Беседа 79

John 16:16–18. Soon you will not see Me, and again soon you will see Me, for I am going to the Father. Then some of His disciples said to one another: “What is He telling us: soon... and so on.” 1. Comfort to the disciples. – 2. They receive from the Father everything that they ask in the name of the Son. – 3–5. How can you conquer the world? – Death does not make a person mortal, but victory makes him immortal. – Comparison of resurrection with birth. – The decay of the body does not prevent the resurrection. - Against vindictiveness. - An exhortation to almsgiving. 1. A soul suffering and overwhelmed by great sorrow is usually struck more by nothing than the frequent repetition of words that irritate sadness. Why does Christ, having said: “I am coming,” and: “I have a little time now to speak with you” (John 14:28, 30), often repeats the same thing, saying: “soon you will not see Me,” and: “I am going to Him who sent Me” (John 16:5)? As soon as he encouraged the disciples with words about the Spirit, he again cast down their thoughts. Why does He do this? He tests their soul, makes it more perfect and, forcing them to listen to sad things, thereby best accustoms them to courageously enduring separation from Him. In fact, having gotten used to this in words, they could easily then endure it in practice. And if anyone carefully examines, he will find that this very thing serves as a consolation, that He said: “I am going to the Father”; by this He showed that He would not perish, but that His death was a kind of repose. At the same time, Christ offered them another consolation. He did not only say: “soon you will not see Me,” but also added: “soon you will see Me again,” showing to those who would return that the separation from them would be short-lived, but the stay would be permanent. But they didn't understand this. Therefore, someone might rightly wonder why they, having heard about this many times, are perplexed, as if they had never heard anything about it. Why, in fact, did they not understand? Either from sadness, as I at least think - since it erased from their memory what was said - or from the obscurity of the words themselves. It seemed to them that He was asserting two contradictions, although there was no contradiction. If we see You, they said, where do You go? If You leave, then how will we see You? That’s why they say: “We don’t know what he’s saying.” That He had to depart, they knew; but that after a little time He would come to them again, they did not know. That is why Christ reproaches them for not understanding what was said. And in order to better impress upon them the doctrine of death, what does He say? “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will mourn and lament,” just as it happened at the time of death and the cross, “but the world will rejoice” (John 16:20). Since they, not wanting (to see His death), were easily inclined to believe that He would not die, and when they heard that He would die, they were at a loss, not knowing what it meant: “soon,” then He says: “You will weep and wail. But your sorrow will turn into joy." Then, to show that after sorrow there is joy, and that sorrow gives birth to joy, and that sorrow is short-lived, but joy is endless, he turns to an example from ordinary life and says: “When a woman gives birth, she suffers sorrow” (John 16:21). At the same time, He uses a parable, which the prophets often used, comparing grief with serious illnesses of birth. His words mean this: the pain of birth will befall you, as it were, but the pain of birth can be a cause of joy. At the same time, He assures us of the truth of the resurrection and shows that the departure from here is similar to the coming into the world from the womb. As if he were saying this: do not be surprised that through such sadness I lead you to something useful; and the mother also through sadness achieves that she becomes a mother. Here He also hints at something mysterious, namely, that He destroyed the diseases of death and caused a new man to be born. And he didn’t just say that the grief would pass; but that there is no memory of her: so great is the joy that follows her. So it will be with the saints. But the wife rejoices not because a man has come into the world, but because a child has been born to her; if she rejoiced for that reason, then nothing would prevent women who are not giving birth from rejoicing for others who are giving birth. Why did He say this? He gave this example only to show that sadness is temporary, but joy is permanent, that (death) is a transition to life, and that there is great benefit from sorrow. And he did not say: a child is born; but "man". By this, it seems to me, He hints at His resurrection and the fact that He was born not for this painful death, but for the kingdom. Therefore he did not say: a child was born to her; but: “man was born into the world. So now you also have sorrow; but I will see you again” and “your sorrow will be turned into joy” (John 16:20–22). Then, showing that He will no longer die, He says: “And no one will take away your joy from you; and in that day you will not ask Me anything” (John 16:22–23). This again shows nothing other than that He is from God. Then you will already know everything. What does it mean – “don’t ask Me”? You will not need an intermediary, but it will be enough to say only the name to receive everything. “Truly, truly, I say to you, ask the Father anything in My name” (John 16:23). Shows the power of His name, since (the apostles), without seeing or asking Him, but only calling His name, will have great value with the Father. When did this happen? Then, when they said: “Look at their threats, and grant to Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness” and to perform miracles in Your name. “And the place where they were gathered was shaken” (Acts 4:29, 31). “Until now you have asked for nothing” (John 16:24). This again shows that it is better for Him to leave, since until that time they had not asked for anything, and then they will receive everything they ask for. Although I will no longer be with you, do not think that you are abandoned: My name will give you greater boldness. 2. Since these words were hidden, He says: “Hitherto I have spoken to you in parables; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in parables” (John 16:25). There will be a time when you will understand everything clearly. It is He who speaks about the time of resurrection. Then “I will tell you directly about the Father.” And indeed, for forty days He was and talked with them, eating food together and “talking about the Kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Now, being in fear, you do not listen to My words; then, having seen Me risen and staying with Me, you will fearlessly know everything, because the Father Himself will love you when your faith in Me becomes firm. “And I will not... ask the Father for you” (John 16:26). Your love for Me intercedes sufficiently for you. “Because you loved Me and believed that I came from God... and came into the world, and again I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:27-28). Since the word about the resurrection consoled them no little, as well as the fact that He said: I came from God and am going to Him, He often repeats these words. One thing confirmed that they believed in Him correctly; and the other is that they will be safe. So, when He said: “soon you will not see Me, and again soon you will see Me,” the disciples, naturally, did not understand this; now it’s not like that. But what does it mean: “don’t ask Me”? Will you not say: “Show us Your Father”, and: “Where are you going”? - because you will know everything, and the Father will be just as disposed towards you as I am. Now they knew that they would be friends with the Father, and this especially encouraged them. That is why they say: “Now we see that You know everything” (John 16:30). Do you see how His answer was consistent with their thoughts? “And you do not need anyone to question you” (John 16:30), that is, before you heard, you knew that you were tempting us, and you reassured us, saying: “The Father loves you because you loved me” (John 16:27). Now only, after so many and great (words), do the disciples say: “now we see.” You see how imperfect they were still. And now you will betray Me to the enemies, and such fear will take possession of you that you will not even be able to leave all together. But I will not tolerate any harm from that. Do you see how His word is again adapted to their concepts? This is what He accuses them of, that they constantly need such indulgence. Since they said: “Behold, now You speak plainly, and speak no parables” (John 16:29), and therefore we believe You (John 16:30), He shows that even now, when they believe, they still do not believe, and does not allow their words. He says this with further time in mind. He again used the expression: “The Father is with Me” (John 16:32) for them, because he always and everywhere wanted to teach them this. Then, to show that, speaking in this way, He had not yet taught them perfect knowledge, but said so so that they would not be confused by their thoughts - and it was natural for them to think something human and that they would not receive any help from Him - He says: “I have spoken these things to you, so that in Me you may have peace” (John 16:33), that is, so that you would not remove Me from your thoughts, but would always have Me in your heart. So, let no one elevate these words to dogma: they were spoken for our consolation and out of love. Not only now, he says, are you subjected to such suffering, and your misfortunes will not end with this; but as long as you are in the world, you will have sorrow - not only now, when they betray Me, but also after. But be of good spirit: you will not tolerate any evil. When the Teacher defeated the enemies, the disciples should no longer grieve. But how, tell me, did You conquer the world? I said that I had deposed his prince; but you will recognize this later, when everything will yield and obey you. 3. And we, if we want, can win by looking to the Author of our faith and following the path that He has laid out for us. In this case, death will not overcome us. What do you say, are we really not going to die? After all, from this it would be clear that she will not overcome us. But a warrior is not famous when he does not fight the enemy, but when, having fought him, he remains undefeated. Likewise, we are not yet mortal because we enter into the struggle, but we are immortal because we overcome it. Then we would be mortal if we remained forever in her power. Therefore, just as I cannot call the most durable animals immortal, although they do not die for a long time, the same is true for a mortal - one who, having been struck by death, will be resurrected after death. Tell me, in fact, if someone blushed for a short time, would we therefore always begin to call him red? No, because this is not his usual state. And if someone turned pale, would we really say that he was suffering from jaundice? No, because this state is momentary. So do not call someone mortal who has suffered death for a short time. Otherwise, we will have to say the same about those who sleep, because they too, so to speak, die and become inactive. But (death) destroys bodies? What of this? Destroys, but not so that they remain in decay, but so that they become better. Let us conquer the world, let us strive for immortality! Let's follow the King, put up a sign of victory, let's despise worldly pleasures! And there is no need for work. Let us transfer the soul to heaven, and the whole world will be conquered. If you are not partial to him, he is defeated. If you laugh at him, he will be put to shame. We are wanderers and strangers: let us not be upset by anything sad. After all, if you, coming from a glorious fatherland and from famous ancestors, went to some distant land, not being known to anyone there, having neither servants nor wealth, and if someone there offended you, you, of course, would not be as upset as if you had suffered it at home. A clear consciousness that you are not in your own country, but in a foreign country, would help you easily endure everything - contempt, hunger, thirst, and whatever happens. So think now that you are a wanderer and an alien, and let nothing bother you in this foreign country. You have a city, the artist and builder of which is God, and your stay here is short-lived and short-lived. Let whoever wants to beat, offend, revile: we are in a foreign country and live in poverty. It is difficult to endure this in the fatherland, among fellow citizens: then it is the greatest dishonor and misfortune. But if someone is in a place where he does not have a single acquaintance, then everything will be easy for him to endure. Offense is especially severe when the offense is done with intent. For example, if someone insults a boss, knowing that he is the boss, then the insult is bitter; if he insults him, mistaking him for a simple person, then the insult cannot even touch the one who was subjected to it. This is exactly how we will reason too. Those who insult us do not know at all who we are, that is, that we are citizens of heaven, registered in the mountainous fatherland and belong to the choir of the cherubim. Let us not be upset and let us not consider an insult an insult. If they knew us, they would not insult us. But we are considered poor and insignificant? Let's not consider this an insult either. Tell me: if some traveler, having warned his servants at a short distance, stopped, waiting for them, at an inn, and if the innkeeper or one of the travelers, not knowing who he was, began to be annoyed with him and revile him, would he not laugh at such ignorance? Wouldn't this delusion give him more pleasure? Will he not amuse himself with them, as if he were insulting someone else? We will do the same; and we are sitting in the hotel, waiting for our companions, going the same way. When we are all together, then they will know who was insulted. Then they will bow their heads and say: “This is the same one who was once mocked by us fools” (Wis. 5:3). 4. Let us console ourselves with two thoughts: firstly, that we are not insulted, because those who insult us do not know who we are; secondly, because if we want to demand satisfaction, they will be subjected to the most severe punishment. But God forbid that anyone should have such a cruel and inhuman soul. What if we are insulted by our fellow tribesmen? Isn't this already hard? On the contrary, this is what is easy. Why is this so? Because we do not endure insults equally from those we love and from those we do not know. Therefore, when comforting the offended, we often say the following words: your brother has offended you, bear it generously; father offended, uncle offended. If the name of my brother and father has such power, what if I name an even more dear name? We are not only brothers to each other, but also members and one body. If we value the name of a brother, even more so the name of a member. Have you not heard the worldly proverb that says that one must tolerate shortcomings in friends? Have you not heard that Paul also says: “Bear one another’s burdens” (Gal.6:2)? Can't you see the lovers? I cannot find another example among you, and therefore I am forced to turn my speech to this subject. However, Paul does the same thing, saying this: “Moreover, if we were punished by our carnal parents, we feared them” (Heb. 12:9); It is especially fitting to say here what he writes to the Romans: “just as,” he says, “you gave your members over as slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness for wicked deeds, so... present your members as slaves to righteousness” (Rom. 6:19). Therefore, we will boldly follow this example. So, don't you see the lovers? How many disasters they endure, burning with passion for prodigal women! They are slapped on the cheeks, beaten, laughed at; they tolerate a depraved harlot, who turns away from them and inflicts a thousand insults on them. And with all this, if one day they see something pleasant and affectionate, everything seems prosperous to them, everything that was before disappears and everything is easily tolerated, whether it be poverty, or illness, or something else like that. They consider their life miserable or blissful, depending on how their mistress is disposed towards them. They know neither human glory nor dishonor; but, even if someone insulted them, out of great pleasure and for her favor they endure everything easily. And she herself at least scolded them, at least spat in their faces - they tolerate it and think that they are throwing roses at them. And what is surprising if they are so disposed towards her! They consider her house more magnificent than all houses, even if it was made of clay, even if it was inclined to fall. And what am I talking about walls? They become inspired even when they see the places they visit in the evening. But here let me finally say the apostolic word. As he said: “Just as you gave your members over as slaves to uncleanness, so... present your members to righteousness,” so exactly I say: just as you have loved these (women), so love one another, and nothing will seem burdensome to you. And what am I saying – to each other? So let us love God. You were horrified to hear that I demand the same measure of love for God that others show towards the instruments of their passions. And I’m horrified that we don’t show that kind of love. If you want, let's look at this in more detail, although it is very difficult to talk about it. The mistress does not promise her lover anything good, but dishonor, shame and reproach. Acquaintance with a prodigal woman does exactly this - it makes a person ridiculous, shameful, dishonest. God promises us heaven and heavenly blessings; He made us His sons, brothers of the Only Begotten; Even in this life, He presented you with countless benefits, and after death He promises to grant you resurrection and as many benefits as it is impossible to imagine; He makes us worthy of honor and respect. And again, she forces all the property to be squandered into the abyss and destruction; and God commands to sow for heaven, repays a hundredfold and grants eternal life. She treats her lover as if he were a slave, disposing of things worse than any tyrant; and God says: “I no longer call you servants... but... friends” (John 15:15). 5. Have you seen how much evil there is, and how much good there is here? And what happens after that? For a mistress, many spend nights without sleep and, no matter what she orders, they do everything with zeal - they leave home, and father, and mother, and friends, and wealth, and honors, and expose all their property to disorder and desolation. For God, or, better yet, for ourselves, we do not want to spend even a third of our property. Seeing someone who is hungry, we turn our gaze away from him; we pass by the naked and do not even deign to speak to him. And lovers, even if they see their mistress’s servant, a rude woman, stop with her in the middle of the square and, as if showing off and boasting about it, talk to her, spilling out in long speeches. For a mistress, life, superiors, and the kingdom are considered nothing (as is known to those who have experienced this disease), and they are more grateful to her for her orders than to others for services. Is it not fair for Gehenna to be thereafter? Are countless punishments not just? Let us sober up and give to the service of God at least the same amount, even half of what others give to the harlot, or even a third share. Maybe you will be horrified again? Yes, and I'm horrified. But I would like you to be horrified not only by the words, but also by the deed itself. Meanwhile, here our hearts clench; But as soon as we go out, we drop everything. What good is that? There, if you need to spend money, no one complains about poverty, but often, captivated, they both borrow and give; here, if we remember alms, we are presented with children, and wives, and a house, and authorities, and thousands of apologies. But would you say there is a lot of fun there? This is what I cry and sob about. What if I showed you that there is more fun here? There, shame, reproach, waste of money, and finally quarrels and enmity take away quite a bit of pleasure; but here there is nothing like that. And what, tell me, can compare with this pleasure - to live in anticipation of heaven and the heavenly kingdom, the lordship of the saints and endless life? But this, you might say, is in anticipation, otherwise it’s in reality. In what reality? Do you want me to tell you what is true here too? Think about the kind of freedom you enjoy: living virtuously, you are not afraid or afraid of anyone - neither an enemy, nor a slanderer, nor a slanderer, nor a rival, nor a seeker in love, nor an envious person, nor poverty, nor illness, nor anything else human. There, on the contrary, even if a lot of wishes came true, even if wealth flowed as if from a source, a quarrel with rivals in love, slander and intrigues will make the most miserable life of the one who gets involved with them. From pleasing that despicable, depraved and voluptuous woman, quarrels inevitably arise; and this is worse than a thousand deaths and more unbearable than any punishment. There is nothing like that here. “The fruit of the Spirit,” says (the apostle), “is love, joy, peace” (Gal. 5:22). There are no quarrels, no untimely waste of money, no annoyance after spending. Even if you gave an ovol, even bread, even a cup of cold water, you will be greatly grateful for everything and nothing will make you upset or sad, but everything will serve to make you glorious and save you from all shame. What excuse will we have, what excuse, when, abandoning this, we indulge in the opposite and voluntarily plunge ourselves into a furnace burning with fire? Therefore, I beg those suffering from such a disease to gather their strength again, return to health and not allow themselves to fall into despair. The prodigal son suffered even more severe disasters; but since he returned to his father’s house, he regained his former honor and appeared more glorious than the one who always did well. Let us also be jealous of him, and having returned to the Father, we will deliver ourselves, although it is too late, from this captivity and move on to freedom, in order to be considered worthy of the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: