Беседа 21

Hebrews 10:32–34. Remember your former days, when you, having been enlightened, withstood the great feat of suffering, now in the midst of reproaches and sorrows, serving as a spectacle for others, now taking part in others who were in the same state; for you also had compassion for my bonds and accepted the plunder of your property with joy, knowing that you have in heaven a better and lasting property. 1. The most excellent of doctors, having made a deep incision and with this wound intensifying the pain, try to alleviate the suffering of the diseased member, calm and console the grieving soul, and therefore no longer make a new incision, but try to alleviate the one already made with sedatives and drugs that can eliminate severe pain. Paul did the same. Shake their souls and bring them into contrition with a reminder of Gehenna, convincing them that everyone who mocks the grace of God will certainly perish, and proving by the laws of Moses that (such people) will perish and be subjected to severe torment, confirming their words with other evidence and saying: “It is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God!” , - now, so that their souls, struck by strong fear, do not fall into despair from grief, he consoles them with praises and admonitions and presents them with his own (their example) for competition. “Remember,” he says, “your former days, when you, having been enlightened, endured the great feat of suffering.” Exhortation (borrowed) from business means a lot. The one who started a business should continue in order to have success. He seems to be saying this: when you were still joining, when you were only students, and then you showed such zeal, such courage; but now it’s not like that. Whoever offers such an admonition acts very powerfully by his own (their example). And look: he didn’t just say: “a feat of suffering,” but with the addition: “great.” And he didn’t say: “temptations,” but: “a feat.” this expression means approval and the greatest praise. Then he goes into detail, spreading his speech and expressing many praises. How? “You yourself are in the midst of reproaches and sorrows,” he says, “serving as a spectacle for others.” Reproach has a strong effect on the heart, it can agitate the soul and darken the mind. About this, listen to how the prophet says: “My tears were bread for me day and night, when they said to me every day: “Where is your God?” (Ps.41:4) and also: “for it is not the enemy who reproaches me, but this I could bear” (Ps.54:13). The human race is very vain; therefore he is easily caught by this too. And he didn’t just say: “reproach,” but even more expressively: “serving as a spectacle for others.” When someone suffers reproach in private, then it becomes regrettable; but much more when - in front of everyone. Imagine how hard it was for them, who abandoned low Judaism, turned to a better life and despised their fatherly (customs), to endure evil from their family and not have any protection. I cannot say, he says, that while you endured this, you grieved; on the contrary, you were even quite happy. He expressed this in the words: “taking part in others who were in the same state; for you also had compassion for my bonds”; here he refers to the apostles. Not only, he says, did you not disgrace yourself in front of your family, but you also took part in others who suffered the same thing. In this way he offers them consolation. He did not say: “they endured my sorrows”, “they became my companions”, but simply: “they sympathized with my bonds.” Do you see what he says about himself and the other prisoners? You (he says) did not consider bonds to be bonds, but behaved like courageous warriors: not only did you not need consolation in your suffering, but you also served as consolation for others. “And they accepted the plunder of your property with joy.” Oh, what fullness of faith! Then he gives the reason, encouraging them not only to exploits, but also to steadfastness in faith. Seeing, he says, the plunder of your wealth, you endured because you contemplated invisible wealth as visible - which is characteristic of true faith, which you proved by your very deeds. The theft could have been from the violence of predators, so that no one could prevent it, and from this it is not yet clear that you suffered the theft because of faith. However, it is partly clear: if you wanted, you could not be plundered without believing; but you did much more - you endured it with joy; this is a completely apostolic work and worthy of those courageous souls who rejoiced while being scourged. “They,” it is said, “went out from the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 5:41). Whoever endures this with joy shows that he already has some reward, and that his deed is not a loss, but an acquisition. The word: "accept" indicates their voluntary patience. How did you decide and accept? “Knowing,” he says, “that you have in heaven a better and lasting possession.” What does “enduring” mean? Durable, not perishable like the ones here. 2. Having praised them, he then says: “Therefore do not abandon your hope, for which there is a great reward” (Heb. 10:35). What are you saying? He did not say: “You have lost your boldness, acquire it again,” so that they would not fall into despair, but: “You have it, do not lose it,” the more it inspires them and gives them strength. You, he says, have the boldness to regain what was lost; this requires more work, and not losing what you have is not the case. To the Galatians he writes opposite: “My little children, for whom I am again in the throes of birth, until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal.4:19); and fair. They showed carelessness, therefore, they needed a more accusatory speech; and they (showed) some cowardice, therefore they needed (speech) more lenient. “So do not abandon,” he says, “your hope”; therefore, they had great boldness before God. “Who will have a great reward,” he says. What does it mean? We, he says, will get it then. If it is prepared for the future, then one should not look for it here. Then, so that someone does not say: everything is done on our side, he warns them of such a thought and, as it were, says: if you know that you have the best property in heaven, then do not look for anything here; you need patience, and not multiplication of exploits, in order to remain the same, so as not to lose what is given to you; nothing else is needed for you except to stand as you stand, so that, having reached the end, you can receive what was promised. “You need patience,” he says, “so that, having fulfilled the will of God, you may receive what was promised” (Heb. 10:36). You need only one thing - to endure the slowdown (in fulfilling what you promised), and not to struggle again. You are close to the crown, you have endured all the exploits, bonds, sorrows, the plunder of your property: what (remains to you)? You are about to be crowned; endure only one thing - the slowdown of the crown. What a great consolation! He consoles them as if someone were talking to a warrior who has defeated everyone and has not a single rival, but, waiting for the crown, he loses patience until the leader of the fight comes and places the crown on him, and impatiently wants to leave and run away, unable to bear the thirst and heat. This is what he expresses and what he says? “For yet a little while, a very little time, and the One who comes will come and will not tarry” (Heb. 10:37). So that they don’t say: when will he come? – he encourages them with the words of Scripture. And in another place, when he says: “Now salvation is nearer to us” (Rom. 13:11), he encourages them by the fact that there is little time left. Moreover, he speaks not from himself, but in the words of Scripture. If then they said: “a little, very little, and the Coming One will come and will not delay,” then it is obvious that now He is even closer. Thus, there will be a considerable reward for waiting. “The righteous,” he says, “will live by faith; But if anyone hesitates, My soul has no pleasure in him” (Heb. 10:38). A strong admonition is when someone proves that those who have accomplished everything can lose everything because of a little weakness. “We are not of those who waver to destruction, but we stand in faith for the salvation of our souls” (Heb. 10:39). “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. The ancients testified therein” (Heb. 11:1-2). This is the expression he uses: “confidence,” he says, “in the invisible”! The word “confidence” is used about things that are completely obvious. Thus, faith, he says, is the contemplation of the implicit and leads to the same complete conviction in the invisible as in the visible. Just as it is impossible not to believe what is visible, so it is impossible to have faith when one is not convinced of the invisible just as much as of the visible. Objects of hope appear to have no reality, but faith gives them reality, or better yet, does not, but this is their reality; for example, the resurrection has not yet happened and does not exist in reality, but hope makes it real in our soul. This is what it means: “the realization of what is expected.” So, if (faith) is confidence in invisible things, then how do you want to see them in order to fall from faith and righteousness, since “the righteous shall live by faith”? If you want to see them, then you are no longer believers. You have labored, he says, you have labored; and I say this; but be patient; this is what faith consists of; Don't look for everything here. 3. This is said to the Jews, but the admonition also applies to many of those gathered here. How and in what way? To the faint-hearted, to the impatient. When they see that the evil ones are happy in their deeds, and they themselves are unhappy, they become despondent and mourn, wanting punishment and revenge on those, or expecting rewards for their labors. “Just a little while, just a little, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry,” Paul said then. Let us also say this to the faint-hearted. Punishment will certainly be, will certainly come; resurrection and everything connected with it is already at the door. Where, would you say, can this be seen? I don’t say from the prophets, because I’m not talking only to Christians; but even if he was a pagan, I boldly turn to him, offer evidence to him, and teach him; and how - listen. Christ predicted many things. If this had not come true, then you might not have believed it either; if all this has come true, then why do you doubt the rest? It was more difficult to believe until nothing came true than not to believe when everything came true. But I’ll better explain my idea with an example. Christ predicted that Jerusalem would be taken and subjected to such destruction as never before, and that it would no longer be restored; – and the prediction was justified by the deed itself (Luke 19:44). He predicted that “there would be great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21), and it came true. He predicted that the sermon would spread like a sown mustard seed - and we see that every day it spreads more and more throughout the universe (Luke 13:19). He predicted that those who have left their father, or mother, or brothers, or sisters, will have both fathers and mothers - and this, as we see, is being fulfilled in practice (Matthew 19:29). He predicted: “You will have tribulation in the world; but take heart: I have overcome the world” (John 16:33), i.e. no one will overcome you - and this, as we see, has come true in practice. He predicted that “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18), and that it will be persecuted, and that no one will destroy the preaching - and events testify to the (fulfillment) of this prediction. Such predictions were quite incredible back then. Why? Because they all consisted of words, and evidence of what was said had not yet been presented. Now all this is all the more worthy of faith. He predicted that when “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14) - and now we have already reached the end: most of the universe has already been announced (by the Gospel), and then the end awaits. Let us be afraid, beloved! What, tell me, does this demise bother you? It is really close, but the limit of life and death of everyone is much closer. “The days of our years,” says (the Psalmist), “are seventy years, and with greater strength, eighty years” (Ps. 89:10). The day of judgment is near: let us be afraid of this. “A man will never redeem his brother or give God a ransom for him” (Ps. 48:8)? We will repent of many things then; but “of those who die, none remembers You” (Ps. 6:6). That is why David says: “Let us come before His presence with praise” (Ps. 94:2), i.e. His coming. Here everything we do has power; but it’s no longer there. Tell me: if someone put us in a hot stove for a short time, wouldn’t we use all measures to free ourselves, even if it required wasting our property or giving ourselves into slavery? How many, having fallen into serious illnesses, would willingly agree to give everything to be freed from them, if only they were given a choice! If here a short illness torments us so much, then what will we do there when repentance will not bring any benefit? How many vices are we now filled with and do not feel? We bite each other, we torment each other, insulting, accusing, slandering, envying the glory of our neighbors. And look, what a grave evil: when someone wants to destroy a good opinion about their neighbors, they say: so-and-so told me such and such about him, forgive me, Lord, do not judge me, I am only passing on a rumor. Why are you talking if you don’t believe it yourself? Why are you passing it on? Why do you make it probable by spreading a rumor? Why do you pass on a story when it is incorrect? You yourself don’t believe him, and you ask God not to condemn you? Do not speak, but be silent, and rid yourself of all fear. 4. I don’t know where this disease came into people: we became talkative; nothing holds in our soul. Listen to one wise man who, exhorting, says: “You have heard the word, let it die with you: do not be afraid, it will not dissolve you” (Sir.19:10); and one more thing: I heard the word “madly” and fell ill, “like a woman in labor with a child” (Sir.19:11). We are ready for accusations and quick to condemn. If we had not done any other evil, then this alone is enough to destroy us, bring us to hell, and cause us thousands of troubles. And so that you know this more precisely, listen to the prophet who says: “You sit and speak against your brother, you slander your mother’s son” (Ps. 49:20). But not me, you say, but someone else. No, you. If you did not speak, the other would not hear; and even if you had heard, you would not have been the author of sin. The shortcomings of one's neighbors must be hushed up and covered up; and you, under the pretext of goodwill, put them on display, and become, if not an accuser, then a storyteller, a talker, a fool. Oh, horror! Together with him you are disgracing yourself, and you don’t feel it? Look how many evils come from here: you anger God, upset your neighbor, make yourself guilty of punishment. Have you not heard what Paul says about widows? “Moreover, being idle,” he says, “they learn to go from house to house and are not only idle, but also talkative, curious, and say what they should not” (1 Tim. 5:13). Thus, even if you believed what was said about your brother, you should not retell it, and even more so when you do not believe it. Do you always take care of yourself, fearing not to be condemned by God? Be afraid, lest you be condemned for your talkativeness. Here you cannot say: God will not condemn me for talkativeness, because this matter is talkativeness. Why are you spreading rumors? Why do you multiply evil? It can destroy us. That is why Christ says: “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1). But we do not think about this at all, and the example of the Pharisee does not enlighten us. He told the truth: “God! “I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this publican” (Luke 18:11), he said when no one listened to him, and yet he was condemned. If he is condemned, having spoken the truth and when no one listened to him, then what kind of torment will those who everywhere divulge lies and things of which they themselves are not sure, like talkative women, be subjected to torment? What won't they tolerate? Let us put a door and a fence on our lips. Talkativeness has caused countless evils: families have been upset, bonds of friendship have been broken, and thousands of other disasters have occurred. Do not try, man, to find out what concerns your neighbor. But you are talkative, do you have this disadvantage? Better speak to God about your deeds, and this will not be a disadvantage, but an acquisition; talk about your affairs to your friends, true and truthful friends, on whom you rely, so that they pray for your sins. If you talk about other people's affairs, you will not receive any benefit, no gain, but you will also do harm; and if you confess your deeds before the Lord, you will receive a great reward. “I said,” says (the Psalmist), “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You have taken away from me the guilt of my sin” (Ps. 31:5). Do you want to judge? Condemn yourself; no one will blame you if you condemn yourself; but he will accuse you if you do not condemn yourself; He will accuse you if you do not expose yourself; will blame you if you don't grieve for yourself. Do you see anyone getting angry, irritated, or doing anything else reckless? Think about your affairs immediately; then you won’t judge him too much, and you will free yourself from the burden of sins. If we balance our life in this way, if we improve it in this way, if we condemn ourselves, then of course we will not allow many sins, but we will do much good, we will be meek and moderate, and we will receive all the blessings promised to those who love God, of which may we all be worthy 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. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: