He did not say anything about this passion, because it would be unnecessary, without convincing him in advance to fulfill what is required, to teach how to fulfill it and achieve perfection. But when He has already taught piety, then He destroys that ulcer that inconspicuously infects him. This disease, indeed, does not arise suddenly, but only when we have already fulfilled much of what we have been commanded. So, it was necessary first to instill virtue, and then to destroy the passion that damages its fruit. How does the Savior begin his conversation? A word about fasting, prayer and almsgiving, because vanity is predominantly associated with these virtues. So, for example, the Pharisee became proud of fasting when he said: “I fast twice” a week, “I give a tenth” of my property (Luke 18:12). And in prayer itself he sought vain glory, creating it for show. When there was no one else, he tried to prove himself to the publican. “I am not like other people,” he says, “or like this publican” (Luke 18:11). Now look how the Savior begins His word. It’s as if he wants to talk about some kind of beast, very cunning and scary, which can suddenly grab someone who is not entirely careful. “Be careful,” he inspires, “do not do your alms in front of people.” So Paul says to the Philippians: “Beware of dogs” (Phil. 3:2). This beast approaches secretly, and everything good that is inside us quietly flutters and insensitively carries away. So, after Christ offered a rather lengthy word about alms, presented as an example God, sending the rays of His sun on both the evil and the good, and in every possible way encouraging his listeners to this virtue, convincing them to give generously, He finally plucks out everything that can harm this good olive tree. Therefore he says: “See that you do not do your alms in front of people,” since the alms that were previously spoken about are the alms of God. And having said: “Do not do this in front of people,” he added: “So that they can see you.” The last words seem to mean the same as the first. But if anyone carefully examines, he will see that the last words mean something else, and contain great forethought, ineffable care and protection. Indeed, even one who does good before people may not do it in order to be seen, just as one who does not do it before people can do it in order to be seen. That is why God punishes or crowns not our deed itself, but our intention. If such a precise division had not been made, then the present commandment would have led many to bewilderment regarding the distribution of alms, because not everywhere everyone can give alms secretly. Therefore, freeing you from such necessity, the Savior assigns punishment or reward not for the commission of the deed, but for the intention of the creator. So that you don’t say: what good does it do me if someone else sees it? – Christ says to you: I do not demand this, but your thoughts and way of action. He wants to correct the soul and free it from every disease. So, having forbidden giving alms for vanity and showing the harm that comes from this, the futility and uselessness of such alms, He again excites the thoughts of His listeners with the memory of the Father and heaven, so as not to limit themselves to just pointing out the harm, but to enlighten them with a reminder of His Father. “You will have no reward,” He says, “from your Heavenly Father.” However, he did not stop here either, but goes even further, inspiring in other ways the greatest disgust from vain glory. Just as above He pointed to publicans and pagans in order to shame their imitators by the quality of their faces, so here He mentions hypocrites. “When,” He says, “you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do” (Matthew 6:2). The Savior says this not because the hypocrites had trumpets, but wanting to show their great madness, ridiculing and condemning them with this allegory. And he called them hypocrites well. Their alms had only the guise of alms, but their hearts were filled with cruelty and inhumanity. They did it not out of mercy towards their neighbors, but to gain glory. It is extreme cruelty to seek honor for oneself and not relieve the misfortune of another when he is dying of hunger. So, the Savior demands not only that we give alms, but also that we give it the way it should be given. 2. Having thus exposed the hypocrites and touched them in order to shame the listener, Christ again heals the soul suffering from the disease of vanity, and, having said how one should not do alms, shows how one should do it. How should one create? “Let not,” He says, “let your left hand know what your right hand does” (Matthew 6:3). Here again He does not mean hands, but intensifies His thought: if it is possible, He says, not to know yourself, and if it is possible to hide from the very hands that serve you, then try about it. Therefore, those who insufficiently explain these words think that the Savior commands them to hide from bad people. Here He ordered to hide from everyone. Pay further attention to what reward is promised. Having mentioned the punishment awaiting hypocrites, the Savior also shows the glory that awaits those who give alms in secret, in order to both arouse His listeners and lead them to high teaching. He inspires that God is present everywhere, and that our deeds are not limited to this life, but that after this life we ​​will appear at a terrible judgment seat, give an account of all our deeds and receive either honors or punishments, and that then no small or great deed can be hidden, even if during this life, apparently, it was hidden from people. The Savior hinted at all this when he said: “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:4). He will reward you when he presents you with a great and sacred sight, when he gives you what you now desire in great abundance. What do you desire, He says? Is it not to have someone as a spectator of your deeds? So here’s your audience – God Himself of all things, and not even angels, not archangels. If you want to have people as your spectators, then at the appropriate time He will fulfill this desire of yours, and even satisfy it in the greatest abundance. If you want to show yourself now, you can only show yourself to ten, twenty, or a hundred people; and if you are trying to hide now, then God himself will announce you to the whole universe. So, if you especially want people to see your virtues, then hide them now, so that everyone will see them with greater honor when God makes them obvious, reveals them and proclaims them before everyone. Those who see now will probably accuse you of vanity; and when they see you getting married, then not only will they not blame you, but everyone will be surprised at you. Thus, if you can receive the greatest reward from God and surprise everyone, for this only by suffering a short time, then think, what madness would it be to lose both, and, asking God for a reward for your good deeds, try to show them to people, while God Himself looks at them? If you really need to show yourself, then, first of all, you need to show it to the Father, and especially when the Father has the power to both crown and punish. Even if God did not punish for vanity, then even then it would be indecent for a seeker of glory to exchange God for people, forcing them to look at their own deeds. Who would be so pitiful that, having neglected the king, who was in a hurry to see his brilliant exploits, he wanted to be visible only to the poor and beggars? That is why the Savior commands us not only not to show ourselves, but also to try to hide ourselves from others; and not having the desire to show oneself and having the desire to hide are not the same thing. “And when you pray,” the Savior continues, “do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stop and pray in the synagogues and on street corners, so that they may appear before people. Truly I tell you that they are already receiving their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret” (Matthew 6:5-6). Here too He calls those who pray with vanity hypocrites. And quite rightly so, because while they pretend to pray to God, they only look at people, and thus present themselves as not praying, but as funny people. He who wishes to pray, leaving everyone behind, looks only to the One Who is able to fulfill his request. If, having left Him, you wander over various objects and turn your eyes everywhere, then you will leave empty-handed - because you yourself wanted this. Therefore, the Savior did not say that such people would not receive a bribe, but that they would receive their own bribe, that is, they would accept a bribe, but only from those from whom they themselves desire. It is not God who wants this - on the contrary, He Himself would like to grant a reward from Himself - but they themselves, seeking rewards from people, are no longer worthy to receive it from Him for Whom they have done nothing. Look at the love of God when He promises to give rewards even for those benefits that we ask Him for. So, Jesus, both in the reasoning of the place and in the disposition, having denounced those who pray in an inappropriate way, and showing to what extent they are ridiculous, offers a better way of prayer, saying: “enter into your room,” and thus promises a reward to those who pray. 3. Well, you ask, shouldn’t we pray in church? And very much so, but only depending on the intention. God always looks at the purpose of works. If you enter a cage and close the doors behind you, and do it for show, then even the closed doors will not bring you any benefit. Look, and here what an exact definition the Savior used when he said: “to appear before people”! So, even if you have closed the doors, He wants you, before you close them, to drive out vanity from yourself, and to shut the doors of your heart. Being free from vanity is always a good thing, and especially during prayer. If even without this vice we wander everywhere and are carried away by our thoughts during prayer, then when we approach prayer with the disease of vanity, then we ourselves will not hear our prayers. If we don’t hear our prayers and requests, then how can we beg God to hear us? And, however, there are people who, despite all such instructions, behave so badly during prayer that, although they themselves would not be visible, they make themselves known to everyone with their obscene cries and make themselves ridiculous both by their appearance and their cry. Don’t you know that if someone does this in the market place and asks with a cry, he will drive away the one whom he asks, and when he begins to ask calmly and decently, then he will sooner attract to himself someone who can show him mercy? So, let us pray not with body movements and not with a cry of the voice, but with a good and sincere disposition; not with noise and uproar, not for a show that could drive away others, but with all meekness, contrition of heart and unfeigned tears. But are you grieved in soul and cannot help but cry out? On the contrary, it is natural for someone who grieves greatly to pray and ask, in the way I said. So Moses, when he was grieving, prayed in this way, and was heard, which is why God said to him: “Why are you crying to me” (Ex. 14:15)? Likewise, Anna, although her voice was not heard, received everything she asked for, because her heart cried out (1 Samuel 1). And Abel not only silently, but also dying, prayed, and his blood made a voice louder than a trumpet. Rise up, too, like this saint: I do not forbid. Tear off, as the prophet commanded, your heart, not your clothes; call God from the depths. “From the depths,” says David, “I cry to You, O Lord” (Ps. 129:1). Take a voice from the depths of your heart, make your prayer a secret. Do you not see that even in the royal palaces all noise is prohibited, and there is great silence everywhere? So you, as if entering a royal house, not earthly, but more terrible - heavenly, show great decency. You are in the company of angels and in the company of archangels, and you sing with the seraphim. And all these heavenly faces maintain great decorum, and sing their mysterious sweet singing and sacred songs with much fear to the King of all, God. So, unite with them during prayer, and be jealous of their mysterious deanery. You don’t pray to people, but to the omnipresent God, who hears you even before your voice, and who knows the secrets of the heart. If you pray like this, you will receive a great reward. “Thy Father,” says the Savior, “seeing in secret, will reward you openly”; He did not say: he will give you, but he will reward you. Thus, God made Himself your debtor, and thereby again honored you with great honor. Since He is invisible, He wants your prayer to be like this. Next, Christ offers the very words of the prayer. “When you pray,” He says, “do not say unnecessary things, as the pagans do” (Matthew 6:7). When Christ spoke about alms, he only eliminated the harm that comes from vanity, but did not offer anything more, for example, he did not say that alms should be done from righteous labors, and not from what was stolen and collected by covetousness, because this was well known to everyone, and the Savior had already pointed this out earlier, when he appeased those who hungered for righteousness. Speaking about prayer, He also adds something so as not to say too much. And just as He ridicules the hypocrites there, so here He ridicules the pagans, in order to shame the listener with the example of low people. Since comparison with rejected people especially saddens and hurts a person, the Savior thereby warns his listeners against vanity and verbosity during prayer. And by verbosity we mean idle talk here, for example, when we ask God for indecent things, such as: power, glory, victory over enemies, a lot of wealth, in a word - completely useless for us. “For your Father knows,” says, “what you need” (Matthew 6:8). 4. Moreover, here, it seems to me, the Savior forbids prolonged prayers; however, long-lasting not in time, but in the multitude and duration of words, since we must wait with patience for what we ask: “constant in prayer,” says the apostle (Rom. 12:12). Moreover, the Savior himself, in the parable of the widow who bowed down the merciless and cruel judge with the persistence of her request, and in the parable of the friend who came untimely at night and raised him from his bed, not out of friendship, but out of persistent petition, commanded nothing less than that everyone should continually pray to Him. However, He commanded not to send prayers composed of numerous verses to Him, but simply to open our petitions to Him. He pointed to this in the words: “for they think that they will be heard for their many words; for your Father knows what you need” (Matthew 6:7–8). And if He knows, someone will say, what we need, then why do we need to pray? Not in order to show Him your needs, but in order to bow to Him; so that through constant prayer we can unite with Him, in order to humble ourselves before Him, in order to remember our sins. “Pray like this,” the Savior continued: “Our Father who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). See how He immediately encouraged the listener, and at the very beginning remembered all the benefits of God. In fact, the one who calls God Father already confesses by this name the forgiveness of sins, and liberation from punishment, and justification, and sanctification, and redemption, and sonship, and inheritance, and brotherhood with the Only Begotten, and the gift of the Spirit, since one who has not received all these benefits cannot call God Father. So, Christ inspires His listeners in two ways - both by the dignity of what is called, and by the greatness of the benefits that they received. When he says “in heaven,” then with this word he does not imprison God in heaven, but distracts the one praying from the earth, and places him in high countries and in mountain dwellings. Further, with these words He teaches us to pray for all the brothers. He does not say: My Father who art in heaven, but “Our Father,” and thereby commands us to offer prayers for the entire human race, and never have in mind our own benefits, but always try for the benefits of our neighbor. And in this way he destroys enmity, and overthrows pride, and destroys envy, and introduces love - the mother of all good things; destroys the inequality of human affairs and shows complete equality between the king and the poor, since we all have equal participation in the highest and most necessary matters. Indeed, what is the harm from low kinship, when by heavenly kinship we are all united, and no one has anything more than the other: neither the rich more than the poor, nor the master more than the slave, nor the boss more than the subordinate, nor the king more than the warrior, nor the philosopher more than the barbarian, nor the wise more than the ignorant? God, who honored everyone equally to call Himself Father, through this gave everyone the same nobility. So, having mentioned this nobility, this highest gift, the unity of honor and love between brothers, having taken the listeners away from earth and placed them in heaven, let us see what Jesus finally commands to pray for. Of course, calling God Father contains a sufficient teaching about all virtue: whoever calls God Father, and the common Father, must necessarily live in such a way as not to be unworthy of this nobility and show zeal equal to a gift. However, the Savior was not satisfied with this name, but added other sayings. “Hallowed be Thy name,” He says. To ask for nothing before the glory of the Heavenly Father, but to esteem everything below His praise - this is a prayer worthy of one who calls God Father! “Let him be holy” means “let him be glorified.” God has his own glory, full of all greatness and never changing. But the Savior commands the one who prays to ask that God may be glorified by our life. He said about this before: “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). And the seraphim, glorifying God, cry out: “holy, holy, holy” (Is. 6:10)! So, “let him be holy” means “let him be glorified.” Vouchsafe us, as the Savior teaches us to pray, to live so purely, so that through us everyone will glorify You. To display a blameless life before everyone, so that each of those who see it exalts praise to the Lord - this is a sign of perfect wisdom. “Thy kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). And these words are appropriate for a good son, who is not attached to what is visible, and does not consider present blessings to be something great, but strives for the Father and desires future blessings. Such prayer comes from a good conscience and a soul free from everything earthly. 5. Paul also desired this every day, which is why he said: “having the firstfruits of the Spirit, we groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption as sons, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 13:23). He who has such love can neither become proud among the blessings of this life, nor despair among the sorrows; but, as one who lives in heaven, he is free from both extremes. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Do you see the beautiful connection? He first commanded to desire the future and strive for one’s fatherland; but until this happens, those living here should try to lead the kind of life that is characteristic of the celestials. One must desire, He says, heaven and heavenly things. However, even before reaching heaven, He commanded us to make the earth heaven and, while living on it, to behave in everything as if we were in heaven, and to pray to the Lord about this. Indeed, the fact that we live on earth does not hinder us in the least from achieving the perfection of the heavenly forces. But it is possible, even if we live here, to do everything as if we were living in heaven. So, the meaning of the Savior’s words is this: just as in heaven everything happens without hindrance and it does not happen that the angels obey in one thing and disobey in another, but in everything they obey and submit (because it is said: “mighty in strength, doing His word” (Ps. 103:20)), so grant us, people, not to do Your will half-heartedly, but to do everything as You do. whatever. Do you see? Christ taught us to humble ourselves when He showed that virtue depends not only on our zeal, but also on heavenly grace, and together He commanded each of us, during prayer, to take care of the universe. He did not say: Thy will be done in me, or in us, but on the whole “earth,” that is, so that all error would be destroyed and the truth would be implanted, so that all malice would be driven out and virtue would return. so that, in this way, there is no difference between heaven and earth. If this happens, He says, then what is above will not differ in anything from what is above, although they are different in properties; then the earth will show us other angels. “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). What is “daily bread”? Everyday. Since Christ said: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” and He talked with people clothed in flesh, who are subject to the necessary laws of nature, and cannot have angelic dispassion, then, although he commands us to fulfill the commandments as the angels fulfill them, he nevertheless condescends to the weakness of nature, and seems to say: I demand from you the strictness of life equal to the angels, however, without demanding dispassion, since your nature, which has a necessary need for food, does not allow it. Look, however, how there is a lot of spirituality in the physical! The Savior commanded us to pray not for wealth, not for pleasures, not for valuable clothes, not for anything else like that, but only for bread, and, moreover, for everyday bread, so that we would not worry about tomorrow, which is why he added: “daily bread,” that is, everyday bread. He was not even satisfied with this word, but then added another: “give us this day,” so that we would not overwhelm ourselves with worry about the coming day. In fact, if you don’t know whether you will see tomorrow, then why bother yourself with worrying about it? The Savior commanded this and then later in His sermon: “do not worry,” he says, “about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34). He wants us to always be girded and inspired by faith, and to yield no more to nature than necessary needs require of us. Further, since it happens to sin even after the font of rebirth, the Savior, wishing in this case to show His great love for mankind, commands us to approach the man-loving God with a prayer for the forgiveness of our sins, and thus say: “and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Do you see the abyss of God's mercy? After taking away so many evils, and after the inexpressibly great gift of justification, He again deigns to forgive those who sin. And that this prayer belongs to the faithful is shown both by the statutes of the Church and by the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer itself. One who is not enlightened by faith cannot call God Father. If the Lord's Prayer belongs to the faithful, and if it commands them to pray for the remission of sins, then it is clear that even after baptism the beneficial use of repentance is not destroyed. If Christ had not wanted to show this, he would not have commanded to pray in this way. When He mentions sins, and commands us to ask for their forgiveness, and teaches us how we can receive this forgiveness, and thereby makes the path to receiving it easy for us, then, without a doubt, He gave this law of prayer because He himself completely knew, and wanted to instill in us, that even after baptism one can wash away sins. By reminding us of sins, He inspires us with humility; the command to let others go destroys rancor in us; and with the promise of forgiveness for us for this, he confirms good hopes in us and teaches us to reflect on the ineffable love of God for mankind. 6. What is especially worthy of note is that in each of the above petitions He mentioned all the virtues, and with this last petition He also includes rancor. And the fact that the name of God is sanctified through us is an undoubted proof of a perfect life; and the fact that His will is done shows the same thing; and the fact that we call God the Father is a sign of an immaculate life. All this already implies that we should leave anger at those who insult us; however, the Savior was not satisfied with this, but, wanting to show how much concern He has for eradicating rancor among us, he especially speaks about this, and after prayer he recalls not another commandment, but the commandment of forgiveness, saying: “If you forgive people their sins, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14). Thus, this remission initially depends on us, and the judgment pronounced on us lies in our power. So that none of the unreasonable, being condemned for a great or small crime, has the right to complain about the court, the Savior makes you, the guilty one, a judge over himself, and as if he says: what judgment you pronounce about yourself, the same judgment I will pronounce about you; if you forgive your brother, then you will receive the same benefit from Me, although this latter is actually much more important than the first. You forgive another because you yourself need forgiveness, and God forgives, without needing anything; you forgive your fellow slave, and God forgives the slave; you are guilty of countless sins, but God is sinless. On the other hand, the Lord shows His love for mankind by the fact that even though He could forgive you all your sins without your doing, He wants to benefit you in this too, in everything He provides you with occasions and incentives to meekness and love of mankind; drives out bestiality from you, quenches your anger and in every possible way wants to unite you with your members. What do you say to this? Is it that you have unjustly suffered some evil from your neighbor? If so, then, of course, your neighbor has sinned against you; and if you have suffered in truth, then this does not constitute sin in him. But you also approach God with the intention of receiving forgiveness for similar, and even much greater, sins. Moreover, even before forgiveness, how much did you receive, when you have already been taught to preserve the human soul within yourself and have been taught meekness? Moreover, a great reward will await you in the next century, because then you will not be required to account for any of your sins. So, what kind of punishment will we deserve if, even after receiving such rights, we ignore our salvation? Will the Lord listen to our requests when we ourselves do not spare ourselves where everything is in our power? “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (Matthew 6:13). Here the Savior clearly shows our insignificance and overthrows pride, teaching us not to abandon exploits and not to arbitrarily rush to them; Thus, for us, victory will be more brilliant, and for the devil, defeat will be more painful. As soon as we are involved in a struggle, we must stand courageously; and if there is no call to it, then we must calmly wait for the time of exploits in order to show ourselves both not vain and courageous. Here Christ calls the devil evil, commanding us to wage irreconcilable warfare against him, and showing that he is not such by nature. Evil does not depend on nature, but on freedom. And the fact that the devil is primarily called the evil one is due to the extraordinary amount of evil that is found in him, and because he, without being offended by anything from us, wages an irreconcilable war against us. That is why the Savior did not say: “deliver us” from the evil ones, but from “the evil one,” and thereby teaches us never to be angry with our neighbors for the insults that we sometimes suffer from them, but to turn all our enmity against the devil, as the culprit of all evils. By reminding us of the enemy, having made us more cautious and stopping all our carelessness, He further inspires us, introducing us to the King under whose authority we fight, and showing that He is more powerful than all. “For yours is,” says the Savior, “the kingdom and the power and the glory.” So, if His is the kingdom, then there should be no one to fear, since no one resists Him and no one shares power with Him. When the Savior said: “Thine is the kingdom,” he shows that our enemy is also subordinate to God, although, apparently, he still resists, by God’s permission. And he is from among the slaves, although condemned and rejected, and therefore does not dare to attack any of the slaves without first receiving power from above. And what do I say: not one of the slaves? He did not even dare to attack pigs until the Savior himself commanded, nor did he dare to attack herds of sheep and oxen until he received power from above. “And strength,” says Christ. So, even though you were very weak, you must nevertheless dare, having such a King who can easily accomplish all glorious deeds through you. “And glory forever. Amen." 7. This King not only frees you from the evil that threatens you, but can also make you glorious and famous; Just as His power is great, so His glory is inexpressible - in a word, everything with Him is boundless and infinite. Do you see how the Savior strengthens and encourages the ascetic from everywhere? Then, as I said before, the Savior, wanting to show that He most of all disgusts and hates rancor, and that most of all He loves the virtue opposite to this vice, again after prayer he remembered this great virtue, and encourages the listener to obey the commandment of kindness both by the upcoming punishment and by a certain reward. “If you,” He says, “forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you” (Matthew 6:14–15). Here Christ again mentioned heaven and the Father in order to shame the listener with this mention, if, i.e. That is, he, being the son of such a Father, would continue to remain cruel and, being called to heaven, would have some earthly and worldly wisdom. To be a son of God, you need not only grace, but also works. And nothing makes us more like God than when we forgive evil people who offend us. The Savior showed this before when he said that the Heavenly Father “sends the rays of His sun on the evil and on the good.” That is why in every saying He commands to perform common prayers when He says: “Our Father! Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us our daily bread; forgive us our debts; do not lead us into temptation; deliver us." Thus, commanding us to pronounce all petitions on behalf of many, He thereby commands us not to have even a trace of anger against our neighbor. So, what kind of punishment will be worthy of those who, despite all this, not only do not forgive themselves, but also ask God for revenge on their enemies and, thus, completely violate the law of kindness, while God does and arranges everything so that we do not quarrel with each other? The root of all goodness is love; That’s why He destroys everything that can harm love, and tries in every way to unite us with each other. Truly, absolutely no one - neither father, nor mother, nor friend, nor anyone else loves us as much as God who created us. And this is especially evident both from His daily blessings and from His commandments. If you point out to me illnesses, sorrows and other disasters of life, then think how much you insult Him every day - and then you will not be surprised if even greater disasters befall you; on the contrary, you will begin to marvel and be amazed when you happen to enjoy any good. Now we look only at the misfortunes that befall us, and do not think about the insults with which we daily offend God. That's why we mourn. Meanwhile, if we carefully thought about the sins we committed on just one day, we would clearly see how severe the punishments we are guilty of. And without speaking about other sins that each of us has committed before, I will only speak about the sins committed today. Although I do not know what each of us has sinned, however, there are so many sins that even without knowing everything, it is possible to point out many of them. Which of you, for example, has not been lazy in prayer? Who wasn't proud? Who hasn't been vain? Who hasn't said an insulting word to his brother? Who did not allow an evil wish? Who hasn't looked with shameless eyes? Who has not remembered the enemy with indignation of spirit, and filled his heart with arrogance? If, even while in the Church and in a short time, we became guilty of so many sins, then what will we be like when we leave here? If there are such waves in the harbor, then when we enter the abyss of evil, that is, we go out into the marketplace, begin civil affairs and household chores, then will we even be able to recognize ourselves? And yet, God, wanting us to be freed from so many and great sins, offered us a short, easy and convenient path. What kind of work, really, is it to forgive someone who has offended? It is not forgiveness, but the maintenance of enmity that is difficult. On the contrary, it is very easy for those who want to free themselves from anger, and this also brings peace. 8. There is no need to cross the sea, make a long journey, climb to the tops of mountains, spend money, depress the body; All you have to do is wish - and all sins are forgiven. If you not only do not forgive the one who insulted you, but also beg God against him, then what hope of salvation will you have if, at the time when you should appease God, you insult Him, taking on the appearance of one praying, and meanwhile emitting brutal cries and throwing the arrows of the evil one against yourself? That is why Paul, when mentioning prayer, demands nothing more than the preservation of the commandment of gentleness: “lifting up,” he says, “clean hands, without anger and doubting” (1 Tim. 2:8). If you, even at a time when you need mercy, do not abandon anger, but deeply retain it in your memory, knowing that through this you are plunging a sword into yourself, then when will you be able to become humane and spew out the destructive poison of anger? If you don’t yet see how hard and foolish it is to pray for revenge on your enemies, then think about the attitude of people towards the same thing, and then you will see how seriously you offend God. So, if someone came to you, a man, asking for mercy, then he saw the enemy, and, ceasing to ask you, began to beat him, would you not be even more angry? Know that the same thing happens with God. You make a request to God and, meanwhile, leaving prayer, you begin to revile your enemy and dishonor the commandments of God, calling on God, who commanded you to abandon all anger against those who offended you, and asking Him to do the opposite of His own commands. Is it not enough for you to be punished that you break the law of God? And you also beg Him to do the same? Has He forgotten what He commanded? Did He as a man say this? He is God, who knows everything and wants His laws to be preserved in all accuracy, and not only will not do what you ask Him to do, but also, for the very fact that you say so, will disgust you, hate you, and will subject you to the most severe punishment. How do you want to receive from Him what He Himself commands you to withhold with all your might? But there are people who have reached such madness that they not only pray against their enemies, but also curse their children, and would be ready to devour their very bodies, if it were possible, or even devour them. Don't tell me you didn't sink your teeth into the body of the offender. You did much worse when you prayed with all your zeal that wrath from above would come upon him, and that he would be given over to eternal punishment and perish with his entire household. Isn't this more painful than any remorse? Not more stinging than any arrows? This is not what Christ taught you; He did not order to bloody the mouth like that. Such tongues are fiercer than lips bloodied by the torment of human bodies. How are you going to kiss your brother? How do you touch the victim? How can you taste the blood of the Lord with so much poison in your heart? After all, when you say: tear him to pieces, destroy the house, destroy everything, and wish him countless deaths, then you are no different from a murderer, or even from a beast that devours people. So, let's stop suffering from such madness; Let us show those who have offended us the favor that is commanded to us by the Lord, so that we may become like our heavenly Father. And we will be freed from this disease if we remember our sins, if we strictly examine all our iniquities - both internal and external, and those that we do in the marketplace, and those that we commit in the church. After all, even for indecent behavior in this place alone we may find ourselves worthy of extreme punishment. In fact, while the prophets sing psalms, the apostles praise, and God himself speaks, we are distracted by external objects, making noise by talking about everyday affairs, and in order to listen to the laws of God we do not want to pay the same attention as spectators at spectacles when the royal decrees are read. There, when these decrees are read, everyone stands in silence and listens to the words with attention - the consuls, the prefects, the senate and the people; and if anyone, in the midst of this deepest silence, suddenly screams, then such an one, as an insult to the royal majesty, is subject to severe punishment. And here, when the heavenly scriptures are read, noise is heard from everywhere, although the One whose scriptures are much higher than the king of the earth, and the spectacle is more sacred. Not only people are here, but also angels; Moreover, the victorious rewards proclaimed in these scriptures are much superior to earthly ones, which is why not only people, but also angels and archangels, in a word, everyone, both celestial beings and those living on earth, are commanded to praise the common King. “Bless the Lord,” says the prophet, “all His works” (Psalm 102:22). Truly, His deeds are not unimportant, but surpass every word, and mind, and thought of man. The prophets preach about these deeds every day, and each of them proclaims His glory in different ways. One says: “he ascended on high, took captivity captive, received gifts for men” (Psalm 67:19; Eph. 4:8). “The Lord is mighty and mighty in battle” (Psalm 23:8). Another says: “He will share the spoils with the strong” (Is. 53:12). This is why He came, to preach freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. Another, singing victory over death, said: “death, where is your sting” (1 Cor. 15:55)? “Hell, where is your victory” (Hos. 13:14)? Another, again, preaching the deepest peace, said: “They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Isa. 2:4; Joel. 3:10). And another calls to Jerusalem: “rejoice with joy, daughter of Zion, rejoice, daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and saving, meek, sitting on a donkey and on the colt of a donkey, the son of a yoke” (Zech. 9:9). Another preaches His second coming, saying: “The Lord, whom you seek, will come to His church, and who will endure the day of His coming” (Malach. 3:1–2)? “You will leap like fat calves” (Malach. 4:2). And the other, in amazement, again says: “This is our God, and no one else can compare with Him” (Baruch 3:36). With these and many other broadcasts, we should tremble and be as if not on earth; and we, as in a marketplace, create noise and confusion and spend the entire time of the sacred meeting talking about things that are completely useless to us. So, when we are so careless, both in small and great, and in listening and in action, and outside the church and in the church, and on top of that we also pray for vengeance on our enemies, then how can we hope to receive salvation, we who add to our countless sins a new crime equal to all of them, that is, this lawless prayer? So, should we then be surprised when some unexpected misfortune happens to us? Shouldn't we, on the contrary, be surprised if nothing like this happens to us? The former is a natural consequence of our affairs, and the latter will be an incomprehensible and unexpected event. Truly, it is impossible to understand how the enemies and offenders of God enjoy the radiance of the sun, and the rains, and all other blessings of God. Those people enjoy who, after a spiritual meal, after great benefits, after countless instructions, surpass the beasts in their cruelty, rebel against each other, and bloody their tongues, biting their neighbors. So, taking all this into consideration, let’s throw the poison out of our hearts, destroy the enmity, let’s begin to offer prayers that are fitting for us; instead of demonic brutality, let us accept angelic meekness, and no matter how seriously we are offended, imagine our own sins, remember the reward that awaits us for keeping this commandment, and soften our anger, tame the waves, so that we can go through this present life serenely, and after going there, find the Lord for ourselves as we were to our fellow men. If this is difficult and scary, then we will try to make it easy and desirable, we will open for ourselves the bright doors of boldness towards God, and what we could not do by abstaining from sins, we will achieve meekness towards those who have offended us (this is not difficult and not difficult), and, by doing good to our enemies, we will prepare for ourselves great mercy. Thus, in this life, everyone will love us, and first of all, God will love and crown us, and will make us worthy of all future blessings that we may all receive through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: