Беседа 69

“Jesus, continuing to speak to them in parables, said: The kingdom of heaven is like a man king, who held a wedding feast for his son and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast; and didn't want to come. Again he sent other slaves, saying: Tell those who are invited: behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bullocks and what is fattened, slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast. But they, despising this, went, some to their field, and some to their trade; the others, seizing his slaves, insulted and killed them.” (Matt. 22:1–6) Similarities and differences between the parables of the vineyard and the wedding feast. – Why is the kingdom of heaven called marriage? - Three guilts of the Jews. - God's care for the Jews and their lack of gratitude. – Rejection of the Jews and calling of the Gentiles. – Calling happens by grace; grace must be matched by obedience. – We must take care of the clothing of the soul, not the body. - An indication of the example of the hermits. – The simplicity of the monks’ home and meals. – The serenity of their lives. - Contempt for earthly virtues and differences. 1. Do you see what a difference is presented between the son and the servants both in the previous parable and in this one? Do you see the great similarity and at the same time the great difference between both parables? And this parable shows the long-suffering of God and His great care, as well as the wickedness and ingratitude of the Jews. However, this parable contains more than the first: it foreshadows the falling away of the Jews and the calling of the pagans and, in addition, shows the correct way of life and what kind of execution awaits the careless. This parable is rightly offered after the previous parable. Having said in the previous conversation: “It will be given to the people who bear its fruit” (Matthew 21:43), Christ shows here to which tongue it will be given; and not only this, but also that He had special concern for the Jews. There He is depicted calling before His crucifixion, and here He is depicted as urgently drawing them to Himself even after the crucifixion; and while they should have been punished most severely, He draws them to the wedding feast and honors them with the highest honor. And notice how there he first calls not the pagans, but the Jews, so it is here. But just as there, when the Jews did not want to accept Him, and even the one who came to them was killed, He gave the vineyard to others, so here, when they did not want to come to the wedding feast, He called others. What could be worse than such lack of appreciation - to be called to a wedding feast and not come? Who would not want to go to a marriage, to the marriage of a king, a king preparing a marriage for his son? You ask: why is the Kingdom of Heaven called marriage? So that you know God's care, His love for us, splendor in everything - know that there is nothing sad or regrettable, but everything is filled with spiritual joy. That is why John calls Him “the bridegroom” (John 3:29); That’s why Paul says: “Because I have betrothed you to one husband” (2 Cor. 11:2); and again: “This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church” (Eph. 5:32). Why is the bride betrothed not to the Father, but to the Son? Because if she becomes engaged to the Son, then she is also engaged to the Father. In Scripture one or the other is posited indifferently, according to the identity of the being. Here Christ also foretells the resurrection. Since He spoke about death before, He now shows that even after death there will be a marriage, there will be a groom. But this did not make the Jews better, did not soften their cruel hearts. What could be worse than this? This is their third fault. The first fault is that they killed the prophets; second, that they killed the Son; finally, the third, that after committing this murder, those who were called by the person killed by them to the wedding feast do not go to it, but represent the reasons - spouses, oxen, fields, wives. Although these reasons seem plausible, from this we learn that even if necessity restrains us, the spiritual must be preferred to everything. And not only now is He calling, but for a long time now. He says: “tell those who are invited”; and also: “call those who are called” - which makes the Jews even more guilty. When were they called? They were called by all the prophets; then John, who sent everyone to Christ, saying: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30); then by the Son himself, who says: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28); and again: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). He called them not only with words, but also with deeds; He called upon His ascension through Peter and the other apostles. It is precisely said: “He who helped Peter in his apostleship to the circumcision also helped me among the Gentiles” (Gal. 2:8). Since the Jews, seeing the Son, were indignant and killed Him, He calls them again through the slaves. And what does He call them to? To labors, exploits, disasters? No, He calls them to have fun. He says: “My calves and what is fattened is slaughtered, and everything is ready.” What a magnificent feast, what splendor! But even this did not convert them; on the contrary, the more He was patient with them, the more bitter they became. They did not come to the wedding feast out of laziness, and not because they were busy with business. But how do some of them present their marriage as an apology, and others - oxen? Is this a job? No way. One should leave all other activities, even necessary ones, for spiritual matters. It seems to me that they presented such reasons only to cover up their carelessness. And not only is it bad that they did not come, but the most reckless and terrible thing is that they received those who came very badly, abused them and killed them; this is much worse than before. Previously, people came to them to demand fruit, and those who came were killed; Now they come from the One they killed to invite him to the wedding feast, and they also kill them. What can compare with such cruelty? For this, Paul, reproaching them, said: “They killed both the Lord Jesus and His prophets, and drove us out” (1 Thess. 2:15). Then, so that they do not say: “He is the enemy of God, that’s why we did not come,” listen to what those who call say: The Father holds a wedding feast and calls. What's next? Since they did not want to come, but killed those who came to them, He burned their cities and, sending an army, destroyed them. By this He predicts the events that happened under Vespasian and Titus, and since the Jews insulted the Father by not believing Him, He himself takes upon Himself their vengeance. Therefore, the destruction of the city did not happen immediately after the death of Christ, but forty years later - after they killed Stephen, killed James and outraged the apostles - so that His long-suffering could be seen. Do you see how accurately and quickly the events themselves were fulfilled? This happened during the lifetime of John and many others who were with Christ, and those who heard this prediction were witnesses of these events. Notice God's special care. He planted a vineyard, did and completed everything: after killing some slaves, he sent others; after killing these, he sent the Son, and after killing the Son, he called them to marriage; they didn’t want to come. Then he sends other slaves - they killed these too. Then, finally, He destroys them as if they were infected with an incurable disease. And that they were infected with an incurable disease is proven not only by their previous actions, but also by the fact that they committed similar actions even after the harlots and tax collectors believed. Thus, they are condemned not only for their evil deeds, but also for the good that others have done. If anyone says that the pagans were called not when the apostles were scourged and suffered countless disasters, but immediately after the resurrection (it was then that Jesus Christ said to them: “Go and teach all nations” - Matt. 28:19), then we will answer this that the disciples spoke to the Jews first, both before and after the cross. And before the cross, Jesus said to the disciples: “Go first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and after the cross He did not forbid, but commanded the disciples to preach to the Jews. Although He said: “teach all nations,” before His ascension into heaven He clearly showed the disciples that they must preach to the Jews first. He said: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And Paul also says: “He who helped Peter in his apostleship to the circumcision also helped me among the Gentiles” (Gal. 2:8). Therefore, the apostles first preached to the Jews, and, having spent a long time in Jerusalem, when they were already expelled by the Jews, they were scattered among the pagans. 2. Notice here too the great love of the Lord. “Invite everyone you find to the wedding feast,” He says. Previously, as I said, the apostles preached the gospel to both Jews and pagans, being, however, mostly in Judea; but since the Jews did not stop their deceit against the apostles, listen to how Paul, explaining this parable, says: “The word of God should have been preached to you first, but because you reject it... then, behold, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). Therefore, the Lord himself says: “The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy” (Matthew 22:8). He undoubtedly knew about this before, but in order not to leave the Jews any pretext for a shameless apology, despite this he came to them first and sent His apostles to stop their mouths and to teach us to do everything that concerns us, even if no one received any benefit from it. So, He says, since they “were not worthy, go to the crossroads and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast” (Matthew 22:9), even the lowly and despised. Since He often said that harlots and publicans will inherit heaven, and the first will be last, and the last first (Matthew 21:31, 19:30), He now shows that all this is done fairly. To see that pagans were being brought into the kingdom in their place especially offended the Jews and confused them much more than the destruction of their city. Then, so that the first do not rely on faith alone, He talks with them about judgment and punishment for bad deeds; tries to lead non-believers to faith, and instructs believers in the rules of life. By “clothes” we mean the affairs of life. But calling is a matter of grace: why does He discuss it so thoroughly? Because although calling and cleansing are a work of grace, the fact that one who is called and clothed in clean clothing constantly keeps it that way depends on the efforts of those called. Calling is not by merit, but by grace. Therefore, one must correspond to grace with obedience, and having received honor, not show such wickedness. But you will say: I did not receive as many benefits as the Jews. No, you received much greater benefits. What was prepared for them throughout all this time, you received in its entirety, without being worthy of it. That is why Paul says that the pagans will glorify God for their mercy (Rom. 15:9). You got what they should have gotten. Therefore, great punishment awaits the careless. You, by deviating towards a depraved life, offend God just as they offended Him by not coming to Him. “To enter in unclean clothing” means, having an unclean life, to be deprived of grace. That is why it is said: “he was silent.” Don't you see how, despite all the clarity of the matter, the Lord does not punish first, as then, when the sinner has condemned himself? Having nothing to defend himself with, he condemned himself, and thus exposed himself to extreme punishment. When you hear “about darkness,” do not think that he is being punished only by being sent to a dark place; no, there will still be “crying and gnashing of teeth.” And these words indicate unbearable torment. Pay attention to this, all of you who, having taken part in the sacraments and being called to marriage, clothe your soul with unclean deeds! Listen to where you are called from: from the crossroads! What were you? Lame and blind in soul - which is much worse than bodily blindness. Honor the philanthropy of the Caller; and let no one remain in unclean clothes, but let each of us take care of the clothing of his soul. Listen wives, listen husbands! We do not need this gold-woven robe that adorns our body, but clothing that would adorn the soul. But it is difficult for us to put on these clothes while we wear the first. You cannot decorate both soul and body together. You cannot work together with mammon and serve as Christ should. So, let's leave this bad habit that dominates us. You, of course, would not be generous if someone decorated the house with golden curtains, and forced you to sit in rags, almost naked. But now you are doing this to yourself, decorating the dwelling of your soul, that is, your body, with countless expensive clothes, and leaving your soul in rags. Don’t you know that a king needs to be more adorned than a city? That is why they prepare clothes made of linen for the city, and purple and a diadem for the king. So you should cover your body with the cheapest clothes, and dress your mind in purple, decorate it with a crown, and sit it on a high and brilliant throne. And now you are doing exactly the opposite: you decorate your city in various ways, and leave the king’s mind to drag on in chains behind unbridled passions. Don’t you understand that you are called to a marriage, and to the marriage of God? Can’t you imagine that your soul, called to this solemn palace, will have to be brought in clothed and adorned with golden robes? 3. Do you want me to show you those dressed in wedding clothes? Remember those saints about whom I recently told you - the saints clothed in sackcloth, living in the deserts. They especially wear these wedding clothes. And from this it is obvious that no matter what purple clothes you give them, they will not agree to take them; but just as a king, if someone ordered him to put on the thin clothes of a poor man, would reject them with contempt, so they will also reject his scarlet robe. And they do this not for anything else, but because they know the beauty of their clothes. That is why they despise a magnificent robe, like a cobweb. Sackcloth taught them this. Indeed, they are much higher and more glorious than the king himself. If you could open the doors of their hearts and see their soul and all the beauty within, you would fall to the ground, unable to bear the radiance of beauty, the lightness of those clothes and the shine of their conscience. We can point to the great and wonderful men of antiquity; but since visible examples have a stronger effect on simple people, I am sending you, therefore, to the very abodes of these saints. They have no sadness; but, as if they had built huts in heaven, they live just as far from the disasters of real life and, having taken up arms against the devil, fight him as easily as if they were playing. Having thus arranged homes for themselves, they avoid cities, public gatherings and houses, because it is not suitable for a warrior to sit in a house, but, as one who intends to immediately move, he must live in such a home that he can easily leave. These are all those who live differently from us. We live not as in military camps, but as in a peaceful city. Who, in fact, living in a military camp, lays a foundation and builds a house, which after a little time intends to leave? Nobody. And if anyone decided to do this, they would kill him as a traitor. Who, in the camp, is purchasing tithes of land and planning to trade? Nobody, of course. And quite rightly, they say: you came to fight, not to trade. So why are you so concerned about a place that you must soon leave? Do this when you return to your fatherland. I will tell you the same thing now: do this when you return to the highest city. Even more: there you will not need to work at all, because the Tsar will arrange everything for you. Here it’s enough to dig a hole and stick a stake, but you don’t need to build anything. Listen, what is life like for the nomadic Scythians, what kind of life do nomads lead? This is how Christians should live: go around the universe, fighting the devil and freeing those captive by him, and forget everything about life. Human! Why are you preparing the house? Is it to connect yourself more? Why do you bury treasure and provoke an enemy against yourself? Why are you building walls and preparing a prison for yourself? If this seems difficult to you, let’s go to the monasteries of the saints and find out the ease of work in practice. Having set up huts, if they need to leave them, they leave them in the same way as soldiers leave a camp during peace. Truly, they live like in a camp, or even much more pleasant. It is more pleasant to see a desert dotted with monastic huts than to see a camp of soldiers who pitch tents in the field, stick spears and hang red cloaks on their ends, to see many people with copper helmets on their heads, the bulge of brightly shining shields, people covered from head to toe with iron armor, hastily erected royal tents, a vast flat field, and feasting and warriors playing trumpets. This spectacle is not as amusing as the one I am now talking about. If we go into the desert to look at the tents of Christ’s soldiers, we will see neither stretched covers, nor sharp spears, nor golden fabrics covering the royal tent; but just as if someone, spreading out many heavens on an earth more vast and immeasurable than ours, presented a new and amazing spectacle, so you can see the same thing there. Their abode is no worse than heaven, because angels, and even the Lord of angels himself, descend to them. If the Lord and the angels came to Abraham, a married man concerned with raising children, they came because they knew his hospitality to strangers, then - when they acquire great virtue and find a person who has renounced the body and despises the flesh in the flesh - they stay here much more and rejoice with the joy characteristic of them. The table of the saints is free from all excess and full of piety. They have no flows of blood, they do not cut flesh; no headaches; there are no seasonings in the dishes; there is no heavy smell and unpleasant smoke, no incessant running and noise, no turmoil and unbearable screams, but only bread and water, water from a pure source, bread from righteous labors. If they want to prepare their food better, then berries are their delicacy; and there is more pleasure here than at royal dinners. There is no fear or trembling here; the boss does not blame, the wife does not irritate, the son does not grieve, excessive laughter does not tire, the crowd of flatterers does not make pompous; but their table is the table of angels, free from any such confusion. Just grass serves as a bed for them, as Christ did when he fed the people in the desert; and many sleep without shelter, but instead of a roof they are served by the sky and the moon instead of a lamp, which has no need for oil or anyone to correct it; and it’s not for nothing that the moon shines for them alone. 4. Looking at such a meal from heaven, the angels also rejoice and rejoice. In fact, if they rejoice over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7), then what will they not do for so many righteous people who imitate themselves? There is no master and slave: all are slaves and all are free. Don't think I'm speaking allegorically. They are both slaves to each other and masters over each other. When evening comes, they have nothing to lament about, as happens to many people when they reflect on the troubles of the day. After supper, they do not need to be afraid of robbers, lock the doors, put bolts, or fear anything else that many are usually afraid of, extinguishing the lamps carefully so that a spark does not set the house on fire. And their conversation is filled with the same calm. They do not talk about what we are talking about, which is completely unrelated to us, for example: so and so was made a boss, that one was deprived of authority, that one died, and another received an inheritance, and the like; but they always talk and philosophize about the future, and as if they lived in another world, as if they had moved to heaven itself and live there, they always talk about heavenly things: about the bosom of Abraham, about the crowns of the saints, about rejoicing with Christ; but they have neither a mention nor a word about the present. And just as we do not consider what the ants do in their anthills worthy of our conversation, so they do not talk about what we do, but talk about the kingdom of heaven, about real warfare, about the machinations of the devil, about the great deeds performed by the saints. So, if we compare ourselves to them, how much better are we than the ants? Just as ants care about things, so do we. And let us only care about this, otherwise we care about much worse things - because we care not only about what is necessary, like ants, but also about what is superfluous. Ants work and their work is impeccable, but we always work out of covetousness, and imitate the work not of ants, but of wolves and leopards, and are even worse than them. This is how nature destined them to get food; God honored us with both reason and justice, and we became worse than animals. We have become worse than dumb animals, and the righteous are equal to angels, being strangers and strangers on this earth. Everything about them is different from ours: clothing, food, housing, shoes, and speech. And if anyone listened to the conversation of the righteous and ours, he would know well that they are citizens of heaven, and we are unworthy even of the earth. Therefore, when someone invested with dignity comes to them, then all arrogance completely disappears. This same farmer, inexperienced in anything worldly, sits on the grass, on a dirty mat, next to the commander, who dreams a lot about his power - because there is no one here to dignify him and instill pride in him. Here the same thing happens as if someone came to a goldsmith, or to a rose flower garden: just as the one who comes here receives some shine from both gold and roses, so those who come to the righteous, receiving some benefit from their shine, are somewhat freed from their former pride. Or, just as someone who ascends to a high place, even if he was very small, seems big, so those who ascend in conversation to the high thoughts of the righteous, themselves seem the same while they remain with them, and when they leave, then, having descended from this height, they again become low. Nothing is the king of the saints, nothing is the boss; but just as we laugh at children who in play represent a king or a boss, so they despise the pride of those who inspire fear with themselves. From this it is obvious that if someone began to give them a kingdom to guard, they would not agree to accept it; They would have taken it, perhaps, if they had not cared about the larger kingdom and had not considered the first one a temporary matter. So, why don’t we rush to such great bliss, don’t go to these angels? Why don’t we put on clean clothes and celebrate these marriages, but we remain poor, not at all better than the beggars sitting at the crossroads and even worse and poorer than them? Indeed, those who unjustly enrich themselves are much worse than beggars, and it is better to ask than to steal, since the former is excusable, and the latter entails punishment. He who asks does not offend God in the least; and whoever steals insults both God and people, and often only wastes labor in stealing, while others enjoy all the fruits. So, knowing this, let us abandon all covetousness and let us acquire incorruptible treasure, delighting with all diligence in the kingdom of heaven, because it is impossible, impossible for a lazy person to enter this kingdom. Oh, that we all, having become diligent and vigilant, would receive it, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: