Беседа 19

John 1:41–42. He first finds his brother Simon and says to him: we have found the Messiah, which means: Christ; and brought him to Jesus. 1. The benefits of human unity. – Andrei, having found the Messiah, immediately invites his brother to take part in the newfound happiness. – 2. Prophecy proves divine omnipotence no less than a miracle. – 3. The ancients had many names, Christians had only one name – Christian. - The honor and glory of this name. “We bear the name of Jesus Christ and are as close to him as the body is to the head.” – How to make proper use of wealth? – Giving your property to the poor means enriching yourself. 1. At the beginning, God, having created man, did not leave him alone, but gave him a wife to help him and commanded them to live together, since he knew that many benefits could come from this cohabitation. What if the wife did not take advantage of this benefit as she should have? If anyone delves into the essence of this matter, he will see that cohabitation has many benefits for prudent people. However, not only from the cohabitation of husband and wife, but if brothers live together, then they also benefit from this. That is why the prophet said: “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together!” (Ps. 133:1). And Paul exhorted not to abandon mutual fellowship. This is where we differ from animals. We build cities and marketplaces and houses in order to be together with each other not only in housing, but also in a union of love. Our nature was created by the Creator in such a way that it has different needs, but is not sufficient for itself; Therefore, God arranged it so that the needs arising from here were corrected by the benefits arising from community life. Therefore, marriage was established in such a way that what one lacks, the other makes up for, and thus the needs of nature are satisfied, and although it was created mortal, it nevertheless retains immortality for a long time by succession. Could I dwell further on this subject and show how much benefit for people comes from mutual, close and sincere communication with each other. But now we have something else ahead of us, which is why I actually started talking about it. Andrew, having stayed with Jesus and learned from Him as much as he could, does not keep this treasure for himself, but hastens, immediately runs to his brother to share with him the acquired benefits. But why didn’t John say what Christ talked to them about? And how can it be seen that this is precisely why He had them? We have already shown this before; but this can also be learned from the current reading. Notice what Andrey says to his brother. “We have found the Messiah, which means: Christ.” Do you see - here he shows how much he learned in a short time? By this he expresses both the strength of the Teacher, who convinced them of this, and his own zeal with which they have long been concerned about this from the very beginning. The very expression: “found” shows a soul that was tormented by the desire to see Christ, awaiting His descent from above, and filled with joy when the object of its expectations appeared, and finally hastened to tell others about this joyful news. In spiritual matters, shaking hands with each other is a sign of brotherly love, kindred friendship, and sincere goodwill. Pay attention to the fact that he also speaks of the Messiah with the addition of a member. He did not simply say: the Messiah, but the Messiah who was expected. Thus they expected one Christ, who had nothing in common with the others 17. Look, too, how Peter from the very beginning reveals in himself a submissive and obedient soul. He immediately hurries to Jesus, without hesitating at all. “He brought him,” it says, “to Jesus.” But no one should accuse him of frivolity if he accepted his brother’s words without further research. Probably his brother told him about this a lot and in detail, but evangelists usually present a lot of things briefly, taking care of brevity. Moreover, it is not said that Peter simply believed, but only that Andrei “led him to Jesus,” wanting to introduce his brother to Him so that he would learn everything from Him. Moreover, another student was also with them and contributed to this. If John the Baptist himself, having said about Christ that He is the Lamb and that He baptizes with the Spirit, allowed his disciples to learn the clearest teaching about Him from Himself, all the more should Andrei do this, feeling unable to explain everything. Therefore, he drew his brother to the very source of light, with such care and joy that he did not hesitate or hesitate at all. “Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of Jonah; you will be called Cephas, which means: stone (Peter)” (John 1:42). Here (Christ) already begins to reveal His divinity and little by little reveal it in His sayings. This is what He did in conversations with Nathanael and the Samaritan woman. 2. Prophecies are no less convincing than miracles, and, moreover, they do not contain vanity. Miracles were still subject to misconceptions, at least from foolish people: about “Beelzebub,” they said, “casts out demons” (Matthew 12:24); but nothing of the kind was ever said about prophecies. Thus, Christ used this method of teaching for Simon and Nathanael, but He did not do the same with Andrew and Philip. Why? Because they had already received no small preparation in the testimony of John; and Philip, in addition, saw those standing before Christ and took this as direct evidence of faith in Him. “You are Simon, son of Jonah; you will be called Cephas, which means: stone (Peter).” The future becomes certain from the present. Whoever named Petrov’s father, of course, foresaw the future. Prediction is also combined here with praise; but this was not flattery, but a prediction of the future, as can be seen from the following. Remember with what strong conviction He, in a conversation with the Samaritan woman, allows her to see his insight. “You have had five husbands,” He says, “and the one you now have is not your husband” (John 4:18). So His Father, rebelling against the worship of idols, speaks a lot about prophecy. “Let them come out...and save you from what is about to happen to you” (Let them tell you what is coming against you.). And in another place: “I have foretold and saved and declared; but you have no other” (I told and saved, and I am not a stranger to you) (Is. 47:13, 43:12). And this is evident throughout the prophecy. Prophecy is primarily the work of God, which demons cannot even imitate, no matter how much they become stronger. In miracles there may still be some deception; but to predict the future with accuracy belongs only to one eternal being. If demons ever did this, it was only to deceive the foolish; That’s why their broadcasting is always easy to expose as a lie. Meanwhile, Peter does not respond to Christ’s words, because he still did not clearly understand anything, but was only learning. Moreover, the prediction itself was not yet fully pronounced. Christ did not say: I will rename you Peter, and on this stone I will build my Church, but only said: “You will be called Cephas, which means: stone (Peter).” That renaming would mean higher dignity and greater power. But Christ did not suddenly and not from the very beginning demonstrate His power, but for a time he spoke more humbly. When He gave full proof of His deity, he said the same thing with greater authority: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” And in another place: “I say to you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church” (Matthew 16:17–18). So Christ called Simon, and Jacob and his brother - sons of thunder. Why does He do this? He shows by this that He is the same one who gave the Old Testament and then changed the names, calling Abram Abraham, Sarah Sarah, Jacob Israel, and gave names to many from their birth, such as: Isaac, Sampson and the persons mentioned by Isaiah and Hosea; For some, he changed the names given by his parents, such as: the persons mentioned above, and Joshua. It was also the custom of the ancients to give names according to circumstances, as Elijah did. And this was not without a purpose, but so that the very name of people would be for them a reminder of the blessings of God, so that, through the expression of prophecy in names, it would be all the better preserved in the minds of those listening. So John was given a name before his birth. Thus, people who had the opportunity to shine with virtue from the first age received names even before birth; and to those who were glorified subsequently, a nickname was added afterwards. 3. But then everyone received a special name; and now we all have one name, which is more important than all those - the name of Christians, sons and friends of God, the body (of Christ). Such a name, more than all others, can arouse in us increased zeal for success in virtue. Let us not do anything unworthy of this honorable name, thinking about the height of the dignity by which we are called Christ's. That's what Paul called us. Let's keep this in mind, let's respect this great name. If some, bearing the name of some famous commander or some other glorious person, think highly of themselves, hearing that they are called by the name of such and such, consider this name to be a great dignity for themselves and try in every possible way so that by their negligence they do not dishonor the one with whom they share the same name, then we, who are called by the name of not a commander, not some earthly leader, not an angel, not an archangel, not the seraphim, but their King himself, shouldn’t we also sacrifice our very soul, just so as not to offend the One who has honored us with such honor? Don't you know what honor is accorded to the troops of the royal shield-bearers and spear-bearers surrounding the king? Likewise, we, who are honored to be close to the King himself and even much closer to Him than those we mentioned are to our king, closer as the body is to the head, must act in everything no other way than by imitating Christ. What does Christ say? “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). If we began to demand this from you, it would perhaps seem difficult and burdensome to many. So, for the sake of your weakness, I leave this severity: but I only demand that you not have an addiction to wealth - and just as, for the sake of the weakness of many, I do not demand such high virtue from you, so I urge you, and even more so, to abstain from vices. I do not condemn those who have houses, fields, money, servants; I just want them to handle it all carefully and properly. In what appropriate way? As masters should, not slaves, that is, to own wealth, and not so that it possesses you, using it, and not abusing it. Money exists for this reason, so that we can use it for necessary needs, and not save it: this is characteristic of slaves, and that of the master. To guard is the work of a slave, and to restrain is the work of a master who has full power to do so. You don’t receive money to bury it in the ground, but to give it away. If God wanted them to be saved, he would not give them to people, but would leave them to lie in the ground forever. But since He wants them to be spent, He allowed us to have them - to pass them on to each other. If we keep them to ourselves, then we are no longer their masters. And if you hold them back in order to multiply them, then the best way to do this is to squander them and distribute them everywhere. And there cannot be income without expenses, or wealth without expenses. This can be seen in everyday affairs. This is what a merchant does, this is what a farmer does: one spends seeds, the other spends money. One sails on the sea, wasting his money, the other toils for a whole year, throwing seeds and working. Meanwhile, nothing of the kind is needed here: there is no need to prepare a ship, or to harness oxen and plow the land, or to worry about bad weather in the air, or to be afraid of hail. There are no waves or (underwater) rocks here. This swimming, this sowing requires only one thing - throwing away what you have; and everything else will be done by that Farmer of whom Christ said: “My Father is a vinedresser” (John 15:1). So, isn’t it reckless to indulge in laziness and negligence where you can get everything without labor, and show all your activity where there is a lot of work, worries and sweat, and after all this there is still false hope? Let us not, I beg you, be so unreasonable in the matter of our own salvation, but, leaving behind the most painful things, let us hasten to easier and more useful things, in order to achieve future blessings, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” That is, with those persons who in Holy Scripture are called anointed in the general meaning of the word. You might be interested in: