Беседа 13

About imitation of Christ. – Images of Paul and his virtues. – Wealth, when used well, does not constitute a sin. 1 Cor.4:10. We are mad for Christ's sake. 1. Having expressed many reproaches, which are more striking than any reproof, the apostle here speaks about the same thing with his characteristic dignity. Having said: “you began to reign without us,” and: “God has judged us to be the last to be, as it were, condemned to death,” he then shows how they are really condemned to death, and says: “we are foolish,... and weak, and dishonest, and we suffer hunger and thirst, and nakedness and beatings, and we wander, and we labor, working with our own hands” (1 Cor. 4:10-12), which was a sign true teachers and apostles. But the Corinthian teachers boasted of the opposite: wisdom, fame, wealth, honors. Therefore, wanting to overthrow their pride and show that not only should they not boast about this, but should also be ashamed, he laughs at them in advance and says: “You began to reign without us” (1 Cor. 4:8). I proclaim, he says, that the present time is not a time of honor and glory that you enjoy, but of persecution and tribulation that we endure. If this is unjust, and on the contrary, the present time is the time of retribution,” here he speaks ironically, “then you, the disciples, are already reigning, as I see, and we, the teachers and apostles, who should have received the reward first, not only became last before you, but were also condemned to death, constantly spending our lives in dishonor, hunger and danger, enduring insults like madmen and persecuted, and being exposed to unbearable disasters. He says this in order to convince them with such suggestions that they should imitate the apostles, prefer danger and sorrow to honors and glory, because the sermon promises not the former, but the latter. However, he does not say this directly, so that his words do not seem too heavy to them, but as it was fitting for him, he makes this suggestion. If he began to speak directly, he would say this: you are mistaken and deceived and have fallen far behind the apostolic teaching, because the apostle and servant of Christ should be considered insane and spend their lives in sorrow and dishonor, as happens to us; and you live opposite. But in this case, his words would rather seem biased to them, as containing praise for the apostles, and would produce even greater insolence in them, as if they were accused of negligence, vanity and intemperance. That is why he does not use such a way of speech, but another, more striking, but not offensive; continues the ironic speech and says: “And you are strong; you are in glory." If he had not used irony, he would have said this: one cannot be called crazy and another wise. one strong, another weak; preaching requires neither one nor the other. If it were permissible for one to be called one way and another another, then what you preach would perhaps have some basis; but now it is not permissible to be considered wise or glorious, nor to be free from danger. If this is unfair, then it means that God chose you over us, students, over teachers who have endured countless disasters. If no one can say this, then all you have to do is imitate our way of life. And let no one think and say that I am only talking about the past; no, “even to this day we suffer hunger and thirst and nakedness.” Do you see that this should be the whole life of Christians, and not just one or two days? Likewise, of the fighters who are crowned for victory in only one fight, he will not be awarded the crown again if he falls (in another fight). We suffer hunger, speaks against the intemperate: and beatings - against the arrogant; and we wander - against those who are at rest; and nudity - against the rich; and we work - against the false apostles, who did not want to work or be exposed to dangers, but were concerned about their own benefits. But we are not like that, he says, but in the face of external dangers we still indulge in constant labor: and, what is even higher, no one can say that we are indignant at this or blame the persecutors; on the contrary, we repay the offenders with our good for evil. After all, it’s not so important that you suffer—this is the common fate of everyone—but that while you suffer, you don’t grumble or be annoyed. 2. Not only are we not annoyed, he says, but we are also rejoicing. The proof is that we repay those who do evil with good. And that they really did this, listen further: “we bless with reproaches, we endure with persecutions, we pray with blasphemy: as if the world would be cut off” (1 Cor. 4:12-13), i.e. “foolish for Christ's sake,” because whoever endures evil and does not take revenge and is not angry is considered by outsiders (pagans) to be insane, dishonest and weak. And so that his words would not be too painful for them, if he attributed his suffering to their city, what does he say? “Trash,” he says, “not for your city, but for the world”; and also: “trampling on everyone,” not only for you, but for everyone. Just as, when talking about the love of Christ, he does not mention earth, heaven, or all creatures, but points to the cross, so here, wanting to win them over, he is silent about signs and speaks of his suffering for them. We do the same thing: when some people offend or despise us, we usually present to them what we have suffered for them. “We have been trodden down by all until now” (1 Cor. 4:13). Finally, he strikes hard. He speaks to everyone, not to persecutors, but to those for whom we suffer, i.e. and to them I have great gratitude. These are the words of a soul that feels deeply, but is not upset, but wants to touch others! Although he could have reproached them for many things, he welcomed them instead. Likewise, Christ commands us to meekly endure insults, so that we ourselves learn wisdom and admonish others better, because it is not the one who insults, but the one who silently endures insults, who achieves this more quickly. Seeing then that he had inflicted a serious wound, he immediately heals it, continuing: “I do not write this to your shame, but I admonish you as my beloved children” (1 Cor. 4:14). “I’m not telling you this,” he says, “to shame you.” What has already been done by his words, he says that he did not do; or better - he says that he did it, but not with a bad and hateful intention; This is a wonderful way of healing - having said a word, justify it with intention. And it was impossible not to speak, because otherwise they would remain uncorrected; and telling him to leave the wound without healing would also be dangerous; therefore, after conviction, he is justified. This not only does not destroy the effects of medicine, but introduces it even deeper, and meanwhile, quenches all the pain of the wound; He who hears that this is said not with grief, but with love, is more likely to be admonished. However, here too there is great exposure and reproach. He speaks not as a teacher, not as an apostle, not as one who has disciples - which would express dignity - but: “but I admonish you as my beloved children”; not just: “children,” but also: “beloved.” Forgive me, he says; if something unpleasant is said, it came from love. He did not say: I reprove, but: I admonish. Who wouldn't listen to a father complain and offer helpful advice? Therefore, he said this not before, but after he had already struck. But, they will say, don’t other teachers love us? I don't say this, but they don't love as much. For the sake of brevity, he did not explain this, but indicated this by occupations and titles, using the words: mentor and father. “For although you have thousands, he says, of teachers in Christ, yet you have not many fathers” (1 Cor. 4:15). Here he points not to his dignity, but to the abundance of love; does not reproach them, adding: “in Christ,” but consoles them, calling them not flatterers, but mentors of those who take on cares and labors; also expressed his concern. Therefore he did not say: not many teachers, but: not fathers. Thus, he did not want to point out to them his dignity, nor to remind them how much benefit they received from him, but agreeing that other teachers also worked hard for them - and this is the property of a mentor - he assimilates an excess of love, since this is the property of a father. And he doesn’t just say that no one loves them as much as he does - that would be unproven - but he points to the very point. Which? “I have begotten you in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” In Christ Jesus: I, he says, do not attribute this to myself. Again he hints at those who appropriated the teaching to themselves. “For,” he says, “the seal of my apostleship is you” (1 Cor. 9:2); and again: “I planted” (1 Cor. 3:6); and here: “I gave birth.” He did not say: I proclaimed the word, but: “I gave birth,” using an expression close to nature, since he tried one thing, how to express the love that he had for them. They, having received from me, raised you; and the fact that you became believers happened through me. Having told them: “like children,” and wanting to show that this is not a word of flattery, he points to the deed. “Therefore I urge you: imitate me, just as I imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 4:16). Oh, what boldness of the teacher! What a true image (of Christ) he was, if he points this out to others! However, here he does not exalt himself, but shows the ease of virtue. 3. Don’t say: I cannot imitate you; you are a teacher, and a great teacher. There is not such a distance between me and you as there is between me and Christ, and yet I imitated Him. When he writes to the Ephesians, he does not offer himself as a mediator, but directly leads them all to Him: “Imitate,” he says, “God” (Eph. 5:1); and here, since he addressed his speech to the weak, he represents himself as the mediator. On the other hand, it shows that in this way one can imitate Christ. He who imitates the true image imitates the prototype. Let's see how he imitated Christ. This imitation requires neither time nor art, but only desire. Having entered the painter's studio, we are not able to imitate his painting, even if we looked at it a thousand times; and Christ can be imitated even by one ear. So, would you like me to show you a picture, depicting before you the life of Paul? Imagine a picture that is much better than the royal images. Its foundation is not glued boards or stretched canvas, but the work of God serves as its foundation; it is soul and body. The soul is a creation of God, not of people; so is the body. Are you applauding? But now is not the time for applause, and after that you can applaud and imitate. Thus, the basis of this picture is the substance common to everyone. The soul is no different from the soul, just like the soul, but their difference depends on desire. Just as the body is not at all different from the body, just as the body is the same for Paul and for all the others, and only exploits make one purer than the other, so one must think about the soul. So, let's imagine the picture - the soul of Paul. This picture was previously smoky and covered with cobwebs - there is nothing worse than enmity against God - but when the One who transforms everything came and saw that it had this appearance not out of laziness and negligence, but out of ignorance and because it did not have the colors of piety - he had zeal, but did not have colors, because he had zeal not according to reason - then he gave her the color of truth, i.e. grace, and immediately made her a royal image. Having accepted paint and learning what he did not know, he did not waste time, but immediately became an excellent artist. And firstly, his head appeared royally when he preached Christ; then the whole body became the same, according to the severity of life. The painters, confined to their homes, carry out their work with great care and silence and do not open the doors to anyone; and he, having exhibited the picture in the middle of the universe, where everyone opposed him, was indignant and bothered him, completed this royal image here, and did not look at the obstacles. That’s why he said: “we have become a disgrace to the world” (1 Cor. 4:9), on land and sea, to heaven and the entire universe, to the sensory and spiritual world, and meanwhile he painted his picture. Do you want to see other parts of it, starting with the head? Or do you want us to start the calculation from below? Look at this statue made of gold, or even more precious than gold and worthy to stand in heaven, not soldered with tin and not attached to one place, but running from Jerusalem to Illyricum, reaching Spain and, as if on wings, flying throughout the entire universe. What could be more beautiful than these legs that have traversed the entire earth under the sun? The prophet also foretold their beauty when he said: “How beautiful... are the feet of the evangelist who proclaims peace!” (Isa.52:7). Do you see how beautiful his feet are? Do you want to see breasts? Come, I will show you her too, and you will see that she is brighter than his beautiful legs and even the very chest of the ancient legislator. Moses held stone tablets, and he had Christ himself inside, carried within himself the image of the King himself and the purifier; therefore he was more honest than the cherubs. The voice that came from there was not the same as from here; there the conversation concerned mostly sensual objects, and Paul's language announced objects that exceed the heavens; from the purification, broadcasts were made to only the Jews, and from it to the whole universe; there - through soulless things, and here - through a virtuous soul. 4. He was a purifier, the brightest of the sky, shining not with the variety of stars and not with the rays of the sun, but having within itself the very Sun of Truth, pouring out its rays from there. Sometimes a cloud comes to this (sensual) sky and darkens it, but no similar bad weather ever came upon Paul’s chest, or better yet, many bad weathers often came upon him, but did not darken his light, but on the contrary, this light shone among temptations and dangers. Therefore, being himself in chains, he exclaimed: “There are no chains for the word of God” (2 Tim. 2:9). So his tongue always poured out rays and neither fear nor danger darkened his chest. This chest, apparently, was superior to his legs; but they are also excellent, like the legs, and she is like the breasts. Do you want to see how beautiful his stomach is? Listen to what he himself says about him: “If food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Cor. 8:13). It is a good thing not to eat meat, not to drink wine, and not to consume anything that offends, offends, or embarrasses your brother. “Food is for the belly, and the belly is for food” (1 Cor. 6:13). What could be more beautiful than this stomach, accustomed to such abstinence, preserving all chastity, able to fast, hunger and thirst? Like a well-trained horse controlled by a golden bridle, so he performed harmoniously, conquering the demands of nature, because Christ acted in him. And with such chastity, obviously, all other evils disappeared. Do you want to see his hands as they are now? Or do you want to see how thin they were before? Previously, he entered houses and dragged (into prison) husbands and wives, as if he had the hands not of a man, but of some wild beast (Acts 8:3); and when he accepted the flowers of truth and achieved spiritual experience, then these hands were no longer human, but spiritual, having bonds on them every day; They no longer struck anyone, but they themselves were struck a thousand times. Even the echidna was once ashamed of these hands: they were no longer human hands; therefore she did not harm them (Acts 28:3-6). Do you want to see his shoulders, as beautiful as his other members? Listen to what he himself says about them: “Five times the Jews gave me forty stripes minus one; three times I was beaten with sticks, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the depths of the sea” (2 Cor. 11:24-25). But so that we do not plunge into the boundless depths and do not expand our speech too much, listing all his members separately, let us leave his body and turn our gaze to another beauty - to the beauty of his clothes, which the evil spirits were afraid of, and therefore fled from them, from which illnesses were also healed (Acts 19:12). Wherever Paul appeared, everything yielded and submitted to him, as if to the conqueror of the universe. Just as those who received many wounds in war, seeing the weapon of the one who inflicted the wounds on them, tremble, so the evil spirits, seeing only his towels, retreated. Where are the rich and proud of their property now? Where are those who count their virtues and precious garments? Comparing themselves with Paul, they will see that all their treasures are dirt and dung. And what do I say about clothes and gold things? If someone offered me the power of the whole universe, then I would consider one nail of Paul more important than such power, his poverty is higher than all luxury, dishonor is higher than all honor, nakedness is higher than all wealth, the strangulation of his sacred head is higher than any pleasure, stones thrown at him are higher than any diadem. Let us, beloved ones, desire the same crown for ourselves; and although there is no persecution now, let us prepare ourselves for it. And he became a glorious man not only because of persecution: “I bring my body into slavery,” he said (1 Cor. 9:27); and this can be done without persecution. Also, “do not turn cares for the flesh into lusts” (Rom. 13:14); and again: “having food and clothing, we will be content with this” (1 Tim. 6:8); and this does not require persecution. He admonishes the rich this way: “those who desire to get rich fall into temptation” (1 Tim. 6:9). Therefore, if we exercise and strive in this way, we will be crowned and, even if there is no persecution, we will receive great rewards for it; and if we begin to fatten our body and lead a life characteristic of pigs, then even during the world we will fall into many sins and be subjected to shame. Don't you know who we're fighting with? With incorporeal powers (Eph.6:12). How can we overcome them if we are carnal? If one who fights against people needs prudent abstinence, then even more so against evil spirits. If, despite our obesity, we are still attached to wealth, then how will we overcome these opponents? Wealth is a bond, a heavy bond for those who do not know how to use it; it is a cruel, inhuman tyrant, directing everything to the destruction of those who servile him. But, if we want, we can overthrow the heavy power of this tyrant from the throne and force him to obey us, and not command us. How? If we share our wealth with everyone. As long as it is alone with us, then, like a robber in the desert, it causes all kinds of evil; and when we bring it into the society of people, it can no longer command us, because then everyone on all sides curbs it. 5. I’m not saying that it’s a sin to have wealth, it’s a sin not to share it with the poor and to use it badly. God did not create anything bad, but “everything... is very good” (Gen. 1:31); therefore, wealth is good, but only when it does not take possession of those who have it, when it delivers their neighbors from poverty. Just as light would not be good if it did not drive away darkness, but still increased it, so I will not call wealth good if it does not eliminate poverty, but increases poverty. Rich is the one who does not need to take from others, but helps others himself; and whoever tries to take from others is not rich, but poor. Thus, it is not wealth that is evil, but the disastrous mood of the soul, which turns wealth into poverty. Such people are more unfortunate than those who beg (alms) in the alleys, the blind and the crippled; clothed in silk and light clothes, they are more contemptible than those dressed in rags; standing proudly in the marketplace, they are poorer than those wandering around the crossroads, entering courtyards and crying out there and asking for help. These latter glorify God and utter words of mercy and great wisdom; That’s why we show them compassion, extend our hand (of help) and never judge. And the unkind rich people spew out words of cruelty and inhumanity, covetousness and satanic lusts; That’s why they are hateful and funny to everyone. Look at what is considered shameful among all people - should you take it from the rich or from the poor? Of course, from the poor. And this is what the rich do, who will never go to the richer ones. The poor take from the rich; a beggar will not ask from a beggar, but from one who is more sufficient than he; and the rich demand from the poor. Moreover, tell me, what is more honorable - to take from those who give voluntarily and are disposed to do so, or to demand and force those who are unwilling? Of course, don't force those who don't want to. But the rich do the opposite. The poor receive from those who give voluntarily and are disposed to give, while the rich receive from those who are unwilling and reluctant; and this is proof of great poverty (of themselves). If no one dares to go to dinner when the inviter has no disposition towards the invitee, then is it good to take the property of another under compulsion? Is it not because we turn away and run away from barking dogs because they relentlessly attack us? The rich do the same. Is it more honorable when fear is added to the loss of property? This is the worst. Therefore, isn’t the one who uses all measures to acquire property the funniest of all? Out of fear, we often throw everything we have in our hands to the dogs. Moreover, what is more shameful, tell me, should I ask someone dressed in rags, or dressed in silk clothes? When some rich man keeps elderly poor people in his house in order to take possession of their property, while they still have children, is he worthy of forgiveness? If you want, let’s pay attention to the very words that the rich man utters when demanding something for himself, and which ones the poor say. What does the poor man say? He who gives alms, he says, will never become poor, because he gives from God’s property; God loves mankind and will reward more. All these are words of wisdom, admonition and advice; they inspire you to look to the Lord and save you from the fear of future poverty; In general, anyone can notice a lot of edifying things in the words of the beggars. What are the speeches of the rich? Common to pigs, dogs, wolves and other animals. Some of them talk about meals, about dishes, about sweets, about wines, about incense, about clothes and all kinds of excesses; others are about interest and mortgages, about drawing up letters of borrowing and paying off an innumerable number of debts that began with their fathers and grandfathers, about taking away a house from one person, a field from another, a servant and all his property from another. What can we say about spiritual testaments written not in ink, but in blood? Having presented an imminent danger, or made some seductive promises to those who are seen to have several assets, they convince to remove all the direct heirs, often oppressed by poverty, and instead to include them themselves. Is this not worse than any fury and ferocity of wild animals? Therefore, I exhort you, let us flee from all such wealth, covered with shame and murder, and acquire spiritual wealth, seek heavenly treasures. Whoever has these treasures is only rich, he is sufficient, he owns all the blessings here and there. Whoever wants to be poor according to the word of God, for him the doors of all are open, because to a person who does not seek any acquisitions for God, everyone will give from his own; and whoever wants to get even a little unrighteously, the doors of everyone are closed for him. Therefore, in order for us to have both here and there blessings, let us choose unperishable treasures and immortal wealth, which may we all be worthy of, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ (with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen). These conversations were delivered by the saint in Antioch around 390. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: