Беседа 9

Eph.4:1–3. Therefore I, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and meekness and long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, trying to maintain the unity of spirit in the union of peace. The high dignity of Paul emerging from prison. – What does it mean to be worthy of the title? - About love. – Mystery is a consequence of the cooling of love. 1. In these words, the great and more (any) brilliant power of Paul’s bonds is revealed to us. And (Paul) does not show this power in vain, as it seems, and not without purpose, but in order to shame them more with it. What is he saying? “I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” How (to walk)? “With all humility and meekness and long-suffering, bearing with one another in love.” This means that it is good to be a prisoner, but not just, but for the sake of Christ; That’s why he said: “a prisoner in the Lord,” that is, for the sake of Christ. Nothing can compare to this! But the bonds (of Paul), distracting us from the real subject of speech, attract us (to ourselves), and, being unable to resist this attraction, we speak about them as if involuntarily, or rather, both willingly and with prayer. Oh, if only we could always talk about these bonds! But be patient: I want to say something else that is the subject of attention of many, and about which they say this: if grief is a good thing, then how did he, defending himself before Agrippa, say: “I would pray to God, that whether little or much, not only you, but also all who listen to me today, would become like me, except for these bonds” (Acts 26:29)? He said this not because he considered grief to be a humiliating thing for himself - no; if this were so, if in fact they were humiliating, then he would not boast either of bonds, or imprisonment, or other disasters, and would not have said: “I will much rather boast of my weaknesses” (2 Cor. 12:9). What does this mean? What he considered a great thing was prisonerhood. But just as he wrote to the Corinthians: “I fed you with milk, and not with solid food, for you were not yet able, and even now you are not able” (1 Cor. 3:2), so here (it happened that) they could not listen to his teachings about the beauty, greatness and benefits of prisonership: that’s why he said: “except these bonds.” On the contrary, he did not write to the Hebrews in this way, but advised them to share bonds with the prisoners. Therefore, he himself rejoiced for the bonds, surrendered to the chains and was taken into custody with the prisoners. Great is the power of Paul's bonds! Instead of all the spectacles, this alone is enough - to see Paul bound and led out of prison. What could be greater than the pleasure of seeing him in chains and sitting in prison? How can I appreciate this pleasure? Do you not see kings and consuls riding on chariots decorated in gold, and their bodyguards also wearing everything in gold - golden spears, golden shields, gold-decorated clothes, golden horse blankets? But how much more pleasant is the first sight than the last! I would rather have looked once at Paul leaving prison with the prisoners than to see these men accompanied by their spearmen a thousand times. How many angels do you think preceded (Paul) when they brought him out in this way? That I am not lying, this can be confirmed to you by an example from ancient history. Elisha the prophet, whom you may know, during the war between the Syrian king and the Israeli, sitting at home, opened the court conferences of the Syrian king with his advisers and made his actions unsuccessful, expressing his secret intentions in advance, and thus did not allow (the Israelites) to fall into the networks that this king was setting for them. This worried and frightened the latter, and he was in great perplexity because he did not know who was detecting all his thoughts, watching him and making his plans unsuccessful. But when the king was in this ignorance and tried to find out the reason (for the failure of his enterprises), one of the bodyguards told him that a prophet named Elisha lived in Samaria, and that he was destroying the king’s plans by revealing them. The king thought that he knew everything, but in fact nothing could be sadder than his situation. Look, in fact: instead of honoring this man, marveling at him and being afraid of the power by which he, being at such a great distance, knows, without anyone's transmission, all the secret plans of the king - instead, he becomes irritated and, carried away only by anger, gathers horsemen and warriors and sends them to capture the prophet. Elisha had a student who was still, so to speak, on the threshold of prophecy and was not rewarded with such revelations (as his teacher received). The king's soldiers appeared to bind the prophet. Meet the bonds again! What should I do? They are woven into our speech from everywhere. Seeing the multitude of troops, the student was frightened and, trembling with fear, ran to the teacher with the news of this, in his opinion, misfortune and said that they were in imminent danger. The Prophet smiled at the fact that (his disciple) was afraid of something that was not scary, and advised him to take courage; but the latter, as still imperfect, was not convinced by his words and, amazed by what he saw, still trembled. What about the prophet? “Lord!” he says, “open his eyes so that he can see” that there is more on our side than on theirs. And suddenly he sees: the whole mountain on which the prophet lived is filled with fiery horses and chariots (2 Kings 6:17). And this was nothing more than an army of angels. 2. If Elisha, for just such a case, was surrounded by an army of angels, then what can we say about Paul? The prophet David says: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him” (Ps. 34:8), and again: “They will carry you in their hands, so that you do not stumble on your foot” (Ps. 90:12). But what am I talking about angels? The Lord himself was with him when he came out (from prison). Abraham did not see him either. He was not with Abraham either; but (now) He himself made the promise: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Appearing to Paul, he said: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will harm you” (Acts 18:9–10). And in a dream He appeared to him and said: “Hurry up and leave Jerusalem quickly, because your testimony about Me will not be accepted here” (Acts 22:18). So, wonderful saints are always filled with great grace, and especially when they are in danger for Christ, when they become prisoners (for Him). Just as it is pleasant to look at a valiant warrior at any time, and especially when he stands and fights next to the king himself, so Imagine Paul, who could be seen teaching and in prison. Here I will tell you what, by the way, came to my mind now. And the blessed martyr Babyla was in chains for the same thing as John - for exposing the king in lawlessness, and, dying, he ordered to put these chains together with his body, to bury himself in chains, and now the chains lie with the dust: such was his love for the chains for the sake of Christ! “His soul entered into iron” (Ps. 104:18), the prophet said about Joseph. And women also experienced prisonerhood. But we don’t want to tie ourselves down! I advise you not to accept this (Pavlovo’s prisonership) - since now is not such a time - but you, without tying your hands, tie your mind. There are also other bonds, and whoever does not bear some will bear others. Listen to what Christ says: “having tied his hands and feet” (Matthew 22:13). In order not to be subjected to this captivity, let us put those bonds on ourselves. Therefore (Paul) said: “I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” And again: our head is Christ. He resurrected us and seated us in heaven, despite the fact that we are so hostile to Him and have done so much evil. Great is this title and to great things (it is directed)! It is great not only because (He called us) from such a state, but also because He called us to such things and in this way. How can one walk with dignity (of this title)? "With all humility of mind". Whoever is such deserves to pass this title: humility is the foundation of all virtue. If you have humility and remember who you are and how you were saved, then the memory of this serves as an incentive for you to virtue. You will not be proud of the bonds, or even of what I said; but, knowing that everything you have is the gift of grace, you will humble yourself. A humble person can be a servant who remembers and is grateful for good deeds. “What do you have,” he says, “that you wouldn’t receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7)? Listen also to what he says: “But I have labored more than all of them: not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). “With all humility,” he says, “that is, not in words and not in deeds only, but also in external techniques and in the tone of speech. Do not treat one humbly and another impudently; maintain humility with everyone, whether he is your friend or enemy, a noble or an insignificant person: this is humility. Also, observe humility in other matters, because Christ says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and he puts this (blessedness) before others. That is why (the apostle) said: “with all humility and meekness and long-suffering.” In others there is humility, but he is hot-tempered and irritable: then humility does not benefit him; often, under the influence of anger, he loses everything. “By forbearing,” he says, “towards one another through love.” How can one be patient with someone who is irritable and a slanderer? (The Apostle) indicated the way: “by love,” he says. If you have no patience with your neighbor, then how will God bear with you? If you are impatient with your fellow servant, then how will the Master tolerate you? Where there is love, everything can be endured. “Trying,” says, “to preserve the unity of the spirit in the union of peace.” Tie your hands with bonds of meekness. So the bright word - bonds - illuminated us again; we left it, and it came to us again. Those bonds are good, and these are good; but the former are the fruit of the latter. Unite yourself with your brother: everything is easy for people bound together by bonds of love. Tie yourself to him and him to you: then you will be a master not only over yourself, but also over others, you will be able to make your friend anyone you want. Benevolently “trying”: makes it clear that this is not a simple matter and not an accident. “Trying,” he says, “to maintain the unity of spirit.” 3. What is unity of spirit? Just as in the body the soul embraces everything and imparts some kind of unity to the diversity that comes from the diversity of bodily members, so it is here. But the soul is also given in order to unite (people) who are different from each other in origin and way of life. An old man and a young man, a poor and a rich man, a youth and an adult, a husband and a wife, and every being endowed with a soul is something one and this unity is greater than the unity of the body. The first affinity is higher than the last, (spiritual) unity is more perfect. The more simple and monotonous a spiritual union is, the more perfect it is. How is it saved? "in the union of peace". It does not exist where there is hostility and division. “For if there is envy, strife, and disagreement among you, are you not carnal? and are you not acting according to human custom?” (1 Cor. 3:3)? Just as fire, falling on dry trees, turns them into one burning fire, but on wet trees it has no effect and does not connect them with each other, so it happens here: spiritual coldness does not contribute to union, but mostly warmth. This is where the warmth of love comes from. (The Apostle) wants to unite us all with bonds of love. Just as, he says, how, if you want to tie yourself to another person, you can do this in no other way than by tying him to yourself, and if you want to make this union mutual, you need his attachment to you, so here, he wants us to be connected with each other not by one world, but by one love, but so that we all have one soul. These are wonderful bonds: with these bonds we are united both with each other and with God. These bonds do not burden or constrain the hands bound by them; on the contrary, they give them greater freedom, open up more space for their activity and make the prisoners more fun than those who are not tied. The strong, being in alliance with the weak, strengthens him and does not allow him to perish, and he excites the carefree to activity. “We help brother from brother,” says (the Wise), “like a strong city” (Proverbs 18:19). This union cannot be disturbed by distance, heaven, earth, death, or anything else; he is taller and stronger than anyone else. Arising from the unity of the soul, it can embrace many at the same time. Listen to what Paul says: “You are not crowded with us; but your hearts are tight. In equal recompense, I say, as to children, you too will be distributed” (2 Cor. 6:12-13). What destroys this union? Love of money, love of power, ambition and much more weakens and divides the members of this union. How to bridge this gap? If there are no these (passions), there will be no obstacles to love. This is what Christ says: when “iniquity increases, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Nothing opposes love so much as sin - I mean not only love for God, but also for one’s neighbor. How, they ask, do robbers live peacefully among themselves? But, tell me, when? In any case, when they do not lead a robber life. But if they do not observe justice in the division of the spoils and give each their rightful share, then you see them in hostility and war among themselves. So you can’t find peace where there is evil, but you can always find it where you live justly and virtuously. What else? Do rivals live peacefully among themselves? Who can you point out to me? A stingy man could never have peaceful relations. would be of this kind of people. Like two wild hungry animals, for lack of prey, devour each other, this is what happens in a society of stingy and evil people. Thus, without virtue there can be no peace. Let us, if you like, form a whole society of acquisitive people, let them all enjoy equal honor, no one will offend them, and they themselves will be unfair to each other: can such a society exist? Not at all! Do fornicators live peacefully? You won't find two who agree with each other. And the reason is again the same - cooling, and cooling of love is a consequence of the increase in lawlessness. It leads to selfishness, it tears and dissects the body, weakens and destroys it. On the contrary, completely opposite actions arise from virtue. A virtuous person is above money. If countless numbers (of people) lived in poverty, they could remain at peace among themselves. And misers, even if only two of them get together, they can never maintain peaceful relations with each other. 4. So, if we have virtue, then love will not perish, because virtue comes from love, and love from virtue. I'll explain how. A virtuous person does not prefer money to friendship, he does not remember evil, does not injustice to his neighbor, does not inflict offense on him, and he himself endures everything generously. This is what love is made of. Again, whoever loves has all these (qualities). Thus, one is created by the other. From this it is clear that love comes from virtue, which is what (the Lord) pointed out when he said: when lawlessness increases, “the love of many will grow cold.” And that virtue comes from love, the apostle says about this: “he who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). Therefore, it is necessary to be one of two things: either to love and be loved greatly, or to be extremely virtuous. He who has one must also have another; and vice versa, he who does not have love does evil, and he who does evil does not know love. Let us strive to acquire love: it will protect us from evil. Let us bind ourselves (with bonds of love). Let there be no deception or guile among us. There is none of this where there is friendship. A certain sage said this: “If you draw a sword against a friend, do not despair, for the return of friendship is possible. If you have opened your mouth against a friend, do not be afraid, for reconciliation is possible. Only reproach, pride, the discovery of secrets and insidious villainy can drive away every friend” (Sir. 22:23–25). Revealing the secret, he says, removes it. However, if we all live amicably among ourselves, then there will be no need for secrets. Just as no one has secrets from himself and cannot hide anything from himself, so from friends. And when there are no secrets, a break because of them will not be possible. Our secrets are a consequence of the fact that we cannot rely on the loyalty of everyone; secrets are the fruit of cooling love. Really, what secret could you have? Do you want to treat your neighbor unfairly? Or - prevent him from receiving some benefit, and therefore you hide from him? Or is there nothing, but you are ashamed (to speak out)? Isn't this a sign that you don't trust him? With love there will be neither betrayal of the secret nor reproach of it. In fact, tell me, who reviles himself and when? And if this happens, it is for good. We also reprimand children in order to correct them. And when Christ reproached the cities (Chorazin and Bethsaida), saying: “Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaido!” (Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13) - then (he did this in order) to save them from disgrace. After all, nothing has such an influence on the soul, nothing is so capable of restoring it and correcting its inconstancy (as reproof). And it is not without intention that we denounce each other. Really, why would you reproach your neighbor? For money? You won’t if you consider your own to be common property. For sins? But this is not a reproach, but rather a correction. “Insidious villainy,” it says. Well, will anyone destroy and hurt himself? Nobody. So, let us strive for love. It is not simply said: let us love, but we will pursue (love), that is, we must use great effort. (Love) soon disappears, quickly leaves us: it encounters so many obstacles for itself in this life. If we are chasing her, she will not be so quick to leave us, and we will soon attract her. The love of God united heaven with earth; the love of God placed man on the royal throne; the love of God has revealed God on earth; the love of God made the Master a slave; the love of God gave up the Beloved for enemies, the Son for haters, the Master for slaves, God for men, the Free for slaves. But she did not limit herself to this, but called us to even more. She not only freed us from previous evil, but also promised to grant us much greater good. Having given thanks to God for all this, let us try to acquire every virtue, and most of all let us succeed in love, in order to be rewarded with the promised blessings 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 to the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: