Беседа 10

Eph.4:4. There is one body and one spirit, just as you are called to one hope of your calling. 1. When blessed Paul wants to dispose (Christians) to something especially high, then, being filled with wisdom and spirituality, he encourages him to do this with heavenly objects - the example of the Lord himself. So in one place he says: “And live in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us” (Eph. 5:2), and again: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: He, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (Phil. 2:5-6). The same is true here. When great examples are pointed out, a person is born with strong jealousy and desire (to imitate them). So what is he saying to encourage us to unite? “There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:4–5). What is "One Body"? Faithful in all places of the universe, living, having lived and having to live. Those who pleased (God) before the coming of Christ also constitute one body. Why? Because they also knew Christ. Where can you see this? “Your father Abraham,” it is said, “rejoiced to see My day; and he saw and rejoiced" (John. 8:56); also: “For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, because he wrote about Me” (John 5:46). Indeed, they would not write about someone about whom they did not know what to say. If they knew, then without a doubt they revered them. That is why they also constitute one body. The body is not separated from the spirit, otherwise it would not be a body - because with us we talk about objects connected to each other and having a great connection, It is usually said: one body. So in the same way we ourselves, when united, constitute one body, with one head. Although the body consists of different members, important and unimportant, neither the best of them is armed against the insignificant member, nor is the first subject to envy on the part of the latter, and although not all (members) have the same function, each one is subject to a certain requirement of necessity, however, by itself - that everything is done by them out of necessity, or according to. demands of different needs - all of them are equally worthy of respect. However, among them there are some higher, and others lower, such as, for example, the head dominates the whole body, all feelings and the very dominion of the soul are contained in it - as a result of which no one can live without a head, while, after cutting off the legs, many still remain alive for a long time. Thus, the head is better than the other (members) not only in its position, but also in its activity and significance. But why am I talking about this? And in the Church there are many who have reached the same height as the head, who contemplate heavenly things like eyes in the head, who are very removed from the earth and have nothing in common with it. Others take the place of legs, trampling the ground - healthy legs, however. After all, the crime charged to the feet is not that they trample the ground, but that they deviate towards the path of wickedness, that “Their feet, as it is said, run to evil” (Is. 59:7). So, neither the eyes should despise the legs, nor the legs envy the eyes. Otherwise, each member loses its own dignity, and its proper use becomes difficult. And rightly so: he who plots against his neighbor thereby, first of all, plots against himself. So, if the legs do not want to carry their heads when it is necessary to move from one place to another, then with their inactivity and immobility they harm themselves. Likewise, if the head did not want to have any care for the legs, then, first of all, it would harm itself. But they (i.e., the head and legs), as they should, are not hostile to each other, because this is how nature is designed. How can a person not rebel against a person? No one (you will say) rebels against the angels, since they do not rebel against the archangels; animals also cannot prevail over me; and where there is a nature of equal dignity, where there are equal talents and no one has more than the other, why can’t one rebel against the other? But this very thing does not give you the right to rebel against your neighbor. If everything is common, and no one has anything great against the other, then on what basis can one be exalted over the other? We are endowed with the same nature, similar in soul and body, we breathe the same air and eat the same food: why should we rebel (against each other)? True, the opportunity through a virtuous life to become above ethereal forces can lead to a high opinion of oneself; but this would not yet be arrogance. After all, I rightfully place myself highly and very highly in comparison with the demon. Look at how Paul also placed himself above the demon. When the demon spoke a lot of amazing things about him, he forced him to remain silent, not succumbing to the seducer. Thus, when the young woman, who had an inquisitive spirit, said: “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17), he, after a strict rebuke, tied his shameless tongue. And yet, in another place, he writes the following words: “The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet quickly” (Rom. 16:20). Isn't this a consequence of differences in nature? 2. Don't you see that it is not the difference of nature that matters, but free will? Therefore, by free will they (demons) are the worst. But, you say, I do not rebel against the angel, because there is a great distance between me and him. But you should also not rebel against a person, just as you should not rebel against an angel. Just as an angel is different from you by nature, which, however, should not serve as either praise or condemnation for him, so a person differs from another person not by nature, but by inner mood and becomes an angel among people. Therefore, if you do not arm yourself against angels, then much less (you should not arm yourself) against people, who in human nature become angels. At the same time, a person as virtuous as an angel is much better for you than an angel. Why? Because he corrected his nature by his own will, and also because the angel is distant from you and lives in heaven, and he lives with you and arouses competition in you. However, he is also far from you - even more than that one: “Our citizenship,” he says, “is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). And (to convince you) that he is really far from you, listen to where his head lives: on the royal throne, he says. But the further this throne is from us, the further it is from us. But you say: I see that he enjoys honor and this makes me jealous. Envy was the cause of countless unrest throughout creation, both above and below, and not only on earth, but also in the Church itself. Just as a stormy and contrary wind, rushing towards a calm pier, makes it more dangerous than any rock and any sailing on the sea, so in the same way the love of glory, taking possession (of a person), destroys everything and leads to disorder. You have often been to large house fires. They saw how the smoke rises to the sky, and how the fire, little by little, destroys everything, because no one cares about how to stop the misfortune, and everyone thinks only about himself. Often a whole city gathers, a multitude of people gather to watch the disaster; but there is no protection or help from anyone. At the same time, you can see how those gathered do nothing; each of them only stretches out his hand to point out to the newcomer either how flames are constantly pouring out of the windows, or how the ceilings are collapsing and entire walls are falling from their foundations to the ground. There are, however, many people who are brave and not afraid of danger, who are not afraid to come closer to burning buildings, but not in order to help end the disaster, but in order to better enjoy the spectacle, and to see up close everything that is often not visible from afar. If this disaster befell a famous and magnificent house, then it seems that the spectacle is worthy of special regret and great tears. Indeed, it is a sad sight to see how the heads of the columns turn into ashes, how many of them are broken into pieces, some by the action of fire, and others by the own hands of their builders (who do this in order) not to give more food to the fire; (sad sight) - to see statues that served, under the protection of the roof, as decoration of the building, after the roof fell, without protection, standing in the open air, in an extremely ugly state. What else? Who can count the wealth contained in these buildings - the golden garments and silver vessels? And where only one gentleman and his wife entered, where there was a storeroom for numerous clothes and fragrances, where there was a storehouse of precious stones - everywhere, as soon as the fire began, bathhouse attendants, scavengers, tramps and all others like them entered. And so everything that was inside turned into water, fire, dirt, dust and burnt logs. But why did I spread this picture so widely before you? I don’t want to describe just a house fire – why do I need this? - but I want to present to your eyes, as far as possible, the disasters of the Church. In fact, it was as if some kind of fire or lightning, rushing from a height, rushed to the very roof of the Church, and yet it didn’t bother anyone! When our father's house is on fire, we sleep deeply and soundly. Who was not touched by this flame? Which images in the Church did he not touch? And truly, the Church is nothing more than a house built for our souls. However, not everything that was included in this building is equal in merit: some of its constituent stones are brilliant and magnificent, while others are worse and darker, although still much better than the rest. You can see here many of them and those that take the place of gold - gold that adorns the roof: others, as can be seen, serve as the same decoration as statues in houses; and many stand like columns. It is customary to call people columns, not only for their strength, but also because, having a golden headdress, they decorate (their place) with their beautiful appearance. And in the large number of people one can see, as it were, a large and spacious extension of the walls: a multitude of people takes the place of the stones from which the walls are built. 3. But we need to move on to a brighter picture. This Church is not built from (simple) stones, but from gold, silver, precious stones set in gold. But, alas, what a pity! All this was burned by the reign of vanity - this all-consuming flame - and no one overcame its actions. We stand and are surprised by the fire, but we do not have the strength to put out the evil. Even if they extinguish it for a short time, two or three days will pass, and the spark smoldering in the ashes will destroy everything that it had not touched before. So here, the same thing is done that usually happens during a fire. The reason for this is that when we no longer had supports for the church columns themselves, the fire engulfed (these columns), which supported the roof and imparted strength to the entire building; and through this he gained convenient access to the walls. If the flame destroys the wooden parts of the building, it rushes to the stone ones. But when the columns are destroyed and overthrown by him, then he has no need to destroy the rest, because as soon as the pillars and supports of the upper parts (of the building) fall, the rest of itself, without any obstacle, is subject to the same fate. This is exactly what happened to the Church today: fire engulfed everyone. We seek honors from people, we are inflamed with a love of glory and do not listen to the words of Job: “then I would be afraid of a large company, and the contempt of my fellow tribesmen would frighten me” (Job 31:34). Do you see the virtuous soul? I was not ashamed, he says, to tell my involuntary sins in front of a multitude of people. If he was not ashamed, then all the more should we do so. “Remember Me,” says (the prophet), “you speak in order to be justified” (Is. 43:26). Great was the power of this evil: it subverted and destroyed everything. We have become slaves of honor, leaving God. We cannot forbid this to our subordinates, being ourselves possessed by the same fever. We ourselves need healing, although we are appointed by God to heal others. What hope remains for salvation when the doctors themselves need the help of others? I said this not without reason and it is not in vain that I express my lamentation, but so that all of us, together with our wives and children, sprinkle ourselves with ashes and put on sackcloth, impose a fast on ourselves and ask God to show us help and remove danger from us. Our help truly lies in His great and wondrous right hand. More is required of us than of the Ninevites. “Forty more days,” it is said, “and Nineveh will be destroyed” (John 3:4). A terrible and very menacing announcement! And how could the Ninevites not (fear) in anticipation that, after three days, their city would become a tomb for them, and they would all die from the same punishment? If it ever happened that two children died at the same time and in the same house, then it was an unbearable disaster. And if the most unbearable disaster seemed to Job - the death of all (his children) due to the fact that the roof collapsed over them, then what would it be like to see not one house, not two children, but an entire people, numbering one hundred and twenty thousand, buried under collapsed roofs? See what a disaster! A similar threat was recently directed against us, not by the voice of a prophet - we are not worthy to hear such a voice - but by some heavenly broadcast that sounded to us louder than any trumpet. Again I repeat what was said: “another forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed.” Truly a terrible threat! But now it’s not at all like that. Not three days have passed and it is not the destruction of Nineveh that threatens us, but many days have passed since the time when the Church on earth was destroyed and cast down, how everyone is equally enslaved to sin, and especially those who bear the responsibility of governance. The stronger the evil, the more urgent the need. Therefore, do not be surprised if I urge you to do in some respects more than the Ninevites did. I preach to you not only fasting, but also show you the medicine that protected this city from falling. Why is this so? Because when the Lord saw (the deeds of the Ninevites), “they turned from their evil way, and God regretted the disaster that he said he would bring on them, but did not bring” (John 3:10). We will do this too. Let us move away from self-interest and love of glory, asking God to show us His help and restore our fallen brothers. This is not what we should be afraid of (what threatened Nineveh). Then stones and logs began to fall, and bodies perished; but there is nothing like that, but their souls will be consigned to the fire of Gehenna. Let us call (God), glorify Him; for the past, let us ask Him for forgiveness, and for the future we will pray to Him, so that, having freed ourselves from this fierce and powerful enemy (sin), we will be worthy to send up praise to the man-loving God and Father, with whom to the Son with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: