Беседа 76

John 14:31, 15:1. Get up, let's get out of here. I am the true vine, and you are the branches, and My Father is the vinedresser. 1. The fear of the disciples before the death of Jesus Christ. – The parable of the vine and its meaning. – 2. The Savior spoke a lot in relation to his listeners. – 3. The greatness of love, its invincibility and benefits. – Excellent testimonies of His love. – Against predation and greed. - Evil caused by wealth and greed. – Jesus Christ redeemed us, and we serve mammon. – How to achieve the perfection of virtue. - Praise of poverty. 1. From ignorance the soul becomes timid and fearful, just as from the knowledge of heavenly dogmas it becomes great and sublime. Deprived of all care, she is somehow timid - not by nature, but by free will. When I see that a courageous person, who was once brave, becomes timid, I no longer consider this state to be natural, because everything natural is unchangeable. Likewise, when I see that timid people suddenly become bold, I again think the same thing - I attribute everything to free will. So the disciples were very timid until they learned what they should have and were not granted the gift of the Holy Spirit; and later they became more fearless than lions. For example, Peter, who could not bear the threats of a servant, was hanged upside down, was scourged, was in a thousand dangers, and yet did not remain silent, but spoke as boldly as if he had endured it in a dream. But all this is not before the cross. That is why Christ said: “Get up, let’s get out of here.” Why, tell me? Did He really not know the time when Judas was supposed to come? Or was He afraid that Judas would come there and detain them, and that the attackers would attack before He finished His excellent conversation? Not at all; this is inconsistent with His dignity. If He was not afraid, then why does He force the disciples to go from there and then, when he finished the conversation, leads them to the garden familiar to Judas? Yes, even if Judas had come, couldn’t He have blinded their eyes, which He did, just not now? Why is He leaving? To give the students some peace of mind. Being in an unknown place, they were naturally in fear and trembling of both time and place. In fact, the night was already very deep, and it could have turned out that they did not even listen to the words, but were constantly preoccupied with the thought that they would be attacked, especially since the Teacher’s words made them expect disasters. “It will not be long yet,” He said, “I will be with you,” and: “the prince of this world is coming.” Because they were embarrassed, hearing these and similar words, believing that they would be immediately captured, He leads them to another place, so that they, considering themselves safe, could listen freely, and they could hear the great dogmas. That is why He says: “Get up, let’s get out of here.” Then, continuing his speech, he says: “I am the vine, and you are the branches.” What does He want to say with this parable? The fact that it is impossible for one who does not heed His words to live and that future signs are accomplished by the power of Christ. “My Father is a vinedresser.” So what? So the Son needs help? No; pointing to the Father does not mean this. In fact, look with what precision He sets out the parable. It only says about the branches that they enjoy the care of the worker, and not about the root. The root is mentioned here only to show the disciples that without His power they can do nothing and that they should be united to Him by faith, as branches are to the vine. “Every branch of Me that does not bear fruit the Father cuts off” (John 15:2). Here He hints at life, showing that without works it is impossible to be in Him. “And he cleanses every one that bears fruit,” that is, he makes it the subject of great care. Although the root needs to be taken care of more than the branches - it needs to be dug up, cleaned, yet He says nothing here about the root, but everything about the branches, showing that He is self-sufficient, and the disciples, even if they were very virtuous, need great help from the worker. That is why He says: “He who bears fruit he cleanses.” When a branch is barren and may be on the vine, (the worker) cuts it off, and when it bears fruit, he cleanses it and thereby makes it even more fruitful. This, however, can also be understood about the disasters that threatened the students at that time. The expression “cleanses” means pruning, which makes the branch more fruitful. This shows that temptations will make the disciples especially strong. And so that they do not begin to ask about whom this is said, and so as not to again lead them to worry, He says: “You have already been cleansed through the word that I preached to you” (John 15:3). Do you see how He represents Himself as taking care of the branches? I, he says, have cleansed you. Although the above shows that the Father does this, there is no difference between the Father and the Son. Now you, for your part, need to do what you should. Then, to show that He did this not because He had a need for their ministry, but for their prosperity, He adds: “Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself” (John 15:4), so neither will he who abide in Me. And so that they do not separate from Him out of fear, He strengthens their soul, weakened from fear, closely unites them with Himself and already gives good hopes, since the root always remains, but it is common for branches to separate and fall away. Then, having prompted them on both sides - both from the side of benefit and from the side of harm, He demands that which constitutes our first duty. “He who abides in Me, and I in him” (John 15:5). Do you see that the Son also participates in caring for the disciples no less than the Father? If the Father cleanses, then the Son contains in Himself; and the fruiting of the branches depends on being on the root. Even if the branch is not cleansed, but still, remaining on the root, it bears fruit, although not in such quantity as it should; if it does not remain, it bears no fruit at all. However, it has already been shown that it is also characteristic of the Son to purify, as well as to be the root of the Father, who also gave birth to the root. 2. Do you see how they have everything in common - both purifying and having the power of the root? Of course, there is great harm (for a branch) when it cannot produce anything; but (Christ) does not only deliver punishment here, but goes further. “He will be thrown out,” he says, “out,” and will no longer enjoy the care of the worker; “and it will dry up,” that is, it will lose everything it had from the root; if she had any grace, she will lose it and will be left without help and life imparted from the root. And what finally? “They are thrown into the fire” (John 15:6). But this is not the lot of a person who abides in Christ. Next he shows what it means to abide and says: “If... My words abide in you” (John 15:7). Do you see that I rightly said before that He requires proof from us by works? Indeed, having said: “And if you ask anything, I will do it” (John 14:13), He added: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). So it is here: “If you abide in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). Yet He said this in order to show that those who plot against Him will be burned, and they will bear fruit. Having thus transferred the fear from them to the attackers and showing that they will be invincible, Christ says: “By this will My Father be glorified, if you bear much fruit and become My disciples” (John 15:8). Through this He gives credibility to His word. Indeed, if bearing fruit has to do with the glory of the Father, then He will not leave His glory neglected. "And you will be my disciples." Do you see that he is His disciple who bears fruit? What does it mean: “By this the Father will be glorified”? This means: He rejoices when you abide in Me, when you bear fruit. “As the Father has loved Me, I have loved you” (John 15:9). Here he speaks more humanely, because speech adapted to the concepts of people has special power. Truly, what a great measure of love was shown by the One who deigned to die, who, having bestowed such honor on slaves, enemies and adversaries, raised him to heaven! And if I love you, then do not be afraid. If it is the glory of the Father that you should bear fruit, fear no evil. Then, so as not to make them careless, see how He encourages them. “Abide in My love”; it's up to you. How to do this? “If you keep My commandments,” he says, “just as I have kept My Father’s commandments” (John 15:10). Again the speech is humanoid, because the legislator, obviously, could not be subject to the commandments. Do you see that this is also said here, as I always repeat, because of the weakness of those listening? Indeed: He says a lot in accordance with their concepts and shows in every possible way that they are safe and that their enemies will perish, and that everything they have, they have from the Son, and that if they lead an impeccable life, no one will ever overcome them. Notice also the power with which He speaks with them. He did not say: “you will abide in the Father’s love,” but: “Mine.” In this way, so that they do not say: You made us hated by everyone, and now you leave us and go away, shows that He does not leave them, but on the contrary, if only they wish, He will unite with them as closely as a vine with its branches. And so that they, on the other hand, having given themselves up to hope, do not become careless, He says that their well-being will not remain unchanged if they are careless. Then, so as not to attribute the whole matter to Himself and not give them a reason for a greater fall, he says: “by this the Father will be glorified.” Thus everywhere He shows His love for them along with the love of the Father. This means that the glory does not lie in what the Jews had, but in what they had to receive. And so that they do not say: we have been deprived of our father’s inheritance, we have been abandoned by everyone and have become naked and having nothing, Christ says: look at Me, the Father loves Me, and yet I am subject to impending disasters. So I am leaving you now, not because I do not love you. If I am subjected to death and yet do not consider this a sign of the Father’s dislike for Me, then you should not be embarrassed. If you remain in My love, then all these disasters will not harm your love at all. 3. So, if love is strong and irresistible, and does not consist of words alone, then let us show it in action. Christ reconciled us to Himself when we were enemies; we, having become friends, will try to remain so. He started, but we will at least continue. He loves not for His own benefit, because He needs nothing; and we will love at least because of our own benefit. He loved his enemies, but we will at least love a friend. But we do the opposite. We blaspheme God daily with theft and covetousness. Perhaps one of you will say: you talk about covetousness every day. Oh, if only we could talk about this every night! Oh, if only the one who accompanies you in the square and sits with you at meals, if only wives, and friends, and children, and slaves, and farmers, and neighbors, and even the floor and walls could pour out this speech, so that through this, at least a little, we could restrain ourselves! This illness has embraced the entire universe, possesses the souls of everyone - and, truly, great is the power of mammon! We are redeemed by Christ, and we serve gold; we preach the dominion of one, and submit to the other, and whatever he orders, we carry out with zeal, and for him we forget kinship, and friendship, and nature, and laws, and everything. No one looks to the sky, no one thinks about the future. But the time will come when these speeches will be of no use. “In the grave,” it is said, “who will praise You?” (Ps.6:6). Gold is coveted - it gives us a lot of pleasure and gives us honor; but not as much as the sky. Many people disgust and hate a rich man, but a virtuous man is respected and revered. But, you say, they laugh at the poor, even if he is virtuous? They laugh, but not people, but dumb people, which is why you don’t need to pay attention to it. After all, if donkeys mooed and ravens croaked, and all wise people praised, we, of course, would not neglect the opinion of the latter and would not pay attention to the cries of the dumb. And those who highly value real things are like ravens and worse than donkeys. If the king of the earth praised you, you would probably not care at all about the opinion of the crowd, even if everyone laughed at you. Will you really, when the Lord of all praises you, seek more praise from beetles and mosquitoes? And this is, indeed, what these people are like in comparison with God, and they are not even like this, but even worse. How long will we grovel in the mud? How long will we appoint careless sloths and gluttons as our judges? They can well evaluate dice players, drunkards and those who live for the belly, but they cannot even imagine virtues and vices in their dreams. If someone began to laugh at you because you do not know how to install channels for drainage of water, you, without a doubt, would not be offended, but on the contrary, you would even laugh at the one who reproaches him for such ignorance. Why, wanting to strive for virtue, do you appoint people who do not know it at all as judges? That is why we never succeed in this art. We entrust our work not to experienced people, but to ignorant people; and they judge not as art requires, but according to their own ignorance. Therefore, I beg you, let us despise the opinion of the crowd; Let us especially not desire praise, nor possessions, nor wealth, and let us not consider poverty to be any evil. Poverty teaches us wisdom, patience, and all kinds of wisdom. After all, Lazarus lived in poverty and, nevertheless, was crowned; and Jacob desired to have only bread; and Joseph was in extreme poverty and was not only a slave, but also a prisoner, and yet, therefore, we are even more surprised at him. We praise him not so much when he distributed wheat, but when he was in prison - not so much when he was in chains - not when he sat on the throne, but when he was subjected to intrigues and was sold. So, imagining all this and thinking about the crowns woven by these exploits, let us be amazed not at wealth and honors, not at pleasures and dominion, but at poverty, fetters, fetters and patience for the sake of virtue. The end of the first is filled with confusion and anxiety, and their possession is connected with present life only; and the fruit of the latter is heaven and heavenly blessings, (which) “no eye has seen, no ear has heard” (1 Cor. 2:9), which may we all be worthy of, according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: