Беседа 25

John 3:5. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” 1. Nicodemus did not understand the Savior’s words because he wanted to talk about spiritual matters in a human way. – If a person is not born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. – 2 and 3. Faith in the invisible. – The difference between the first and second creation. – In the first creation, the Creator used the earth to create man; in the second, the Holy Spirit uses water. – The first man was created with a living soul, the second was filled with the life-giving Spirit. – The first person needed help, the second, receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit, does not need any other help. – Why is water needed for baptism? - Rite of baptism. – Great mysteries performed for us by Jesus Christ as incentives for us to lead a good life. The catechumens and their position in relation to the faithful. – The benefits of alms and gifts brought to Jesus Christ and these little ones. 1. Small children go to their teachers every day, take lessons and report on them, and do not interrupt this lesson; It also happens that they add nights to days; and you force them to do this because of perishable and temporary things. But from you, older people, we do not demand the same kind of work that you do from your children. Not every day, but only two days a week, we invite you to listen to teachings and, moreover, only for a small part of the day, in order to make this work easier for you. For this reason, we divide the contents of Scripture into small parts, so that you can more easily assimilate them, put them into the treasury of your mind and so imprint them in your memory, so that you yourself can convey everything (to others) exactly, unless someone is too sleepy and careless or lazier than a small youth. So, let us begin again to continue what was said before and see how to Nicodemus, the fallen valley, applying the words of Christ to earthly birth and saying that it is impossible for an obsolete person to be born again, Christ reveals more clearly the image of this birth. Although this explanation still presents some difficulties for someone reasoning humanly, at the same time it is already enough to lift the listener out of a degraded way of thinking. What does Christ say? “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” This is what He means by this: you consider it impossible; but I say that this is very possible, even necessary, and it is impossible to be saved otherwise. And God has made what is necessary for us convenient. Earthly birth is birth according to the flesh, from dust, and therefore everything heavenly is blocked for it, because what is common between earth and heaven? But another birth, like the birth of the Spirit, conveniently opens the heavenly gates for us. Hear, all of you, strangers to enlightenment 21: be horrified, weep! This threat is terrible, this definition is terrible! It is impossible, says Christ, for one who is not born of water and the spirit to enter the kingdom of heaven, because he still wears the garment of death, the garment of curse, the garment of corruption - he has not yet received the sign of the Lord, he is not yet his own, but a stranger; does not have a sign agreed upon in the kingdom. “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” But Nicodemus did not understand this either. There is nothing worse than subjecting spiritual things to speculation. This did not allow Nicodemus to imagine anything great and sublime. But for this reason we are called faithful, so that, leaving the weakness of earthly thoughts, we ascend to the heights of faith, and in its teaching we place our highest good. If Nicodemus had done this, the matter would not have seemed impossible to him. So, what is Christ? Rejecting him from such a reptile way of thinking, showing that He is not talking about carnal birth, Christ says: “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” He said this, wanting to draw Nicodemus to faith by threat, to convince him not to recognize this matter as impossible, and trying to distract him from the assumption of carnal birth in this matter. Nicodemus, He says, I am talking about another birth. Why do you bend your speech to the ground? Why are you subordinating this matter to natural laws? Birth is higher than natural birth, and has nothing to do with yours. Although both are called birth, however, despite the common name, they differ in reality. Leave the conventional wisdom behind; I bring another birth into the world; I want people to be born differently; I came with an extraordinary way of creating. At first I created man from earth and water, but this creation turned out to be unsuitable, this vessel broke; then I no longer want to create from earth and water, but from water and spirit. And if someone asks: what about water? – I will also ask: how from the earth? How did clay evolve into different types? How did different and diverse creations arise from homogeneous matter (the earth is one)? Where do the bones, nerves, blood and dry veins come from? Where do the membranes, blood vessels, cartilage, membranes, liver, spleen, heart come from? Where does skin, blood, mucus, bile come from? Where are so many shipments coming from? Where does the variety of colors come from? This is not from the earth and not from clay. How does the earth, when it receives seeds, grow them? and the flesh, the same earth, receiving seeds, exposes them to rot? Just as the earth nourishes the seeds thrown into it; and the flesh feeds on them, but does not nourish them? For example: the earth, receiving water, produces wine, and the flesh, often receiving wine, turns it into water. So, how can it be seen that the body comes from the earth, while the earth, as I said, has properties opposite to the body? I cannot comprehend this with my mind, I accept it only by faith. If daily and tangible deeds require faith, much more so do ineffable and spiritual deeds. Just as the soulless, motionless earth, by the will of God, received such power, and such wondrous things happen in it, in the same way, with the action of the Spirit on the water, those amazing and beyond reason deeds are easily accomplished. 2. So, do not remain in unbelief just because you do not see it. You don’t even see a soul, but you believe that you have a soul and that it is something other than a body. But Christ admonishes Nicodemus not with this example, but with another example. Although the soul is incorporeal, He did not point out it because Nicodemus still had too crude ideas about it. But Christ gives as an example something else that has nothing to do with the coarseness of bodies, but does not rise to the nature of incorporeal beings. This is the movement of the wind. First of all, He begins with water, which is thinner than earth, but rougher than wind. Just as in the beginning the earth was laid as the foundation (of creation), all the work belonged to the Creator, so now water is laid as the foundation, and the whole work (of rebirth) belongs to the grace of the Spirit. And then - “man... became a living soul,” but now “he is a life-giving spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). But the difference between the one and the other is great. The soul does not communicate life to another being; and the Spirit not only lives on its own, but imparts life to other beings. This is how the apostles raised the dead. Then, after creation was completed, man was finally created; but now, on the contrary, a new man is created before a new creature: first he is born, and then the world is transformed. And just as in the beginning (God) created man completely, so now he forms him completely. But then he said: “Let us make him a helper” (Gen. 2:18), but here there is nothing like that. Can he who has accepted the grace of the Spirit need any other helper? What need does someone who belongs to the body of Christ have of anyone’s assistance? Then man was created in the image of God; and now united with God himself. Then God commanded him to possess fish and beasts; and now we have exalted our firstfruits above the heavens. Then he gave me paradise to live in; and now he has opened heaven for us. Then man was created on the sixth day, since creation was supposed to end at this time; and now - on the first day, and in the very beginning, like the light. From all this it is clear that what is happening now belongs to another, better life and state that has no end. The first creation of Adam was the creation from the earth, and after him the creation of a woman from a rib, then the origin of Abel from a seed. But we can neither comprehend nor depict these creations in words, although they are all the most material. How can we give an account of the spiritual birth through baptism, a birth that is much higher than those? And what considerations can be demanded from us about this birth - wonderful and extraordinary? When it is performed, angels will also be present; but not one of them can explain the method of this wondrous birth through baptism. But they stand there, not doing anything themselves, but only looking at what is happening. Yet the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit do everything. Let us believe the word of God: it is truer than our sight; sight is often deceived, but this word cannot sin. Let us believe Him. Having produced the existing from the non-being, it is, of course, undoubted even when it speaks about its nature. What does it say? That birth takes place in baptism. But if someone said to you: how is this, stop his mouth with the word of Christ, which is the greatest and clearest proof. If someone asks: what is water used for, then we will ask in return: why was earth included in the creation of man in the beginning? That it was possible for God to create man even without earth is obvious to everyone. So don't ask. And that water is necessary and necessary, you can learn this from this: once, when the Spirit descended, before drinking water (Acts 10:44), the apostle did not stop there; but look what he said about water, as a necessary and not superfluous substance: “Who can forbid those who, like us, have received the Holy Spirit, to be baptized with water” (Acts 10:47). Why is water needed? Finally, I will tell you about this and reveal to you the secret mystery. There are several hidden reasons for this, but out of many, I will tell you one for now. What is this reason? The one in the water symbolically depicts the coffin and death, resurrection and life, and all this happens together. When we immerse our heads in water, as if in a coffin, the old man is buried at the same time and, plunging down, is completely hidden. Then, when we rise up, a new man comes out. Just as it is easy for us to dive in and rise up, so it is easy for God to bury the old man and reveal the new. But this is done three times, so that you know that all this is done by the power of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And that what I said is not fortune-telling, just listen to what Paul says: “we were buried with Him through baptism into death” (Rom. 6:4); also: “our old man is crucified with Him” (Rom. 6:6); or: “we are united to Him in the likeness of His death” (Rom. 6:5). But not only baptism is called a cross, but also the cross is baptism. “By the baptism,” says Christ, “with which I am baptized, you will be baptized” (Mark 10:39). And in another place: “I must be baptized with baptism” (Luke 12:50). Just as easily we sink and rise, so easily He too, after death, when He wanted, He rose again, or better said: much easier, although for the sake of a certain sacrament He stayed (in the tomb) for three days. 3. So we, who have been granted such great sacraments, will show a life worthy of this gift, the best behavior. And you, who have not yet been worthy of them, act in everything so that you will be worthy, so that we may all be one body, may we all be brothers. As long as this divides us, so long will father, and son, and brother, and whoever it may be, not yet our true kinsman, since he is distant from the heavenly kinship. And what is the use of being united by mortal kinship when we are not united by spiritual kinship? What is the profit from intimacy on earth when we are strangers to each other in heaven? The catechumen is alien to the faithful. He does not have the same head, nor the same father, nor the same city, nor food, nor clothing, nor home; but everything is divided between them. One has everything on earth; for another - in heaven. This one has Christ as its king; he has sin and the devil. This one's food is Christ; that one has rot and decay. And this one’s clothes are the Lord of Angels; that one is a matter of worms. This city is the sky; he has land. And if we have nothing in common with the infidels, then tell me, in what way can we have fellowship (with them)? Have we also gone through the same pains of birth and come from the same womb? But this is not enough for close kinship. So, let us try to become citizens of the mountain city. How long should we remain in a foreign land, then how should we receive our ancient fatherland again? Here the danger concerns not unimportant matters. If it happens, which God forbid, that an unexpected death befalls us, and we leave here without enlightenment, 22 then, even if we had thousands of blessings here, nothing more awaits us than Gehenna, a poisonous worm, unquenchable fire and insoluble bonds. But God forbid anyone listening to experience this punishment! But it will not befall us if we, having been granted the holy mysteries, put gold, silver and precious stones into the foundation of our building (1 Cor. 3:12). In this way, we will have the opportunity, having gone there, to appear rich, when, that is, we do not leave money here, but transfer it to safe treasuries with the hands of the poor, when we lend to Christ. There we have a lot of debts - not in money, but in sins. Let us give Him money to receive remission of sins. He is our Judge. Let us not despise Him who is hungry here, so that He too may feed us there. Let us clothe Him here, so that He does not leave us naked without His covering. If we give Him something to drink here, we will not say like the rich: “Send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool our tongue” (Luke 16:24). If we accept Him into our homes here, He will prepare many abodes for us there. If we come to Him in prison, then He will free us from our bonds. If we bring Him to us as a stranger, He will not leave us wandering outside the kingdom of heaven, but will reward the city on high for it. If we visit Him in illness, He will soon free us from our infirmities. So, when we receive a lot, even when we give a little, let us give at least a little in order to gain a lot. While there is still time, we will sow in order to reap. When winter comes, when it is no longer possible to sail on the sea, then this purchase will no longer be in our power. When will winter come? Then when that great and glorious day comes. Then we will no longer sail on this great and vast sea, to which real life is like. Now is the time of sowing; and then it is time for harvest and gathering. If someone did not throw seeds during sowing, but began to sow during the harvest, he, in addition to not receiving anything, would also be ridiculous. If the present time is the time of sowing, then now we should not gather, but scatter. Let us scatter in order to gather; Let us not gather now, so as not to lose the harvest. This time, as I said, calls for sowing, for dependence and waste, and not for gathering and saving. So, let us not miss the opportune time, but let us sow abundantly and spare nothing of ours, in order to receive it back with great reward, according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” That is sacraments of holy baptism You might be interested in: