Беседа 34

John 4:28–29. Then the woman left her waterpot and went into the city, and said to the people, “Come, see a man, who told me all things that I have done: is not this the Christ?” 1. Continuation of the story of the Samaritan woman: the humility of this woman. – 2. Why Jesus Christ, like the prophets, often expressed his thoughts through comparisons, allegories and allegories. – The prophets sowed, the apostles reaped. – 3. Must follow the example of the Samaritan woman in confessing her sins. – People are usually afraid of people, and not afraid of God. – Hiding their sins before people so as not to be disgraced, they are not afraid of shame before God. – To return to sin is to be like a dog returning to its vomit. The best way to correct your vices is to examine each of them separately, without missing a single one. The need to constantly be ready for the coming of the Lord. 1. We need a lot to arouse jealousy and effort in ourselves; without this it is impossible to receive the benefits promised to us. And Christ, showing this, says: “Whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38); or: “I have come to bring down fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled” (Luke 12:49). In both cases, He wants to present us with a burning, fiery disciple, ready for any danger. Such was the Samaritan woman. She was so inflamed by everything that Christ said to her that she left both the waterpot and the work for which she had come, and hastening into the city, she drew all the people to Jesus. “Go,” he says, “see the Man who told me everything that I did.” Look, what zeal and prudence together. She came to draw water; but as soon as she found the true source, she already neglected the sensory, teaching us with this, albeit a small example, that when listening to spiritual things, we must despise everything worldly and not think about it at all. In this case, the wife, according to her own strength, did the same as the apostles, and even more. They left their nets when they were called, but she voluntarily, without any admonition to do so, leaves the waterpot and, inspired with joy, accomplishes the work of the gospel. And he does not call on one or the other, like Andrew and Philip, but he sets the whole city in motion and leads a multitude of people to Jesus. And look how wisely she speaks. He does not say: “come and see Christ,” but attracts people to him, adapting himself to them in the same way as Christ himself attracted her. “Go,” he says, “see the Man who told me everything that I did.” Yes, and he is not ashamed to say: “he told me everything that I did,” although one could say differently, for example: come and see the seer. Thus, when the soul is ignited with divine fire, it no longer pays attention to anything earthly, neither to rumors, nor to shame; She is busy with only one thing - the flame that has engulfed her. “Isn’t this the Christ?” . Look here too, what wisdom is in the wife. She does not speak directly about Him, but she does not remain silent either, because she did not want to captivate them only with her own opinion, but wanted them, having listened to Him, to share her opinion; and this made her words even more acceptable to them. Although Christ did not discover her entire life, from what was said she was convinced that - and everything else. She also didn’t say: come, believe: but – “come and see,” which was much easier and more attractive to them. Do you see the wisdom of the wife? She knew, undoubtedly knew, that as soon as they tasted from this source, they would experience the same thing as she did. If (in her place) there was a more sensual person, he would cover up the reproof made to him, but she opens her life and reveals it to everyone, just to attract them and convert them to Christ. “Meanwhile, the disciples asked Him, saying: Rabbi! eat” (John 4:31). “They asked” - in their native language it means: they convinced. Seeing that He was tired from the journey and the oppressive heat, they convinced Him. But this did not happen because of their haste in eating, but because of their love for the Teacher. What about Christ? “I have,” he says, “food that you do not know. Therefore the disciples said among themselves, “Who brought Him anything to eat?” ( John 4:32–33 ). Is it surprising that the wife, having heard about water, imagined water, when the disciples experience the same thing and, not thinking about anything spiritual, are still perplexed? However, they, maintaining the usual respect and reverence for the Teacher, only talk among themselves, and do not dare to ask Him a question. This is what they do in other cases, they want to ask Christ, but they don’t ask. What about Christ? “My food is,” he says, “to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work” (John 4:34). Here He calls the salvation of people Brashnom, showing those with what love He provides for us. Just as we hunger for food, so He desires our salvation. But listen to how, in any case, He does not suddenly reveal everything, but first leads the listener into bewilderment, so that he, having begun to examine what was said and at the same time perplexed and at a loss, would accept what he was looking for more readily when it became clear to him, and would be all the more excited to listen. Why did He not immediately say: “My food is to do the will” of My Father? Although this was not clear, it is still clearer than what was said before. But what does He say? “I have food that you do not know.” First, as I said, He wants to make them, through bewilderment, more attentive and accustom them to listen to His allegorical words. What is the will of the Father? This He expresses and explains later. “Don’t you say that there are still four months and the harvest will come? But I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, how they are white and ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). 2. Here again, with instructions close to them, He raises them to the contemplation of the highest objects. Speaking about food, He means nothing more than the salvation of people who intended to come to Him. The field and harvest mean the same thing, that is, many souls ready to receive His preaching. Here he means both mental and physical eyes, because the disciples had already seen many Samaritans coming to him; and their readiness and predisposition to listen likens them to white cornfields, because just as ears of corn, when they turn white, are ready for harvest, so now, He says, they are prepared and well disposed for salvation. Why didn’t He say directly that these people were coming to believe in Him and were already ready to accept His teaching, having been announced by the prophets and now bearing fruit, but called them fields and harvests? What do such allegories mean? And not only here, but throughout the Gospel He does this, and the prophets used the same method, speaking allegorically about many things. But what is the reason for this? After all, it was not in vain that the grace of the Spirit established this; why and for what? With a twofold purpose: firstly, to make the word more expressive and more clearly present what is being said. The mind, occupied with images from ordinary objects, is more excited and, seeing images as if in a painting, is more carried away by them. This is the first reason. Secondly, in order to sweeten speech and so that what is said is better established in memory. Simple sayings are not as easily assimilated and do not attract the attention of most listeners as much as their presentation with the help of objects and their objective depiction. This, as can be seen, is done with great wisdom in this parable. “He who reaps receives reward and gathers fruit for eternal life” (John 4:36). The fruit of the earthly harvest serves not for eternal, but for temporary life; spiritual fruit, on the contrary, leads to a life that does not age, immortal. You see, the words are sensual, but the meaning is spiritual, and the very way of expression separates the earthly from the heavenly. Just as, talking about water and depicting its properties, He said that “whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never thirst” (John 4:14), so here he says that this fruit is gathered for eternal life. “So that both he who sows and he who reaps will rejoice together.” Who is the “sower” and who is the “reaper”? The prophets were the sowers, but they themselves did not reap, but the apostles; however, for this they are not deprived of joy and reward for their labors, but they rejoice and have fun with us, although they do not reap with us, since reaping and sowing are not the same thing. Therefore, where there is less labor and more consolation, I have kept you for this, and not for sowing. In sowing there is a lot of hard work and labor: and in the harvest there is a lot of profit, but the work is not the same, it is easier. By this He wants to show that it was the desire of the prophets - for people to turn to Him. The law prepared for this. That's why they sowed, to produce this fruit. He also shows that He sent prophets, and that the New and Old Testaments have great affinity with each other. He makes us see all this together through a real parable. At the same time, he also recalls the proverb used by many: “for in this case,” he says, “the saying is true: one sows, and another reaps” (John 4:37). This is what many say when some are subjected to labor and others are reaping the fruits; He says that this saying is very true in the present case. The prophets labored, and you reap the fruits of their labors. He did not say: you receive their rewards, but: “fruits,” because the great work of the prophets does not remain without reward. So Daniel did: and he remembered the parable that says: “from the wicked comes lawlessness” (1 Sam. 24:14). David also remembered her while weeping. That is why Christ said before: “so that both he who sows and he who reaps will rejoice together.” Since He intended to say that “one sows, and another reaps,” then, so that someone, as I said, would not think that prophets are deprived of reward, He says something strange and unexpected, which does not happen in sensual affairs, but in spiritual ones, which is their peculiarity. In sensual matters, if it happened that one sowed and the other reaped, then both of them would not rejoice together; but the one who sowed would grieve because he worked for others, and only the one who reaped would rejoice. This is not the case here; but even those who do not reap what they sow rejoice with those who reap. From this it is clear that they also participate in the reward. “I have sent you to reap that for which you did not labor: others labored, but you entered into their labor” (John 4:38). This is what He especially encourages the disciples with. It seemed to them a difficult task to go through the world preaching, but He makes it clear that it is very easy. Sowing seeds and leading unsanctified souls to the knowledge of God - that was difficult and required a lot of effort. Why is He talking about this? So that when he sends them to preach, they will not be afraid, as if they were sent to a difficult task. The field of the prophets, He says, was much more difficult, but you, as the case itself shows, are going to easier work. Just as in the harvest the fruit is easily gathered, in a short time the granary is filled with sheaves and there is no longer any fear of changing times, winter, spring and rain, so now the deeds themselves speak for themselves. Meanwhile, as He was saying this, the Samaritans came, and immediately the fruit was gathered: that is why Christ said: “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, how they have turned white.” He said - and this turned out to be true, and His words were confirmed by events, because “many Samaritans from that city believed in Him through the word of the woman, who testified that He told her everything that she had done” (John 4:39). They saw that the wife could not, out of servility, extol with praise the One who exposed her sins, or reveal her life to please someone else. 3. Let us also imitate this woman, and in our own sins we will not be ashamed of people, but we will fear, as we should, God, who even now sees our deeds, and in the next century will punish those who have not repented. But we do the opposite. We are not afraid of the one who will judge us, but before those who cannot do us any harm, we tremble and fear dishonor from them. Therefore, what we fear is what we will be punished for. Whoever now fears shame from people only, and is not ashamed to do something indecent before the all-seeing God, and who does not want to repent and correct himself, will be put to shame in the future, not in front of one or two people, but in the sight of the entire universe. And that both good and bad deeds will then be put on display for a great spectacle, let the parable of the sheep and the goats and blessed Paul teach you, who says: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive according to what he did while living in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10); also: “The Lord... will bring to light the hidden things in darkness” (1 Cor. 4:5). Have you done something bad, or have you just thought about it and are hiding it from people? But you can’t hide it from God. But you don’t care about it at all, and people’s eyes are what scares you. Just think that you won’t be able to hide anything from people that day. Then everything, as in a picture, will be presented to our eyes, so that everyone will become his own judge. This is also clear from the parable of the rich man. The rich man sees before his eyes the beggar he despises - I’m talking about Lazarus - and the one whom he so often abhorred, now asks him to give him his finger as a consolation. So I beg you, even if no one has seen our deeds, let each of us turn to our conscience, make our own mind our own judge and reveal our sins to it. And if we do not want to be put to shame on that terrible day, let us heal our ulcers and apply the medicine of repentance to them. You can, truly, you can come out healthy, even if someone was covered with thousands of wounds: “If you,” it is said, “will forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). Just as in baptism immersed sins disappear, so these too will be destroyed if we want to repent. Repentance consists in not doing the same things in the future, and whoever takes up the same things will be like a dog who returns to his vomit (2 Peter 2:22) and the one who, according to the proverb, beats wool over the fire and draws water with a sieve. So it is necessary, both in deed and in thought, to lag behind sinful tendencies; and, having left behind, apply healing to the wounds that is opposite to sins. I will give some examples. Are you a predator and a covetous person? Stop stealing and apply alms to the wound. Have you committed fornication? Leave behind fornication and apply chastity to this plague. Have you said something bad about your neighbor and harmed him? Leave slander, use friendliness. Let us do this with each of our sins, and let us not leave a single one of them unattended. It is already coming, the time for the report is coming. That is why Paul says: “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything” (Phil.4:5-6). But perhaps we should say the opposite: “The Lord is near”; take care. By the way, it was convenient for the Philippians to hear: “Do not be anxious about anything,” because they were in sorrow, labor and exploits. And for those who live in theft and lust, who must give a heavy account for this, it is all the more fair to hear this: “The Lord is near”; take care. There is already little time left until the end; the world is already heading towards the end. This is shown by wars, sorrows, earthquakes, cooling of love. Just as a body, at its last breath, near death, is subject to countless ailments; just as in a house, when it is close to destruction, a lot usually falls from the roof and from the walls, the end of the universe is so close, at the door, and that is why countless misfortunes are spreading everywhere. And if the Lord was already “close” then, then much more now. If during the four hundred years when this was said, Paul called that time “the fulness of the times” (Eph. 1:10), then even more so should the present time be called that. Although this may be why some people themselves do not believe, but, on the contrary, this is why it is most necessary to believe. How do you really know, man, that the end of the world is not yet near and that what has been said will not soon come true? We call the end of the year not only its last day, but also its last month, although it has thirty days; So I will not be wrong if I call the four hundredth year the end of this number of years. Thus, the apostle already in his time foreshadowed the death. Let us humble ourselves and live in the fear of God. But if we live in carelessness, in negligence, and do not expect anything, then the coming will come suddenly. Explaining this, Christ said: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37). Paul notices this, saying: “When they say, ‘Peace and safety,’ then destruction will suddenly come upon them, just as labor pain befalls one who is pregnant” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). What does this mean: “as labor pain befalls one who is in the womb”? Often pregnant women, during fun, or dinner, or in the bathhouse, or in the square, not expecting anything ahead, are suddenly caught by birth illnesses. And just as our condition is such, we will always be ready. We will not always hear about this, we will not always have the opportunity: “in the grave,” says Scripture, “who will glorify You?” (Ps.6:6). Let us repent here, so that in this way we may appease God in the coming day and receive from Him forgiveness, which we all may be worthy of, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: