Беседа 30

Comparing the church to the human body. - Widows in the church. – Money should be neglected. 1 Corinthians 12:12. For just as the body is one, but has many members, and all the members of one body, although there are many, constitute one body, so is Christ. 1. Having comforted (the Corinthians) with the fact that every gift is a gift of grace, that everything is given by one and the same Spirit and is given for benefit, that (the Spirit) is revealed in lesser gifts, and at the same time stopping their mouths with the conviction that they must submit to the power of the Spirit - “yet all these things work one and the same Spirit, distributing to each one individually as He pleases” (1 Cor. 12:11), and therefore should not be too much inquisitive, - (the apostle) consoles them with another well-known comparison, turning to nature, as he usually does. So, while talking about the hair of husbands and wives, he among other things used the same method of teaching and said: “Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a husband grows hair, then it is a dishonor for him, but if a wife grows hair, it is an honor for her?” (1 Cor. 11:14–15). Speaking about idol sacrifices and prohibiting touching them, he also used a comparison borrowed from pagan customs, recalling the Olympic Games and saying: “those who run in the race all run, but one receives the reward” (1 Cor. 9:24); in addition, he pointed to examples of shepherds, warriors and farmers. In the same way, here he cites a well-known comparison, with which he tries to prove that no one (of the Christians) is humiliated before others - no matter how strange and difficult it was to prove this - and which could convince even the simplest people, that is, a comparison with the body. For a faint-hearted person who has received less than others, nothing consoles him more and encourages him to leave grief than the conviction that he is not humiliated before others. That is why (the apostle) proves this: “for as,” he says, “the body is one, but has many members.” Do you see his deep wisdom? He proves that the same thing is one and many. Expanding this subject even further, he adds: “and all the members of one body, although there are many of them, constitute one body.” He did not say: many members belong to one body, but: “many things make up one body,” and its many members are one. If the many are one and the one many, then where is the difference, where is the advantage, where is the humiliation? “And all,” he says, “are one”: not just one, but, being considered in relation to the composition of the body, they are all one; and when they are considered separately, then there is a difference, and, moreover, a difference in all of them. Not one of them can constitute a body by itself, and each is equally insufficient to constitute a body, but their combination is necessary for this; when the many become one, then one body is formed. Expressing this, he says: “all the members of the body, although there are many of them, constitute one body.” He did not say: higher and lower, but: “although there are many of them,” which applies to everyone in general. How can they be one? When, leaving their differences as members, you consider them in relation to the body. As the eye, so is the leg, in that they are members and make up the body; in this there is no difference between them. You cannot say that one member constitutes a body in itself, and another does not; in this respect they are all equal, and all are one body. Having said and clearly proven this according to common common sense, (the apostle) adds: “so is Christ.” He should have said: so is the Church - this exactly followed from the previous one - but he did not say so, but instead of the Church he named Christ, using a more exalted expression and more shaming the listener. The meaning of his words is as follows: so is the body of Christ, which is the Church. Just as the body and head make up one person, so the Church and Christ, he says, are one; That’s why he names Christ instead of the Church, meaning here His body. Just as our body is something one, although it consists of many members, so in the Church we all constitute something one; although it consists of many members, these many are one body. Thus, having calmed and encouraged by the well-known example of one who considered himself humiliated, (the apostle) leaves ordinary subjects and moves on to another subject - a spiritual one, which could bring even more consolation and clearly show the equality of honor (among the members of the Church). Which one? “For by one Spirit,” he says, “we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free” (1 Cor. 12:13). The meaning of his words is as follows: one Spirit made us one body and regenerated us, because it was not with another Spirit that one was baptized, but with another. And not only is He who baptized us (the Spirit) one, but also that into which He baptized, that is, for what He baptized, is one, since we were not baptized in order to form different bodies, but so that we all exactly constitute one body in relation to each other, that is, we were baptized in order for us all to become one body. 2. Thus, he who composed us is one, and that into which he composed us is one. And (the apostle) did not say: that we belong to one body, but: “we are all in one body”: he always tries to use the most precise expressions. He also said well: we are all, including ourselves. And I, the apostle, do not have, he says, any advantage over you in this regard; and you are a body like me, and I am like you, and we all have the same Head and were born by the same birth, therefore we make up the same body. But why am I pointing, he says, to the Jews? And God brought the pagans, who were so far from us, into one body. Therefore, having said: “all of us,” he does not stop there, but adds: “Jews or Greeks, slaves or free.” If we, who were previously so far from each other, united and became one, then all the more after the union we should not grieve and become despondent, since there is no longer room for difference. If He has vouchsafed the same thing to pagans and Jews, slaves and free, then, having vouchsafed it, will He begin to divide us, while the very communication of gifts serves for the most perfect unity? “And they are all made to drink of one Spirit. But the body is not made of one member, but of many” (1 Cor. 12:13–14). Those. We all approach the same sacrament, we partake of the same meal. Why didn’t he say: we feed on the same body and drink the same blood? Because, having named the Spirit, he meant both, blood and flesh; through both we will be filled with the one Spirit. However, it seems to me that he is talking here about the influx of the Spirit that occurs over us at baptism, even before the sacrament of communion. Watered - he said because this figurative expression is very suitable for the real subject, as if he were talking about plants and a garden, that all the trees are watered by the same source, the same water. Likewise, we all, he says, will be watered by the same Spirit, we will be made worthy of the same grace. So, if one Spirit made us up, and united us all into one body - and this means the words: “baptized into one body” - and gave one meal, and imparted the same irrigation to everyone - and this means the words: “were drunk with one Spirit” - and united those who were so distant from each other together and many only form a body when they become one, then what difference do you insist on? If you say that there are many members and they are different, then know that this is the most amazing thing and constitutes a feature of the body, namely, that in it many and different things make one; and if there were no multitude, then it would not be so surprising and wonderful that the body is one; or better yet, then there would be no body. However, this (the apostle) explains later, but now he turns to the members themselves and says: “if the foot says: I do not belong to the body, because I am not a hand, then does it really not belong to the body? And if the ear says: I do not belong to the body, because I am not an eye, then does it really not belong to the body? (1 Cor. 12:15–16). If the fact that one is smaller and the other is larger prevented it from being part of the body, then the whole body would not exist. Therefore, do not say: I am not the body, because I am smaller than others: and the leg occupies the lowest place, but it is also part of the body. To be or not to be part of a body does not depend on position in one place or another - this only produces a difference in place - but on fusion or division; to be or not to be a body depends on connection with it or non-connection. And note the wisdom (of Paul) with which he imagines your members uttering these words. As he said above: “this... I applied to myself and Apollos” (1 Cor. 4:6), and here, too, in order to make his speech even more meek and acceptable, he presents the very members as speaking, so that (the readers), hearing the answer to themselves from nature itself, being convicted by experience and general common sense, could no longer contradict. At least, he says, you said the same thing and no matter how much you object, you cannot be outside the body, because both the law of nature and even more the power of grace observes and preserves everything. And look how he avoids excess: he does not speak about all members, but only about two, and moreover, the extreme ones, about the highest - the eye, and the lowest - the legs. In addition, he imagines the leg speaking not to the eye, but to the arm, which is slightly higher than it, and the ear to the eye. Just as we usually envy not those who are too superior to us, but those who are a little higher than us, so he makes his comparison. “If the whole body is eyes, then where is the hearing? If everything is hearing, then where is the sense of smell? (1 Cor. 12:17). Since he pointed out the difference in members, mentioned legs, arms, eyes and ears, and thereby suggested the idea of ​​lower and higher dignity, then look how he again consoles and shows that this is useful, that this is why the body is primarily a body, because it has many and different members. If they were all one, they would not constitute a body; That’s why he says: “And if they were all one member, then where is the body?” (1 Cor. 12:19). However, he says this after; and now he expresses something even greater, namely, that in this case not only would there be no body, but there would be no other members: “if everything is hearing,” he says, “then where is the sense of smell?” 3. Further, since (the listeners) could still be embarrassed, he does the same here as he did above. Just as there, having consoled them with an indication of the benefit, he completely stopped their mouths, saying: “Nevertheless, one and the same Spirit works all these things, dividing them individually as He pleases” (1 Cor. 12:11), so here, having proven that everything was arranged in this way for benefit, he again attributes everything to the will of God and says: “But God arranged the members, each one in the composition of the body, as He pleased” (1 Cor. 12:18). As he said about the Spirit: “as He pleased,” so here: “as He pleased.” So don't ask why it is like this and why it is not like that. Even though we could imagine thousands of reasons, we cannot prove in anything as strongly that it is good as in words: as the highest Artist wanted, so it happened, because He wants it the way it is useful. If we should not be too inquisitive about the members in our body, then even more so in the Church. And note the wisdom (of the apostle): he points not to the difference in members by nature or activity, but to the difference by local position: “but,” he says, “God arranged the members, each one in the composition of the body, as He pleased.” Well he said: each, expressing the benefit of all of them. You cannot say that such and such a member was created by the Lord, and such and such was not; but each one is placed so according to His will; and it is useful for the leg to be in this exact place, and not just for the head; and if (some member) changed position, left his place and moved to another, then although he would apparently take a better place, he would ruin and upset everything; he would lose his place and would not reach someone else's. “If everyone had one member, then where is the body? But now there are many members, but one body” (1 Cor. 12:19–20). Having sufficiently blocked his lips with an indication of God’s order, he again presents judgments; In general, he does not constantly use one or the other, but changes and diversifies his speech. He who only stops his mouth confuses the listener; and whoever teaches him to demand explanations for everything harms his faith. Therefore Paul constantly does this and that, so that they do not weaken in faith and are not embarrassed; stopping his lips, he again offers an explanation. And look at his skill in the competition and the excellence of his victory: from what did they conclude about the inequality of honor - i.e. that there was a great difference between them - from this very fact he proves that they have equal honor. How? It’s like this: “if everyone had one member, then where is the body?” The meaning of these words is this: if there were no great difference between you, then you would not be a body; without being a body, you would not be one; and not being one, you would not have equal honor: if you all had equal honor, you would not be a body; without being a body, you would not be one; and not being one, how could you have equal honor? Now, since you all have more than one gift, you make up a body; and being a body, you are all one and do not differ from each other in any way in that respect that you make up a body. Consequently, it is precisely this difference that produces equality of honor. That’s why he adds: “but now there are many members, but one body.” Imagining this, we too will abandon all envy; Let us neither envy those who have more talents, nor despise those who have less. It was so pleasing to God; Let's not resist. If you are still embarrassed, then think that another is often not able to fulfill your task, and therefore, although you are less than him, you are superior to him in this respect; and he, although greater than you, is less in this respect, and thus you are equal. And in the body, apparently unimportant members perform unimportant actions, but often cause destruction to important ones if they are separated from them. What, for example, is less important in the body than hair? But if you destroy them on the eyebrows and eyelashes, then you will take away all the beauty from the face, and the eye will no longer be so beautiful; although the loss is not important, all good looks are lost from it, and not only good looks, but to a large extent the use of the eyes. Our members each have their own private and general activities; Equally, their beauty is both private and general; and while they are apparently separated from each other, they are in fact closely connected, so that when one is damaged, the other is also damaged. Look: let someone have bright eyes, smiling cheeks, pink lips, a straight nose, slender eyebrows; but if you damage any of this, you will distort the overall beauty of everything; everything will be ugly, and what previously seemed beautiful will appear disgusting. If, for example, you distort only the edge of your nose, then you will create a great disgrace in everything, although only one member is distorted; and with your hand, if you tear off even the nail of one finger, the same thing will happen. 4. And if you want to see this in the activity (of the members), then take away one finger, and you will see that the others will be less active and will not fulfill their purpose in the same way. If damage to a member is a general ugliness and preservation is a general beauty, then let us not be arrogant and envy our neighbors. An important member becomes beautiful and handsome through an unimportant member, and the eye is decorated with eyebrows; Therefore, he who fights against his brother fights against himself, because he not only harms him, but also causes considerable damage to himself. So, to prevent this from happening, let us take care both of ourselves and of our neighbors; Let us now apply the likeness of the body to the Church, and we will care for everyone as if we were our own members. And in the Church there are many and different members, and some of them are more important, others less important; Thus, there are faces of virgins, there are societies of widows, there are brotherhoods of those who shine in chaste marriage, and there are many degrees of virtue. Likewise in works of mercy: one distributes everything, others are content with only what is necessary and do not look for anything beyond that, others give from excess; but they all mutually decorate each other. If the larger one begins to humiliate the smaller one, he will harm himself the most; So, if a virgin begins to revile the bridegroom, she will lose quite a bit of her bribe; and the one who gave away everything, if he begins to blaspheme the one who did not do it, will lose a lot of his merits. But what am I saying about virgins, widows and non-covetous people? What is more humiliating than those begging for alms? However, they also bring great benefit to the Church, being constantly at the doors of the church and forming a great decoration, so that without them the fullness of the Church would not be complete. The apostles also saw this, and therefore at the very beginning they established rules both about everything else and about widows, and took such care of them that they appointed seven deacons (to serve) them. When I number the members of the Church, then, naming bishops, presbyters, deacons, virgins and abstinents, I also call widows, because they also perform an important service. You come (to church) whenever you want; and they are present here day and night and sing, doing not only for alms, because if they only wanted this, they could go to the marketplace and beg at the crossroads; but they have no little piety. Look at the furnace of poverty they are in, and yet you will not hear them ever grumble or express grief, as many of the rich do; some of them are often hungry, others are constantly shivering from the cold, and yet spend their lives in thanksgiving and praise. If you give them an ovol, they thank and express thousands of good wishes to the giver; If you don’t give anything, they are not upset, but even then they bless and maintain love, being content with their daily food. But, you say, they endure out of necessity, even if they didn’t want it. Why is this, tell me? Why did you say these bitter words? Are there no shameful trades that are profitable for old men and women? Could they not, if they did not want to lead an honest life, receive food from there in great abundance? Don’t you see how many people at this age corrupt and promote debauchery, or have other similar activities that provide them with food and even luxury? But they are not like that, but are ready to die of hunger rather than disgrace their lives and lose salvation; they sit all day, offering you a means of salvation. The doctor, by stretching out his hand and applying iron, cleanses putrid wounds not so successfully as a beggar, by stretching out his hand and receiving alms, erases the scabs of ulcers; and, what is especially surprising, he performs this excellent healing without pain or suffering. No less than us, sitting before the people and teaching you useful things, he teaches with his silence and appearance, sitting at the church doors. Every day we inspire you: do not be arrogant, man; human nature is fleeting and fickle; youth hastens to turn into old age, beauty into ugliness, strength into weakness, honor into dishonor, health into illness, glory into shame, wealth into poverty; everything we have is like a fast stream that cannot stop anywhere, but quickly rushes down. 5. They inspire the same and even more by their appearance and example, and their suggestion is the clearest. How many who are now sitting outside (the church) showed off in their youth and did great things? How many of these ugly ones were superior to many in both strength of body and beauty of face? Do not doubt and do not laugh: life is filled with many such examples. If many of the poor and low often became kings, then is it surprising if some of the great and glorious became low and poor? The former is much more surprising, but the latter is quite ordinary. Therefore, we should not doubt that some of them were distinguished by their arts, military deeds or wealth, but we should regret them with great compassion and fear for ourselves, lest we suffer the same thing someday; After all, we are people and are subject to the same fleeting change. But perhaps someone unreasonable and prone to laughter will become perplexed and laugh at you, and say: when will you stop talking about the poor and beggars, predicting misfortunes for us, preaching poverty and trying to make us beggars? No, I am not trying to make you beggars when I say this; but I try to bring you heavenly wealth, just as someone who reminds a healthy person of the sick and describes their suffering says this not to make him sick, but to preserve his health and, through the fear of their misfortunes, protect him from carelessness. For you, poverty seems something terrible and terrible even by its name; but that is why we are poor because we are afraid of poverty, even if we had thousands of talents. It is not he who is poor who has nothing, but he who fears poverty, just as among the unfortunate we mourn and call pitiful not those who suffer great disasters, but those who do not know how to endure even small ones; on the contrary, he who knows how to endure them is worthy of praise and crowns. And what is this, tell me, whom do we praise among the combatants: those who, receiving many blows, do not lose heart and stand with their heads raised, or those who take flight at the first blows? Don't we crown those as valiant and courageous, and don't we laugh at these as timid and cowardly? We will do the same in everyday affairs: we will crown the one who endures everything easily, like the courageous and enduring ascetic (Job), and we will mourn the one who trembles and fears misfortunes and even before receiving a blow dies from fear. And in warfare, if someone, before raising his hand, and as soon as he sees the raised hand of the enemy, takes flight, although he has not yet received a blow, then he is ridiculed as weak, effeminate and inexperienced in such feats. The same thing happens to those who are afraid of poverty and cannot bear even the mere expectation of it. Therefore, it is not we who make you unhappy, but you yourself. How can the devil not laugh at you when he sees that even before the blow you are afraid of danger and trembling? Or better to say, if the fear is so terrible for you, then he will not even consider it necessary to hit you, but, having given you wealth, the mere fear of losing it will make you softer than any wax. We, so to speak, are by nature such that, having experienced something that we are afraid of, we then consider it not as terrible as before, before the experience. Therefore, so that you do not acquire this virtue, the devil keeps you in great fear, exhausting you like wax on a fire, with the fear of poverty before you actually experience it. Truly softer than any wax and more unhappy in the life of Cain himself is the one who fears for what he acquired through covetousness, grieves over what he does not have, and trembles over what he has, having imprisoned wealth as an ungrateful slave, and himself being besieged by various and shameful passions. Shameful desires, various fears, anxiety and trembling overwhelm him from all sides, and he is likened to a ship, driven from everywhere by contrary winds and subject to frequent disturbances. It would be much better for such a person to die than to endure a constant storm, just as it would be better for Cain to die than to tremble constantly. So, so that we do not suffer the same, we will resist the wiles of the devil, break his networks, dull the edge of his heavy spear and block all access to us. If you despise covetousness, then he will not have a place to strike you, he will not have the opportunity to approach you, because you have plucked out the root of evil; and when there is no root, then the bad fruit will not grow. We say it all the time and we won't stop saying it; and whether our words have any success, this will be shown by that day, which will be revealed by fire, revealing the deeds of everyone and revealing whose lamps are bright and whose lamps are not so. Then it will be revealed who has the oil and who does not. However, may no one then remain alien to this consolation, but may they all turn out to be rich in love for mankind and, having bright lamps, enter together with the Bridegroom! There is nothing more terrible and regrettable than the words that those leaving here without generous alms will then hear from the Bridegroom: “I don’t know you” (Matthew 25:12). May we not hear this, but may we hear the sweetest and most longed for words: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). In this way, we will begin to live a blessed life and will be worthy of all the blessings that surpass the very mind of man, of which may we all be worthy by grace and love for mankind (our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the 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: