Беседа 6

1 Timothy 2:1–4. So, first of all, I ask you to make prayers, petitions, supplications, thanksgivings for all people, for kings and for all those in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and serene life in all piety and purity, for this is good and pleasing to our Savior God, who wants all people to be saved and to achieve the knowledge of the truth. A Christian should be above everyone else. – It is a great evil to curse one’s neighbor. – You should pray for your enemies. 1. The priest is, as it were, the common father of the whole universe; therefore, it is fitting for him to care for everyone, just as God, to whom he dedicated himself, cares. Therefore, the apostle says: “First of all, I ask you to make prayers, petitions, supplications.” Two benefits flow from this: on the one hand, through this, the hatred that we have for outsiders (those who do not belong to the Church) is destroyed, because no one can harbor hostile feelings towards the one for whom they are praying, on the other hand, they become better, partly because prayers are offered for them, and partly because they put off bitterness against us. Truly, nothing contributes so much to the success of learning as to love and be loved. Think also of what it meant for those who plotted, beat, expelled, killed (Christians) to hear that those who endure such suffering raise diligent prayers to God for those who cause them (this suffering)! Do you see to what extent, in accordance with the desire (of the apostle), a Christian should be above everyone else? Just as (fatherly) love for small children does not diminish in the least, even if a child taken in his arms hits his father in the face, so we should not diminish our love for outsiders in the least, even if we endure blows from them. What does it mean: “first of all”! This means - during daily worship. And those initiated into the sacraments know this, as happens with us every day, both in the evening and in the morning, as we pray for the whole world, for kings and for everyone who has been entrusted with power. But perhaps someone will say that he commanded (to pray) not for everyone, but for the faithful. What meaning will his words have then: “for kings”? At that time there were no pious kings; on the contrary, for a long time the wicked followed the wicked in succession. In addition, so that this would not seem like flattery, he said first: for everyone, and then: for the kings. If he had said: only for kings alone, then perhaps someone would have suspected him of this. Moreover, since it was natural that the soul of a Christian, hearing this, could become bewildered and disagree with this instruction - that when performing the sacraments one should offer prayers for the pagan - then look at what he says and what benefits he offers, in order to at least in this way persuade it to accept his suggestion. “Let us live a quiet and silent life” - that is, their salvation gives us serenity - just as in the Epistle to the Romans, urging them to obey their rulers, he says: “not only for fear of punishment, but also according to conscience” (Rom. 13:5). After all, God established the authorities for the common good. And wouldn’t it be incongruous with anything if, while others set out on a campaign and put on weapons for the purpose of keeping us safe, we ourselves did not even pray for those who are exposed to dangers and bear the burden of military service. Thus, this does not constitute flattery at all, but is done at the request of justice. In fact, if they had not avoided danger and had not been successful in wars, then, of necessity, our affairs would then have fallen into confusion and disorder; Then, after they were defeated, we ourselves should go to war, or run away and wander everywhere. They constitute, he says, a kind of stronghold placed in front, which protects the peace of those within. “Prayers,” he says, “supplications, petitions, thanksgivings,” because you need to thank God for those blessings that are sent to others, for example, because He makes the sun shine on the evil and the good and rains on the righteous and the unjust. Do you see that he unites and binds us to each other not only through prayer, but also through thanksgiving? After all, whoever is obliged to thank God for the blessings sent down to his neighbor is obliged to both love him and be friendly towards him. And if we need to give thanks for what is sent down to our neighbor, then even more so for what is done to ourselves, both in secret, and at our desire, and against our will, and for what even seems unpleasant to us, because God arranges everything for our good. 2. So, let each of our prayers contain thanksgiving. If we are commanded to offer prayers for our neighbors, not only for the faithful, but also for the unfaithful, then think what a great evil it is to curse our brothers. What are you saying? He commands you to pray for your enemies, but are you really going to curse your brother? It is not him that you curse, but yourself, because you bring upon yourself the wrath of God by uttering these wicked words: “so show him, do so to him, strike him, repay him.” Disciples of Christ, meek and humble, should avoid these (words). Let nothing bitter come from the lips that have been vouchsafed such a sacrament; let the tongue, having partaken of the body of the Lord, not utter anything unpleasant. Let's keep it clean, let's not curse it. If those who offend do not inherit the kingdom, then all the more those who curse, because whoever curses will certainly inflict an insult. And insult and prayer are distant from each other, therefore, prayer is also at a great distance (from the curse), because condemnation and prayer are also at a great distance (from each other). You pray to God to be merciful to you - and (at the same time) curse the other! If you do not forgive, then you will not be forgiven; and not only do you not forgive yourself, but you also ask God not to forgive? Do you see how angry you have become? If one who does not forgive himself is not forgiven, then how can one be forgiven who still asks the Lord not to forgive? You are not harming him (your neighbor), but yourself. How? Such that if the prayer that you offer for yourself could have been heard, now it will never be heard, because you bring it with bad lips. Truly such lips are filthy and unclean, filled with every stench and every uncleanness. You should tremble for the sake of your sins, and use every effort (to obtain forgiveness) for them, but you come to God with the purpose of inciting Him against your brother? Aren't you afraid, don't you care about yourself? Don't you see what you're doing? At least imitate the children who go to school. When they see that their comrades are being asked to account for what they have learned, and that everyone is being punished for laziness, that each of them is being tested separately with all severity and is being punished with rods, then they die of fear, and even if one of those studying with them inflicted countless blows on them, they do not think of getting angry - because fear takes possession of their souls - and they do not dare to complain to the teacher about only one thing. they pay attention to how they can come and leave from there without punishment, they impatiently wait for this time to come, and when they leave - whether they have been punished or not - from joy it no longer occurs to them to be angry. And you, standing (in prayer) and lamenting your sins, don’t you shudder, remembering (the sins) of other people? And how do you (dare) ask God for this? After all, when you call on God’s justice against your neighbor, then you thereby increase the severity of your sins, and do not allow Him to give you forgiveness for your (sins). If you want, He will say, for Me to be a strict examiner of the offenses committed against you, then how do you ask for leniency for what you have sinned against Me? Let us therefore learn to be Christians someday! If we don’t know how to pray—which is convenient and very easy—then how will we know the rest? Let's learn to pray like Christians. Such prayers are characteristic of the pagans, and such prayers befit the Jews. But the prayers of a Christian have the opposite properties: (they should) ask for forgiveness, oblivion of what (others) have sinned against us. “They slander us,” says (the apostle), “we bless; persecute us, we endure” (1 Cor. 4:12). Listen to what Stephen says: “Lord! Do not count this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Not only did he not curse, but he also prayed; and not only do you not pray, but you also curse. Therefore, as much as he is worthy of surprise, you are so criminal. Who are we surprised at, tell me, at the one for whom he prayed, or at the one who prayed? Of course - the latter. And if we (judge in this way), then much more God. Do you want to defeat the enemy? Pray for him, but pray not with this thought - not so that he will suffer punishment: it will come by itself, but you do not do it for this purpose. Moreover, this blessed one (Stephen) endured everything without guilt, and meanwhile prayed (for his enemies); and we deservedly suffer a lot from our enemies. If the one who suffered innocently did not dare not pray (for his enemies), then what kind of punishment do we deserve when, having deservedly suffered, we not only do not pray, but also curse? You think that you are inflicting wounds (on your enemy), but in fact you are turning the sword on yourself, because you do not allow the Judge to be lenient towards your sins, trying to arouse His anger towards others. “For with the judgment you judge,” He says, “in this way you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2). So, let us be lenient, so that we too may find God in this way. 3. I desire that you not only listen to this, but also observe it. Meanwhile, now only some words are retained in the memory, and maybe not even that, so that when we leave, if anyone who was not here asks what we talked about, then some will say nothing at all, others - those who know will say only the content of what we talked about - that there is no need to be vindictive, you even need to pray (for enemies) - and then they will stop talking about everything that was said (because they are not able to remember), others they will remember a little, just something. Therefore, I beg you, if you do not get any benefit from what is said, then do not be diligent in listening. What is the real benefit of this? The result is only greater condemnation and more severe punishment for the fact that, despite countless admonitions, we remain in the same position. For this very purpose, God gave us a specific prayer, so that we would not ask for anything worldly or for anything human. You, the faithful, know what you need to pray for - how every prayer becomes common to everyone. But it doesn’t say there; they will say that you need to pray for the infidels too. (You say this) because you do not know the power of prayer, nor its depth, nor the treasures that are hidden in it. And if anyone carefully examines it, he will find that it contains this too. When a person praying says: “Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 6:10), he is praying for nothing else, but precisely for this. How? Such that in heaven there is not a single unfaithful, not a single sinner. If here (we were talking) only about the faithful alone, then these words would not make sense, because if only the faithful were to do His will, and the unfaithful were not, then His will would no longer be fulfilled (on earth) as it is in heaven. But what (are we talking about here)? Just as in heaven, we say, there is not a single sinner, so let there not be a single one on earth; but in everyone, we say, root Thy fear and make all people angels, although they are our enemies and adversaries. Don't you see how many times every day blasphemy is uttered against God? How many times are He insulted not only by the unfaithful, but also by the faithful, not only with words, but also with deeds? What is He? Did you extinguish the sun for this? Did you stop the flow of the moon? Did you destroy the sky? Did it shake the earth? Has the sea dried up? Did you destroy the water sources? Is the air mixed? Not at all, but quite the opposite. He makes the sun shine, sends down rain, gives fruit, annually sends food to the blasphemers, the foolish, the despicable, the persecutors, and this is not a day, not two, not three, but throughout their entire life. Imitate Him too; be jealous of Him to the best of your ability. Can't you make the sun shine? At least don't slander. Can't send rain? At least don't reproach me. Can't give me food? At least don't bother me. These gifts will be enough on your part. God shows benefits to your enemies in deed, and you do them, at least in word - pray for the enemy; In this way you will become like your Father who is in heaven. I’ve already talked to you about this a thousand times, and I won’t stop talking; If only some benefit would come out. We do not become numb because of our words, we do not become tired or burdened; If only you don’t give any reason to think that you are being burdened by listening to us. And the one who does not do what he is told gives reason to think that he is burdened. He who performs is always ready to listen, like a person who is not reproached, but praised. Thus, this does not come from anything other than the fact that they do not do what they are told; This makes the one who talks about it painful. If, for example, someone performs acts of mercy, and another starts talking about alms, then he is not only not offended by listening to him, but even rejoices, because he hears how his merits are proclaimed and extolled. In the same way we do. Since we have nothing in common with forgetting grievances, and this is not carried out by us, for this reason it seems unpleasant to us when the topic comes up; and when we had things to do, then even words would not upset us. So, if you do not want us to be burdensome and unbearable for you, do the following: practice what we command you. We will not stop telling you the same thing until you start doing it. We do this primarily out of sympathy and love for you; and also because we ourselves are in danger. After all, a trumpeter must blow, even if no one goes out to fight, just to fulfill his duty. Therefore, we act this way not with the aim of inflicting greater punishment on you, but in order to get rid of it ourselves. Moreover, our love for you also prompts us to do this - our womb is torn, and we are consumed with sadness when something like this happens. But may God not allow this. For what we talked about today, no costs are required, no spending of money is required, no long journey is required - you just need to want, you need a word, you need an intention. Let us therefore guard our lips, guard them with doors and bars, so as not to say anything displeasing to God. This is for ourselves (it will be useful), and not for those for whom we will pray. We always think that the one who blesses his enemy blesses himself, and the one who curses him curses himself, and the one who prays for the enemy prays for himself and not for him. When we do this, then we will have the opportunity to truly achieve this perfection and receive the promised benefits by the grace and love 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. These conversations were delivered by the saint, probably in Antioch around 397. You might be interested in: