Беседа 63

“Good teacher! What good thing can I do to have eternal life?” (Matt. 19:16) The intention of the questioning young man. – The meaning and purpose of Christ’s answer. – The increase in wealth increases the passion for it. – You need special help from grace in order to live piously with wealth. – Christ does not assign the work of salvation to God alone. - How should the passion for wealth be weakened? - Wealth is the cause of disasters in life here. – Thinking about the disasters and dangers associated with wealth protects against being seduced by it. 1. Some accuse this young man of approaching Jesus with cunning and cunning, and, moreover, with the intention of tempting Him; but I rather agree to call him a lover of money and a slave of wealth, since Christ convicted him of this very thing. I have no intention of reproaching the young man for wickedness: it is not safe to be a judge of what we do not know, and especially a judge who accuses. Yes, and Mark removed such suspicion when he said about him: “someone ran up, fell on his knees before Him and asked Him”; and again: “When Jesus looked at him, he loved him” (Mark 10:17, 21). This shows how great the power of wealth is. Even if we were virtuous in other respects, wealth destroys all these virtues. That is why Paul rightly called it the root of all evil: “the love of money is the root of all evil,” he says (1 Tim. 6:10). But why does Christ answer the young man with these words: “no one is good”? The young man approached Him as a simple, ordinary person and considered Him simply a Jewish teacher; Jesus talks to him as a man. And He often speaks according to the opinions of those who turn to Him; so, for example: “we know what we worship” (John 4:22); or: “If I testify about Myself, then My testimony is not true” (John 5:31). So, when He said: “no one is good,” he did not want to show that He was not good. Let this not happen! After all, He did not say: why do you call Me good? I am not good; but: “no one is good,” that is, none of the people. However, with these words He does not deprive people of goodness, but only distinguishes the latter from the goodness of God, which is why He added: “only one God.” He did not say: only My Father, so that we would know that He did not reveal himself to the young man. In exactly the same sense, He called the people above evil when He said: “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children” (Matthew 7:11). And here He called them evil, not in order to expose all human nature as evil - he said: “you”, and not all people - but in order to only compare the goodness of God with the goodness of man, which is why he added: “how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.” But they say: what made Jesus Christ, and what was His purpose in answering the young man like that? Without a doubt, one in order to gradually lead the young man to perfection, wean him from flattery, distance him from addiction to everything earthly and bring him closer to God, arouse in him a desire for future blessings and, finally, teach him the knowledge of true good - the source and root of all good, and to give honor to him alone. Similarly, when Christ says: do not call a teacher on earth (Matthew 23:8), he says this in relation to Himself, and to teach what is the first beginning of everything. The young man showed considerable zeal when he asked Jesus Christ such a question. In fact, while some approached Jesus with the intention of tempting Him, and others because of their own or others’ illnesses, he approaches Him and talks about eternal life. The land was fat and capable of fertility, but a multitude of thorns choked what was sown. Look how ready he was until now to do whatever Christ commanded. What should I do, says the young man, to inherit eternal life? This is his readiness to fulfill the command of the Teacher! If the young man had approached Jesus Christ with the intention of tempting Him, then the evangelist would have shown this to us, as he does in other cases, for example, in the story of the lawyer. But if the young man himself had hidden his intention, then Christ would not have allowed him to hide: He would either openly or by hints denounce him, so that we would not conclude that the young man, having deceived Him, hid, and thus mocked Him. Moreover, if the young man had approached Jesus with the intention of tempting Him, he would not have walked away sad about what he heard. None of the Pharisees ever experienced such a state; on the contrary, all of them, being refuted by Jesus, became even more bitter against Him. This is not what a young man does: he leaves with sadness. And this serves as a sign that he did not approach with an insidious intention, although not with a completely pure one; wanted to inherit eternal life, but we had a much stronger passion. So, when Christ said: “If you want to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17), he immediately asks: “which ones”? And he asks not in order to tempt Jesus - no - but he thought that, besides the commandments of the law, there are others that will be his guides to eternal life. So strong was his desire to be saved! But when Jesus retold him the commandments of the law, “I have kept all this from my youth,” he says; and does not stop there, but asks again: “What else am I lacking” (Matthew 19:20)? And this was also a sign of their strong desire for eternal salvation. It is not unimportant that he did not consider himself to have completed the work of his salvation, but thought that what he said was not enough to get what he wanted. What about Christ? Intending to prescribe a difficult commandment, He first offers a reward for fulfilling it, and says: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). 2. Do you see what reward and what crowns Christ promises for this feat? If the young man had tempted Him, He would not have told him this. And now he speaks, and in order to attract the young man to Himself, promises him a great reward, leaves everything to his own will, covering up with all this the difficult side of His command. That’s why, before he talks about exploits and labor, he offers the young man a reward: “if you want to be perfect,” and then he says: “sell your property and give it to the poor.” Next comes the reward again: “and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me,” because following Jesus is a great reward. "And you will have treasure in heaven." Since the speech was about wealth, the Savior commands the young man to leave everything, showing, however, that He not only does not take away wealth from him, but also adds to it something new, exceeding what he commands to be distributed - as much as heaven exceeds earth, and even more. By treasure He means an abundant reward, the only treasure that no one can steal, presenting it to the young man as humanly possible. So, it is not enough to despise wealth; but you also need to feed the poor, and - most importantly - follow Christ, that is, do everything that He commands, be ready for suffering and even death. “If,” He says, “if anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Of course, the commandment to shed one's own blood is much more difficult than the commandment to leave one's wealth; however, the execution of the latter greatly contributes to the execution of the former. “When the young man heard this word, he went away sorrowful” (Matthew 19:22). After this, the evangelist, wanting to show that he was saddened not without reason, adds: “because he had a large estate.” Indeed, those who own little have less obstacles on the path to salvation than those who are immersed in the abyss of wealth, because the passion for wealth is then stronger. And I will never cease to repeat that the increase in wealth more and more ignites the flame of passion and makes the rich poorer than before: constantly arousing new desires in them, it makes them aware of all their poverty. Look at the power this passion showed here too. The one who approached Jesus with joy and zeal was so darkened and burdened by it that when Christ commanded him to distribute his property, he could not even give Him any answer, but walked away from Him silently, with a downcast face and with sadness. What about Christ? “It is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:23). With these words, Christ does not condemn wealth, but those who are addicted to it. But if it is difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, then what can we say about the covetous? If not giving one’s property to another is already an obstacle on the path to the kingdom, then imagine what kind of fire is collected by the one who seizes someone else’s property! But why did Christ tell His disciples that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven when they were poor and did not even have anything? In order to teach them not to be ashamed of poverty and, as it were, to justify himself to them as to why He had previously advised them not to have anything. Having said here that it is inconvenient for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, he further shows that it is impossible, not just impossible, but also extremely impossible, which he explains by the example of a camel and the eye of a needle. “It is more convenient,” he says, “for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” And from this it is clear that a considerable reward awaits those who know how to live prudently with wealth. Therefore, Christ calls this way of life the work of God, in order to show that much grace is needed for those who want to live like this. When the disciples were confused when they heard His words, He further said: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). But why are the disciples embarrassed when they are poor, and even too poor? What worries them? Because they had too strong a love for all humanity, and already accepting the position of their teachers, they feared for others, for the salvation of all people. This thought confused them very much, so that they had a great need for consolation. Therefore, Jesus, looking at them first, said: “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). With a meek and quiet gaze, He calmed their troubling thoughts and resolved their bewilderment (the evangelist also indicates this with the words: “having looked”), and then he encourages them with words, pointing to the power of God, and thus arousing hope in them. And if you want to know how the impossible can be possible, then listen. Christ did not say, “What is impossible with men is possible with God,” so that you would weaken in spirit and move away from the work of salvation as if it were impossible; no, He said this so that you, realizing the greatness of the subject, would the sooner take up the work of salvation and, with the help of God, having set foot on the path of these wonderful exploits, receive eternal life. 3. So, how can the impossible be made possible? If you give up your property, give it to the poor and give up evil desires. That Christ does not attribute the work of salvation exclusively to God alone, but said so in order to show the difficulty of this feat, this can be seen from the following. When Peter said to Christ: “Behold, we have left everything and followed You,” and then asked Him: “What will happen to us” (Matthew 19:27)? - then Christ, having determined their reward, added: “And everyone who leaves houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). This is how the impossible becomes possible. But how, they will say, can all this be carried out? How can one who is already possessed by an insatiable passion for wealth rebel? If he begins to give away his property and share his excesses, through this he will little by little move away from his passion, and subsequently the field will become easier for him. So, if suddenly it is difficult for you to achieve everything, then do not try to get everything at once, but gradually and little by little climb this ladder that leads you to heaven. Just as those suffering from a fever, with the acute bile multiplying inside them, if they take any food or drink, not only do not quench their thirst, but inflame the flame even more, so the covetous, as they satisfy their insatiable passion, which is sharper than the bile itself, inflame it even more. Nothing stops this passion so easily as the gradual weakening of the desire for self-interest, just as little consumption of food and drink destroys the effect of bile. And this, you ask, how can this be? Not otherwise than if you imagine that, constantly enriching yourself, you will never cease to thirst for new wealth and fade from the desire for more, and, without clinging to wealth, you can easily stop passion itself. So, do not worry about many things, lest you pursue what cannot be achieved, contract an incurable disease, and thereby become the most unhappy of all. Tell me who is more tormented and tormented: the one who desires expensive foods and drinks and is unable to satisfy his desire, or the one who does not have such a desire? Obviously, one who strongly desires and cannot get what he wants. The state of one who desires and does not receive, who thirsts and does not quench his thirst, is so painful that Christ, wanting to give us the concept of Gehenna, depicts it in the same way, representing in it the rich man among the flames; the latter, wanting a drop of water and not receiving it, suffered severely. So, he who despises wealth only suppresses his passion for it; on the contrary, whoever wants to get rich and increase his wealth inflames it even more, and is never able to suppress it. The latter, even if he has collected countless wealth, wants to receive the same amount; at least he managed to get this, and then he will wish to have twice as much; and thus, desiring more and more, he falls into some new, terrible and never incurable kind of madness, which makes him wish that the mountains, and the earth, and the sea, and in general everything would turn into gold for him. So, know that it is not by increasing wealth, but by destroying the passion for it that evil ceases. In fact: if you ever had a stupid passion to fly through the air, how would you destroy it? Whether by constructing wings and other necessary tools, or by reasoning that this desire is impossible to fulfill, and that one should not even try to fulfill it. Obviously, the latter way. But flying, you say, is impossible. But it is even more impossible to put a limit to the passion of covetousness; It is easier for people to fly than to stop their passion for it by increasing wealth. If you desire the possible, then you can be consoled by the hope that you will one day receive it; if it is impossible, then you must try only for one thing, that is, to destroy such a desire, because otherwise it is impossible to bring peace to the soul. So, so that we do not worry in vain, for this purpose, having rejected the love of wealth that constantly torments us and never calms down, let us rush to another, which can much more easily make us blessed, and let us desire heavenly treasures. Here the work is not great, but the benefits are countless: he who is always awake, sober and despises earthly goods can never lose the blessings of heaven; on the contrary, he who is enslaved and completely devoted to these latter will necessarily lose the former. 4. So, having thought about all this, destroy in yourself the evil passion for wealth. You cannot even say that it delivers present benefits, but deprives only future ones; Yes, even if this were so, and this is already extreme punishment and torment. In reality, however, this cannot be said either. The passion for wealth exposes you to cruel punishment not only in Gehenna, but even before it, in real life. This passion ruined many homes, started cruel wars and forced people to end their lives by violent death. And even before these disasters, it darkens the good qualities of the soul and often makes a person cowardly, weak, impudent, a deceiver, a slanderer, a predator, a covetous person, and in general having all the low qualities in himself. But perhaps, looking at the shine of silver, at the multitude of servants, at the splendor of buildings and at the respect for wealth in the collections, you are deceived by all this? What is the remedy against this disastrous disease? Your own reflection on how this hurts your soul, how it darkens it and makes it vile, ugly and vicious; your own reflection on what kind of disasters the accumulation of wealth is associated with, with what labors and dangers you must protect it, or rather, that it cannot be protected to the end, and even if you manage to save it from all thefts, then death comes and often transfers your wealth into the hands of enemies, and you yourself are kidnapped having nothing except the wounds and ulcers received from the wealth with which your soul moves into the next world. So, if you see someone dressed in shiny clothes and surrounded by a crowd of bodyguards, then open his conscience - and you will find inside him a lot of cobwebs and you will see a lot of uncleanness. Imagine Paul and Peter, imagine John and Elijah, and especially the Son of God himself, who had “no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). Imitate Him and His servants and think about unspeakable wealth. If, having gained some insight, you again become darkened by earthly goods, like those who perish in a shipwreck, then remember Christ’s saying that it is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Along with this saying, imagine that the mountains, the earth, and the sea, in a word, everything, if you want, turned into gold, and you will see that nothing can compare with the harm that would flow from here for you. You will point to many acres of land, ten, twenty, or perhaps more houses, the same number of baths, a thousand or twice as many servants, silver-plated and gilded chariots, and I will say this. If each of those who are getting rich among you, despising this poverty (after all, in comparison with what I intend to talk about, this is poverty), acquired the whole world, if each of them had as many slaves as there are now people on earth, sea and in the whole world, if each of them had in his possession both land and sea, all buildings, cities and peoples, and if for them gold flowed from all sources, instead of water, then I would also own these rich men. I would not consider even three obols worthwhile, since they are deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven. If they, desiring perishable blessings, are tormented when they do not receive them, then what can console them when they learn the price of future ineffable blessings? Absolutely nothing. So, think not about the abundance of wealth, but about the harm that those who are too addicted to it are exposed to; Because of him, they lose heavenly blessings, and become like those who, having lost great honor at the royal court, are left with a heap of dung, and are even proud of it. And truly, a heap of wealth is no better than a heap of dung, even worse. Manure is suitable for agriculture, and for heating baths, and for other similar needs; gold buried in the ground is completely useless: and God forbid that it be only useless. But it ignites in the soul of the one who possesses it like a fiery furnace, if it is not used as it should. What evils does it not cause? That is why secular writers called covetousness the height of evil, but blessed Paul called it much better and with more expressiveness the root of all evil. So, considering all this, let us be jealous of what is worthy of jealousy: not desiring stately buildings or expensive estates, let us be jealous of men who have great boldness towards God, who have laid up for themselves treasure in heaven and enjoy it, men who are truly rich because they have become poor for Christ; let us be jealous of them in order to receive eternal benefits for us, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: