Беседа 88

“From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour; and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Either, Or! Lama Savakhthani? that is: My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me? (Matt. 27:45–46) The greatness of the heavenly sign revealed at the cross. – The darkness at the crucifixion was not the result of an ordinary eclipse. - Why did this miracle not have an effect on the pagans? - Signs of power and strength shown by Christ at death. – The courage of the women and Joseph. – Alms given to the poor are given to Christ. – Why does the preacher often talk about almsgiving? – Why doesn’t he talk about the fight against the enemies of the faith? – The virtues of Christians are better than weapons against unbelievers. - Against those who make noise and talk in the church. 1. This is the sign that He first promised to those who asked! “An evil and adulterous generation,” He said, “seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 12:39; Luke 11:26), that is, the cross, death, tomb and resurrection. And again, pointing in a different way to the power of the cross, he said: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that it is I” (John 8:28) - that is, when you crucify Me and think that you have already defeated Me, then you will especially recognize My power. Indeed, after He was crucified, their city was destroyed, Judaism ended, their civil existence and freedom disappeared; on the contrary, the gospel preaching has flourished and extended to the ends of the universe: land and sea, inhabited and uninhabited countries, everywhere proclaim the power of the word of Christ. So this is what He says, and this is what happened at the crucifixion! And this is all the more surprising because it happened while He was nailed to the cross, and not while He was walking on the earth. But this is not the only marvelous thing; The amazing thing is that the sign they were looking for came from heaven and appeared throughout the entire universe, which had never happened before, except in Egypt, when the Passover was to be celebrated, since it was an image of real events. Notice also when this happens: at noon, when it was day throughout the entire universe, so that all the inhabitants of the earth would know. This was enough to convert them to the truth, not only in view of the greatness of the miracle, but also because of its timing. In fact, it takes place after all their deeds of madness, after their lawless mockery, when they had already abandoned their fury, when they had stopped mocking, when they had had enough of shameless curses, and had expressed everything they wanted: only after all this did He show the darkness, so that at least now they would tame their anger and benefit from the miracle. Performing such signs on the cross was much more amazing than coming down from the cross. If they thought that He performed these miracles, then it was necessary to believe and tremble; and if they thought that it was not He, but the Father, then they had to come to contrition, since this darkness testified that the Father was angry at their crime. And that it was not an eclipse, but anger and indignation, this can be seen, moreover, from the time itself: the darkness lasted three hours. An eclipse occurs in a few minutes, as is known to those who have observed this phenomenon; This is how an eclipse happened in our time. Why, you say, did not everyone come to amazement and recognize Christ as God? Because at that time the human race was immersed in carelessness and wickedness; a miracle, it was one thing, and as soon as it appeared, it soon ended; and no one was jealous to find the reasons for it; obvious lawlessness found an excuse in customs. They didn’t even want to know what the cause of this phenomenon was, but thought that it was a consequence of either an eclipse or some other natural cause. And why should we be surprised at the outsiders, who knew nothing and, out of their great carelessness, did not try to find out the reasons for the event, when those who lived in Judea itself, after so many miracles, continued to revile Jesus, although it was clear to them that He had done it? This is why He says after this miracle: “Either, Or, Lama Savachthani,” so that they would know that He is still alive, and that He performed it, and thus would tame their rage. From this they could see how He honors the Father even to his last breath, and is not an opponent of God. He calls out with a prophetic voice, testifying until the last hour about the truth of the Old Testament, and not only prophetic, but also Jewish, so that they can understand and understand. In all this He showed His like-mindedness with His Father. But notice here too their audacity, unbridledness and madness. They thought, says the evangelist, that He was calling Elijah, and they immediately gave Him vinegar to drink. And another approached and pierced His side with a spear. What could be more wicked than this, what could be more beastly? They have extended their fury to such an extent that they even curse at the lifeless remains. But look how He turns their wickedness to our salvation. After the blow, the sources of our salvation dried up. “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up the ghost” (Matthew 27:50). This is what He was talking about: “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I myself give it away” (John 10:18). This is why He cried out, to show that the work was being done according to His will. Mark says: “And he was surprised that He was already dead” (Mark 15:44), and that the centurion especially believed because Jesus died with signs of power. This voice tore the veil, opened the coffins and made the church empty. And He did this not in order to dishonor the church (could He do this who said: “Do not make My Father’s house a house of trade” - John 2:16), but by this he showed that they were unworthy of staying in it; just as when He handed him over to the Babylonians. In addition, the present event was also a prediction of future desolation and change for the better and higher, and a sign of His power. 2. At the same time, in the events that followed, Christ showed His power, namely in the resurrection of the dead, in the darkening of the light, in the change of the elements. During Elisha, one dead man touched a dead man and was resurrected. Now the voice raised the dead, while the body was nailed to the cross. However, the first was a prototype of real events; This is why it happened, so that they would believe the real thing. And not only are the dead awakened, but the stones also disintegrate and the earth shakes, so that they may know that He could both darken them and tear them apart. He who tore apart the stones and darkened the universe could all the more do the same over them if He wanted. But He did not want this; having poured out His wrath on the elements, He desired to save them through meekness. But they did not stop their fury. Such is envy, such is hatred: it is not easy to tame it! And with all such phenomena, their shamelessness was the same. Subsequently, when, despite the fact that a seal was placed on the tomb, military guards were assigned, He was resurrected, and they heard about this from the guards themselves, deceived others with money, and wanted to hide the evidence of the resurrection. So, do not be surprised that they acted so dishonestly even then: this is how they once and for all decided to act shamelessly in everything! Just look how many signs He performed, now in heaven, now on earth, now in the church itself. By this He partly showed His indignation, partly that the inaccessible would now become accessible, and that the heavens would open and the true Holy of Holies would be revealed. They said: “If He is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross”; and He shows them that He is the King of the whole universe. They said: “Destroying the church and creating in three days”; and He indicates that their church will be completely deserted. Further, they said: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself”? He, being on the cross, abundantly shows them His power over the bodies of His servants. Truly, if it is a great thing for four-day-old Lazarus to emerge from the tomb, then it is much more important for all those who have long since died to suddenly appear alive, which was a sign of a future resurrection. “Many,” it is said, “the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose and entered the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:52–53). So that this event is not considered ghostly, the resurrected appear to many in the city. Then the centurion glorified God, saying: “Truly He was the Son of God. All the people who had gathered to see this spectacle, seeing what was happening, returned, beating their chests (Matthew 27:54; Luke 23:48). Such is the power of the Crucified One that after such ridicule and abuse, both the centurion and the people were intimidated! Some say that this centurion, having strengthened his faith after this, performed the feat of martyrdom. “There were also many women there, watching from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving Him; among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Josiah, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee” (Matthew 27:55–56). Wives look at these events, especially those who are compassionate and lamenting. Look what their zeal is! They followed Him to serve Him, and did not leave Him even in the midst of danger. That’s why they saw everything: they saw how He cried out, how He gave up the ghost, how the stones disintegrated, and everything else. And they are the first to see Jesus, this, so despised, sex is the first to enjoy the contemplation of goods. Their courage is especially evident in this. The disciples ran away, but these wives were present. Who were they? His Mother, whom the Evangelist calls Jacob's, and others. Another evangelist says that many wept over this and beat their breasts. This shows how cruel the Jews were. What others sighed and cried about, they laughed at, were not touched by pity, nor were they tamed by fear. Everything that happened then was a sign of the great wrath of God; not just a sign, but a sign of wrath; everything meant excessive anger, and darkness, and scattered stones, and a curtain torn in half, and an earthquake. “Joseph came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus” (Matthew 27:58). This Joseph is the same one who was hiding until now; now, after the death of Christ, he was inspired by great boldness. He was not an inconspicuous person, but a famous and noble one, a venerable member of the Sanhedrin. From here you can especially see his courage. He now ventured to open death, because he aroused universal hatred against himself when he revealed his love for Jesus and dared to ask for His body, and did not retreat until he received it; he even dared not only to accept the body and bury it honestly, but also to lay it in his new coffin, which showed both his love and courage. And this happened not without a reason, but precisely because they would not have suspicions that instead of one, another had risen. “And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb” (Matthew 27:61). Why are they sitting here? They still did not know anything about Him properly, they did not imagine anything great and lofty. That’s why they brought myrrh and kept vigil at the tomb, so that when the fury of the Jews had calmed down, they could come and anoint Him. 3. Do you see the courage of the wives? Do you see their fiery love? Do you see generosity in costs and determination for death itself? Let us, husbands, imitate our wives, so as not to leave Jesus in temptation. They spent so much for the deceased, and even betrayed their souls, but we (I will say the same thing again) neither feed the hungry nor clothe the naked, but, seeing what he asks, we hasten to pass by. Of course, if you saw Him Himself, everyone would exhaust themselves. But even now He is the same, because He Himself said: “I am.” So why aren't you waiting for everything? And now you hear Him saying: You do it for Me. There is no difference whether you give to Him or to someone else. And you will do no less than those wives who then nourished Him; on the contrary, even more so. Don't be embarrassed. It is not the same thing to feed Him when He appeared in all the glory that could endear a stony soul to Him, and to serve, in fulfillment only of His commandments, the poor, the wretched, the bent. There, your love includes respect for the person and dignity of those present; here all the honor belongs to your love for mankind: here you show greater respect for Him when, only according to His commandment, you serve His servant like you, and please him in everything. So please, believing the one who receives and the one who says: He gave it to me. If you had not given to Him, He would not have honored you with His kingdom. If it were not for Him that you turned away, He would not have sent you to Gehenna; I would not condemn you to torture if you despised a simple person. No; it is He himself who is neglected; That is why this is a great sin. So Paul persecuted Him when he persecuted the believers, why did He say: “Why are you persecuting Me” (Acts 9:4)? Let us then be as diligent as if we were giving to Christ himself when we give to our neighbors. His true words are more reliable than our eyes. Therefore, when you see a poor person, remember His words with which He told you that He is the very one whom you feed. Although the one who appears to you is not Christ, yet in the image of this poor man He himself asks and accepts. But are you ashamed to hear what Christ asks? On the contrary, be ashamed when you do not give to the one who asks; this is definitely shame, punishment, torment. When He asks, it comes from His goodness, and therefore we need to even boast about it; but when you don't serve, it shows your cruelty. If you don’t believe me now that when you pass by a beggar who is a believer, you pass by Christ himself, then you will believe this when He brings you to judgment and says: “Because you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (Matthew 25:45). But let it not be that we learn it in this way. Let us believe this now and bear fruit so that we can hear the blessed voice leading us into the kingdom! But maybe someone will say: every day you tell us about mercy and philanthropy. I won't stop talking about it. Even if you were successful in these virtues, then I would not have to stop talking about them, lest I make you careless. Of course, if you were successful, I would say less. But when you haven’t managed to do this even half as well, then you say such words not to me, but to yourself. Truly, by complaining about me, you are doing the same thing as a child when, having heard the alpha many times and not memorizing it, he would complain about the teacher that he often and even incessantly repeats the same thing. In fact, who was inclined by my words to give alms? Who squandered the estate? Who gave away half, who gave away the third? Nobody! So, is it proper for you to forbid someone to teach you when you have not yet learned? You should have done the opposite - you should have, even if we wanted to stop teaching, hold us back and say: we have not learned this yet - why do you stop teaching us? If it happened that someone had a sore eye, and I were a doctor, I would bandage the eye, give ointments, apply other means, but without doing anything really useful, I would leave, then wouldn’t he come to the door of my house and reproach me for extreme carelessness for leaving him when the illness had not passed? And if I, in response to the accusation, said: I gave lotions, ointments, would the patient tolerate such an excuse? No! He would immediately say: what good does it do me when I still suffer? Think the same about the soul. What if I, even after treating the weakened, numb, crooked hand a lot, had not healed it: wouldn’t I have heard the same thing? But even now we heal as if it were a crumpled and withered hand. Therefore, until we see her completely straight, we will not stop caring for her. Oh, if only you would not talk about anything else, at home, in the square, at the table, at night, and in your sleep! If we were constantly concerned about this during the day, then we would do the same in our sleep. 4. What are you saying? Why do I always talk about mercy? I myself would like there to be no great need for such conversations with you: I would like to talk about the struggle against Jews, Greeks and heretics; But can the sick be armed? How to bring into battle those who are covered with ulcers and wounds? If I had seen you healthy, then, of course, I would have led you to this battle, and then you would have seen, by the grace of Christ, whole thousands of your enemies falling, and their heads lying in front of you. We have already said a lot about this in various books; and, however, due to the negligence of many, even now we cannot yet celebrate a perfect victory. We defeat them many times in dogma; but they blame us for the lives of many among us, and abhor their wounds and heart ailments. So, is it possible to reliably lead you into battle when you serve us to our detriment, and at the first appearance you are amazed and ridiculed by your enemies? One of them has a sick hand, it’s crooked, and he can’t serve. How can he hold a shield and defend himself with it without being hurt by cruel attacks? Others are lame in their feet: these are those who go to theaters and to the houses of harlots. How can they stand in battle and not be wounded by the arrows of lust? Another is sick with the eyes, completely blind, or looks wrongly, being filled with fornication and engaging only in evil slander against the chastity of wives, and undermining marriages. How can such a person look at his enemies, control a spear, throw arrows, when he is amazed by ridicule from everywhere? You see others suffering from the womb, as if possessed by water sickness; they are depressed by gluttony and drunkenness. So how can I lead these drunkards into battle? Some have rotten lips: such are the absurd, the scolders, the blasphemers. How will they give a sign with their voice in battle, and can they do anything important and noble, being consumed by another kind of drunkenness and being an object of laughter for their enemies? That is why I go around my army every day, healing wounds and healing scabs. If you ever become sober and are able to defeat others, then I will teach you this military art and show you how to act with weapons, or better, then your very deeds will be a weapon for you: then everyone will fall before you - if, that is, you are merciful, meek, quiet, unforgiving and all other virtues will shine in you. If anyone begins to contradict us, then we will also put in our work, presenting you as an example. Meanwhile, now you even serve as an obstacle to our flow. Look: we say that Christ performed great miracles and changed people into angels. But when they ask us for evidence of this, and force us to provide an example from this herd, we are dumb, and I am afraid that instead of angels, they will drive out pigs from the stable, or misogynistic horses. I know this is painful for you; but this is not said against everyone, but only against the guilty, or rather, not against them, if they are sober, but for them. Nowadays everything is perverted and corrupted: the church is no different from a stable of oxen, donkeys and camels; and I walk everywhere, looking for sheep, but I cannot see them. So everyone is stamping and kicking, as if they were horses or wild donkeys; they fill this place only with heaps of dung - such is precisely their talk. If you could see what men and wives talk about at every sacred meeting, then you would see that their words are worse than any dung. Therefore, I beg you, leave this bad custom so that the church can smell like peace. We now fill it only with sensual incense, and do not worry about expelling and destroying spiritual impurity. What's the use of that? Truly, we do not so much dishonor the church when we bring manure into it, as we desecrate it when we talk in it with each other about profits, about trade, about groveling, about things that are not at all becoming for us, when it would be necessary for the faces of angels to be present here, to make the church heaven, and to know nothing else except heartfelt prayers, silence and attention. Let us correct ourselves, at least from now on, in order to purify our lives and inherit the promised benefits, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: