Беседа 4

Objects of faith are higher than the judgments of reason. – Actions of Christ performed in ways contrary to actions. – Socrates was forced to drink poison from hemlock. - The suffering of martyrs. - Protagoras, Diagoras and Theodore the Atheist. – Condescension is necessary towards pagans, as towards children. 1 Corinthians 1:18–20. For the word about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and destroy the understanding of the prudent. Where is the sage? where is the scribe? where is the questioner of this century? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness? . 1. For the suffering and dying, healthy food can be unpleasant, friends and relatives are unpleasant, whom they often do not recognize and are even burdened by their presence. This usually happens with those who suffer mentally: they do not know what is needed for salvation, and they are burdened by those who care about them. This does not come from the nature of the matter itself (salvation), but from their illness. Just as those who are mad in their minds do not tolerate those who care for them, and even blame them, so do unbelievers. But just as these insulted ones feel even more sorry and weep for the sick, considering them to be the extreme stage of their illness, when they do not recognize those closest to them, so let us do the same in relation to the pagans and weep for them more than for our wives, because they do not know the salvation common to all. It is not so much that a husband should love his wife, but that we should love all people and lead them to salvation, whether they be pagans or whoever. Let us weep for them, because the word about the cross, which is wisdom and power, is foolishness for them. “For the message of the cross,” says (Paul), “is foolishness to those who are perishing.” Since the cross was ridiculed among the pagans, they probably called the teaching about it contrary to their wisdom and inconsistent with their teaching; Therefore, Paul, admonishing, says: do not consider him strange and absurd; this matter is such in nature that those who are perishing cannot comprehend its power, since they have lost their minds and fallen into madness. That is why they revile and hate saving medicines. What are you saying, man? Christ became a slave, taking on the image of a slave for you, was crucified and resurrected; you should bow to the Risen One and marvel at His love for mankind, since everything that neither your father, nor friend, nor son did for you, He did for you, His enemy and insulter; one should be surprised at Him for this; and you call a thing filled with such wisdom madness! But no wonder; It is common for those who are perishing not to know what leads to salvation. Therefore, do not be embarrassed; there is nothing strange or unexpected in the fact that madmen laugh at great things. Such people cannot be convinced by human wisdom; and if you begin to convince them in this way, you will do the opposite; for that which exceeds reason, faith alone is needed. Truly, if we, through the judgments of reason, want to explain (to the pagans) how God became man by dwelling in the womb of the Virgin, and do not recognize this as an object of faith, then they will only laugh. Those who want to comprehend this through the judgments of reason, they perish. And what am I saying about God? If we do the same in relation to created objects, then we will cause great laughter. For example, suppose a person who wants to be convinced of everything by the judgments of reason demands that you explain to him how we see the light? And you try to explain this to him through the judgments of the mind. But you couldn't do it. If you were to say that it is enough to open your eyes in order to see, you would be explaining the way of seeing, and not the matter itself. He would object to you: why do we not see with our ears and hear with our eyes? Why do we not hear with our nostrils and smell with our ears? If he, without receiving an explanation for his bewilderment, laughs, then will we not be subjected to more ridicule? These feelings have their origin in the same brain, these members are so close to each other: why cannot they produce the same effect? We cannot explain either the cause or the manner of this inexplicable and varied action; and if we begin to explain, we will be ridiculed. Let us leave this to the power and infinite wisdom of God, and let us remain silent. So, exactly, if we want to explain divine objects with the help of external wisdom, then great laughter will follow, not because of the nature of the objects themselves, but because of human folly. After all, no word can express great things. Look, if I say: Christ was crucified, then the pagan will object: is this in accordance with reason? He did not deliver Himself when they crucified and tortured Him on the cross: how then did He rise again and deliver others? If he had the power to do so, then he should have shown it before death (as indeed the Jews said); if He did not deliver Himself, how could He deliver others? This, he will say, is inconsistent with reason. And exactly, this is beyond reason; indescribable power appeared in the cross. To be tormented and to be above torment, to be bound and to conquer, is a matter of infinite power. How the three youths, having been thrown into the oven and having straightened the flame, appeared more wonderful than if they had not been cast into it; and just as Jonah, being swallowed up by a whale and not suffering any harm from it, became greater than if he had not been exposed to such danger, so Jesus Christ, having died and abolished death, appeared more glorious than if He had not died. So do not say: Why did He not deliver Himself on the cross? He wanted to fight death. He did not come down from the cross not because he could not, but because he did not want to. After all, if the power of death could not hold Him, then how could the nails of the cross hold Him? 2. However, we know this, but the unbelievers do not. That is why the apostle said: “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent.” Hitherto He has not said anything incriminating; and now, bringing forward the testimony of Scripture and borrowing boldness from it, he begins an accusatory speech and says: “Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness? Where is the sage? where is the scribe? where is the questioner of this century? For when the world through its wisdom did not know God in the wisdom of God, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:20-21). Having said: “It is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,” he adds proof of this from works and says: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? It concerns both pagans and Jews. In fact, which of the philosophers, which of those skilled in judgment, or which of those who knew Judaism granted salvation and taught the truth? No one, but the fishermen did everything. Having proved this point and disgraced their vanity, saying: “Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness?” – he also gives the reason why this was so. “For when,” he says, “the world through its wisdom did not know God in the wisdom of God,” then the cross appeared. What does it mean: “in the wisdom of God”? In the creatures through which He was pleased to reveal Himself. He arranged everything so that a person, moving from visible objects to the Creator, would be amazed at Him. Great is the sky and vast is the earth: marvel at their Creator. After all, this great sky was not only created by Him, but also created easily, and this vast earth was created by Him, like nothing. Therefore, about the first it is said: “The heavens are the work of Your hands” (Ps. 101:26); and about the earth: “He created the earth as nothing” 9 (Is. 40:23). Since the world did not want to know God through this wisdom, He taught preaching through imaginary madness, not through judgment, but through faith. Where there is the wisdom of God, there is no need for human wisdom. To say that the One who created such a beautiful and such a great world is God, who has boundless and ineffable power, meant judging by human wisdom and comprehending Him through them; but now what is needed is not judgment, but faith alone. To accept and be convinced that the Crucified and Buried One has risen and is sitting on the mountain, this requires not judgment, but faith. The apostles did not walk with wisdom, but with faith, and they appeared wiser and higher than the external sages, and even more so since the acceptance of divine objects by faith is higher than reasoning - since this exceeds human reason. How did he destroy wisdom? Having revealed itself to us through Paul and similar men and shown that it is useless. Neither wisdom helps the wise in the least to accept the Gospel preaching, nor does ignorance in the least hinder the unlearned, and even, to my surprise, it must be said, ignorance can accept it much more quickly and easily than wisdom. The shepherd and the farmer, without being carried away by reasoning and devoting themselves to the Lord, are more likely to accept it. So He destroyed this wisdom! Since she had first disgraced herself, she then became useless for anything. When she had to show herself and know the Lord from His works, she did not want to; and now, even though she wanted to contribute to this, she cannot, because now this is not the state of affairs - there is a path to the knowledge of God much better than her. What is needed now is simple faith; one must look for it everywhere and prefer it to external wisdom: “God turned to madness,” he says, “God wisdom.” What does it mean: “turned into madness”? Showed that she was unreasonable for accepting faith. Since people thought highly of her, He directly rebuked her. What kind of wisdom is it really if it cannot find the main good? He exposed her madness because she had exposed herself in advance. If she did not discover anything when it was possible to investigate through judgment, then what success can we expect from her now, when higher subjects are ahead, when faith alone is needed, and not the art of judgment? Thus God showed her madness; He deigned to save him through the madness of his preaching, but not real madness, but seeming madness. This is especially and important that He surpassed her not by any wisdom that is superior to her, but by seeming ignorance. He overthrew Plato not by some other wiser philosopher, but by an unlearned fisherman. Such a defeat is stronger; such a victory is more brilliant. Expressing the power of the cross, Paul goes on to say: “For both the Jews demand miracles, and the Greeks seek wisdom; But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:22-24). 3. Great wisdom in these words. He wants to show how God won with something that did not promise victory, and how preaching is not a human work. His words mean the following: when we tell the Jews - believe, they object: raise the dead, heal the demoniac, show us signs. What do we say instead? We say that the One we preach was crucified and died. This not only cannot attract those who resist, but it can drive away those who do not resist; however, it does not drive away, but attracts, holds and conquers. Again the pagans demand from us eloquence in words and skill in judgment, and we preach the cross to them too. To the Jews this seems impotence, and to the pagans it seems madness. If we offer them not only not what they demand, but also the opposite of it - and the cross, according to the judgment of reason, seems not only not a sign, but something contrary to a sign, not only not a sign of strength, but a sign of powerlessness, not only not an expression of wisdom, but a proof of madness - if those who demand signs and wisdom not only do not receive what is required, but also hear from us the opposite of what they demand, and yet are convinced by this opposite, then Isn’t this the work of the ineffable power of the Preached One? If, for example, you were to point out to someone who was tossed by the waves and looking for a pier not a pier, but another place in the sea, even more dangerous, and yet convinced him to swim there with gratitude, or if a doctor approached a wounded man who was waiting for medicine not with medicine, but promised to heal him by burning, and yet convinced him, then this would be a matter of great power; so the apostles won not only not by signs, but by what was apparently contrary to signs. This is what Christ did with the blind man: wanting to give him healing, He destroyed blindness by what produces blindness: “he laid down clay” (John 9:15). Just as He healed the blind with clay, so He drew the universe to Himself with the cross, by something that increased temptation and did not destroy it. This is what He did during creation, making the opposite the opposite; fenced the sea with sand, bridling the strong with the weak; hung the earth on the water, establishing the heavy and dense on the liquid and fluid. Through the prophets again He caused iron to float out of the water by means of a small tree (2 Kings 6:6). So He restored the universe through the cross. Just as water holds up the earth, so the cross holds up the universe. Thus, to convince the contrary is a sign of great strength and wisdom. The cross apparently produces temptation, and yet it not only does not seduce, but also attracts. Presenting all this and marveling, Paul says: “For the foolish things of God are wiser than men, and the weak things of God are stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). Speaking about the violence and weakness of the cross, it does not mean that it really is like that, but it seems like that: he speaks in relation to the opinion of his opponents. What philosophers could not do through reasoning was done by seeming madness. Who is wiser? Is it the one who convinces many, or the one who convinces few, or better yet, no one? Is it the one who convinces in important matters, or who convinces in unimportant matters? How much Plato and his followers worked on the line, angle and point, on numbers commensurate and incommensurable, equal and unequal, and telling us about these webs - after all, all this is more useless for life than even a web - and without bringing any benefit, great or small, then he ended his life. How much he tried to prove that the soul is immortal, but without saying anything clear and without convincing any of the listeners, he then died. On the contrary, the cross, through the unlearned, convinced and converted the whole universe, convinced not of unimportant subjects, but of the doctrine of God, true piety, gospel life and future judgment; he made everyone philosophers - farmers, non-scientists. Do you see how “the foolish things of God are wiser, and the weak things of God are stronger than men.” The stronger? Because it spread throughout the entire universe, it subjugated everyone to its power, and, while countless people were trying to destroy the name of the Crucified One, it did the opposite. This name was glorified and increased more and more, but they perished and disappeared; the living, rebelling against the One put to death, could do nothing. Therefore, if a pagan calls me crazy, he will reveal his own extreme madness, since, being considered crazy by him, I turn out to be wiser than the wise; if he calls me powerless, he will reveal his own even greater powerlessness, since what the publicans and fishermen accomplished by the grace of God, philosophers, rhetoricians, and rulers, and in general the whole universe, with countless efforts, could not even imagine. What didn't the cross do? He introduced the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of bodies, the contempt of present goods and the desire for future goods; he made people angels; to them everyone and everywhere became wise and capable of every virtue. 4. But even among them, you might say, many despised death. Who, tell me? Is it the one who drank the poison from the hemlock? But I can imagine, if you like, whole thousands like him in our Church: if during persecution it was allowed to die by taking poison, then everyone (the persecuted) would appear more glorious than him. Moreover, he drank poison without having the power to drink or not drink; whether he wanted or not, he had to undergo it, and therefore it was not a matter of courage, but of necessity; both robbers and murderers, according to the verdict of the judges, suffered even greater suffering. But with us everything is the opposite: the martyrs suffered not involuntarily, but of their own free will, and while they had the power not to be subjected to suffering, they showed courage stronger than any adamant. It is not surprising that he drank poison when he could not help drinking, and, moreover, having reached a ripe old age. He said that he was already seventy years old when he was ready to despise life, if one can call it contempt for life, which, however, I will not say, and of course no one else will say. And you show me someone who has suffered for piety, just as I can point you to countless others throughout the universe. Who bravely endured having their nails pulled out? Who - when were their members tormented? Who - when they tore his body into pieces? Who - when did they remove the bones from the head? Who - when they constantly put it on a hot frying pan? Who - when were they thrown into boiling water? Show me this! And dying from hemlock poison is almost the same as falling asleep peacefully; Even such a death, they say, is more pleasant than sleep. If some really suffered torment, then they are not worthy of praise for this either, because the reason for their suffering was shameful: some suffered because they discovered some secret, others because they abused power, others because they were caught in the most shameful crimes, and some, without any reason, in vain and recklessly, took their own lives. But this is absolutely not the case with us. That is why their deeds are consigned to oblivion, while ours are glorified and increased every day. Presenting all this, Paul said: “The weakness of God is stronger than all man” (1 Cor. 1:25). The divinity of the gospel sermon is also revealed from the following: how did twelve people decide to do such things, and, moreover, common people who lived near lakes, rivers and deserts, and, perhaps, who had never been either to cities or to market places? How did they decide to go against the entire universe? They were previously timid and fearful, as evidenced by those who wrote about them, who did not hesitate not to hide their weaknesses, which serves as the strongest evidence of the truth. What does he say about them? The fact that when Christ was taken, despite His countless miracles, some of them fled, and the main one who remained denied (Mark 14:50, 68). Why did those who during the life of Christ could not endure attacks from the Jews, after His death and burial decide to go against the whole universe, if He, as you say, did not rise, did not talk with them and did not strengthen them? Couldn't they say to themselves: what is this? He could not save Himself; how can He save us? He could not avenge Himself during His life; how can He give us a helping hand after His death? During His lifetime He did not subjugate a single nation to Himself; how can we convince the whole universe by proclaiming His name? Isn't it strange not only to do this, but even to think about it? From this it is clear that if they had not seen Him risen and had not received the greatest evidence of His power, they would not have decided on such a dangerous undertaking. If they had countless friends, would they not have turned everyone into enemies, changing ancient customs and abolishing fatherly laws? But everyone was hostile to them, both their own and others. If they were distinguished by all external advantages, then even then they would not have aroused general enmity against themselves by introducing a new way of life? Meanwhile, they had nothing for themselves, and it was natural therefore that they were hated and despised by everyone. Who should I point you to? Is it the Jews? They had an unspeakable hatred towards them because of their Teacher. Is it for the pagans? And these were no less disgusted by them, as the pagans themselves know better. Plato, who wanted to introduce a new civil government, or, better, part of the government, and without touching the gods, but only changing some customs to others, was in danger of dying as an exile in Sicily; although this did not happen, he was nevertheless deprived of his freedom; and if another foreigner had not been found kinder than the Sicilian ruler, then this philosopher, of course, would have remained a slave forever in a foreign country. Meanwhile, innovations in civil matters are not as dangerous as in matters of faith; the latter especially irritate people and confuse them. To say that such and such must marry such and such, or guards must guard in such and such a way, cannot yet cause much confusion, especially if such decrees remain in the book, and the legislator does not care much about putting them into effect. But to say that the revered gods are not gods, but demons, that the true God is the Crucified One, you know what kind of anger it inflamed, what revenge it aroused, what abuse it caused. 5. Protagoras among them (the pagans), who dared to say: “I know no gods,” and, moreover, not out loud to the entire universe, through which he would walk and preach, but in one city, was exposed to extreme danger. Diagoras of Melia and Theodore (of Cyrene), nicknamed the atheist, although they had friends, were famous for their eloquence and amazed with their philosophy, but did not find salvation in any of this. The great Socrates, who surpassed them all in his philosophy, drank poison because he was suspected of some innovations regarding the gods. If the mere suspicion of an innovation exposed philosophers and wise men, who enjoyed great respect, to such danger, and they not only could not fulfill their intentions, but themselves lost their lives and their fatherland, then how not to be surprised and amazed to see that the fishermen accomplished such great deeds in the universe, carried out what they undertook, and defeated everyone, both barbarians and Hellenes? But they, you say, did not introduce new gods, like those (philosophers). It's quite strange to say this; they introduced twofold news: they rejected the gods of that time and preached the Crucified One. How did they decide to preach this? How did you hope to achieve your goal? Have they seen anyone do anything like this before them? Didn't everyone worship demons back then? Didn't everyone worship the elements? Were there not extremely varied types of wickedness? But they rebelled against all this, overthrew it all, and in a short time flowed, as if on wings, throughout the entire universe, not thinking about dangers, nor about death, nor about the difficulty of the matter, nor about their small numbers, nor about the multitude of opponents, nor about the power, nor about the strength, nor about the wisdom of their enemies, because they were assisted by help above all this, the power of the Crucified and Risen One. It would not be so surprising if they decided to wage a sensual war with the universe, but rather the amazing thing they accomplished. According to the rules of war, one could stand face to face with the enemy, occupy the opposite terrain and prepare a formation against the enemy, have time for attack and retreat; but that's not the case here. They did not form a special formation, but mixed with the enemies themselves, and thus defeated them; being among their enemies, they repelled their attacks, overcame and won a glorious victory, in which the prophetic word was fulfilled: “and rule among your enemies” (Ps. 109:2). It is amazing how the enemies, having them in their hands, throwing them into prisons and bonds, not only did not overcome them, but then themselves submitted to them, the oppressors - to the oppressed, the binders - to the bound, the persecutors - to the persecuted. We can say all this to the pagans and even more: the treasury of truth is abundant. If you listen to what is proposed, we will teach you to fight them in every possible way. Let us note two main circumstances for now: how did the weak defeat the strong, and how could they, being such, decide to do such things if divine help had not assisted them? 6. Here is the answer from our side. Meanwhile, in our deeds we ourselves will observe the integrity of life and abundantly kindle the fire of virtue, because “you,” says (the apostle), “shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15). Each of us has received from God the opportunity to bring greater benefit than the sun, greater than the sky, earth and sea, as great as the spiritual is higher than the sensory. Therefore, looking at the circle of the sun and marveling at the beauty, substance and brilliance of this luminary, let us at the same time imagine that in us there is a higher and better light, just as there may be the thickest darkness if we are not careful. Deep night embraces the entire universe. Let's disperse it and destroy it. It is night not only for heretics and pagans, but also for many among us, both in belief and in life. Many do not believe in the resurrection, many tell fortunes at birth, many observe signs, resort to enchantments, sorcery, conventional signs, bandages and whispers. However, we will speak to them later, when we finish speaking to the pagans. Remember what has been said and assist me in the fight against them, converting and attracting them to us with life. I always say that whoever teaches wisdom must demonstrate it in advance in his life and be desired by his listeners. Let us try to become desirable to the pagans and gain their favor towards us. And this will happen when we are ready not only to do good, but also to endure evil. Don’t we see how children, being in their father’s arms, hit him on the cheeks, how the father gladly allows the child to satiate his anger and, when he sees that his anger has passed, is consoled? We will do the same: we will speak to the pagans as fathers speak to their children. All pagans are real children; some of them themselves said that they are always children and there is not a single elder among them. Children don't want to think about anything useful; Likewise, the pagans want to constantly have fun and grovel on the earth, abandoning themselves to base and earthly things. Children, hearing our conversations about necessary items, often do not understand anything that is said, but constantly laugh; so are the pagans: when we talk about the kingdom (of heaven), they laugh. Children often drool from their mouths and contaminate their food and drink; so also from the mouths of the pagans come vain and unclean words; You give them the necessary food, and they insult the givers with slander, and you must endure this. Children, seeing a thief entering a house and committing theft here, not only do not drive him out, but are also amused by his cunning, but if you take away a basket or a trinket, or any other toy, they become upset, angry, lose their temper and throw themselves on the floor; Likewise, the pagans, seeing the devil, taking away from them all the innate blessings necessary for their life, laugh and surrender to him as a friend, and if someone takes away their property, wealth or anything similar from these children's toys, they become upset and lose their temper. Children expose themselves without feeling shame or blushing; so the pagans, mingling with fornicators and harlots, perverting the laws of nature and entering into illegal relationships, remain shameless. You loudly applaud and approve, but during this applause, be careful that this does not turn out to be said at your expense. I exhort everyone to be husbands; After all, if we ourselves become children, how can we teach others to be husbands? How can we save them from childish foolishness? Let us be men, so that we may reach “to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) and be worthy of future blessings, grace and love for mankind (our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, 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” Gr. “την δε γην ως ουδεν εποιησεν” (my translation – I.I.). You might be interested in: