Беседа 25

Hebrews 11:17–19. By faith Abraham, being tempted, sacrificed Isaac and, having the promise, offered his only begotten, of whom it was said: In Isaac your seed will be called. For he thought that God was able to resurrect from the dead, which is why he received it as an omen. 1. Truly great is the faith of Abraham. In Abel, Noah and Enoch there was only a struggle of thoughts and it was necessary to rise above human thoughts; and here it was necessary to rise not only above human thoughts, but to show something even greater; here the divine apparently contradicted the divine, faith with faith, command with promise. So, (God) said to him: “Get out of your land, from your kindred and from your father’s house... for all the land... I will give to you and to your descendants forever” (Gen. 12:1, 13:15), and yet did not give him an inheritance in it, not even one step. Do you see how events contradicted the promise? He also said: “Your seed will be called in Isaac” (Gen. 21:12), and (Abraham) believed; and one more thing: sacrifice to me the one who has the power to fill the entire universe with his offspring. Do you see the contradiction between the commands and the promise? He commanded the opposite of the promises, and yet the righteous man was not embarrassed and did not consider himself deceived. But you, says (the apostle), cannot say that He promised you peace and sent you sorrow; He does to you what He promised. How is this? “In the world,” He said, “you will have tribulation” (John 16:33); “And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who saves his life will lose it” (Matthew 10:38–39); and: “if anyone comes to Me... does not renounce all that he has, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26, 33); and again: “And they will lead you to rulers and kings for My sake” (Matthew 10:18); and again: “...a man’s enemies are his own household” (Matthew 10:36). There is sorrow here, but peace there. With Abraham it was the opposite: he was commanded to do the opposite of the promises, and yet he was not embarrassed, did not hesitate, and did not consider himself deceived. But you do not tolerate anything that is alien to the promise, and you are embarrassed. He heard the opposite of what was promised from the Promiser himself, and was not embarrassed, but fulfilled it as consistent (with the promise); and indeed it agreed; it was contrary to human thoughts, but in accordance with faith; and how, the apostle himself explained to us, saying: “he thought that God was able to raise from the dead.” The meaning of his words is as follows: by the same faith by which he believed that God would give him a son whom he did not have, by the same faith he was convinced that God would raise the dead and resurrect the slain. It was equally wonderful, i.e. according to human understanding, both that a son would be born from a womb that was dead, outdated and already incapable of childbearing, and that the one who had been slain would be resurrected - and yet he believed; his former faith guided him (to faith) into the future. On the other hand, he experienced the pleasant first, and the unfortunate - finally, in old age; But with you, says (the apostle), the opposite happens: the unfortunate comes first, and the pleasant comes after. This is said to those who dare to say that God, having promised us good things after death, may have deceived us. “God is able,” he says, “to raise from the dead”; if “God is able to raise us from the dead,” then of course he will reward us with everything; and if Abraham believed for so many years that God is able to raise from the dead, then much more should we believe this. Do you see that God, as I said above, even before death entered, aroused in the forefathers the hope of resurrection and led them to such a conviction that, at His command, they sacrificed their sons, through whom they hoped to fill the universe, and sacrificed them with readiness? And something else (the apostle) expresses here with the words: God tempted Abraham. What is it? Didn't God know that he was a patient and valiant man? Absolutely knew. If he knew, then why did he tempt him? Not in order to find out for himself, but to show others and make his courage obvious to everyone. (The Apostle) shows here the reason for temptations, so that they do not think that they suffer because they are abandoned by God. Here we are inevitably exposed to temptations, since there are many persecutors and plotters; and what was the need to invent temptations that did not exist? It is obvious that this temptation was at His command. Other temptations happen by His permission, but this was by His command. If temptations make people so glorious that God subjects His ascetics to them even without reason, then all the more must we endure everything courageously. Expressively here (the apostle) said that “by faith Abraham, being tempted, sacrificed Isaac”; there was no other reason for the sacrifice (of Isaac) other than this. And further He reveals the same thought. No one can say, he says, that he had another son and expected the fulfillment of the promise from him, and therefore he boldly sacrificed Isaac: “having a promise,” he says, “he sacrificed his only begotten.” How – “only begotten”? And Ishmael? Where is he from? I call him the only begotten, he says, in relation to the promise; and therefore, having said: “only begotten”, and wanting to show that this is the meaning of calling him that way, he adds: “about whom it was said: in Isaac your seed will be called”, i.e. from him. Do you see how amazing the patriarch’s act is? He was told: “Your seed will be called Isaac,” and yet he sacrificed his son. Further, lest anyone think that he did this in despair and by accepting such a command abandoned his former faith, but on the contrary became convinced that this act was truly a matter of faith, (the apostle) says that here too he had faith, and although it apparently contradicted the previous one, he did not resist, because he did not measure the power of God by human judgments, but left everything to faith. That is why he was not afraid to say that “God is able to resurrect from the dead, which is why he received it as a sign,” i.e. in the image, in the ram. How? (Isaac) was saved by sacrificing a ram, so that for the ram he received a son, sacrificing the first instead of the last. This was some kind of prototype; here the Son of God was represented, slain as a sacrifice. And notice how great is God’s love for mankind. Since He had to bestow great grace on people, He, wanting to do this not for nothing, but as if in debt, He arranges that first a person gives his son according to the command of God, so that it would not seem like a great thing that He himself gives his own Son, after a person has done it before Him, so that they would not think that He does it freely, but also out of debt. We try to deliver to whomever we love, so that it would seem as if we had received something a little from him in advance, and then we give him everything, and we boast not so much of what we have given, as of what we received from him - we do not say: we gave him this and that, but: we received from him that. “Why,” he says, “I received it as an omen,” i.e. into an image, since the ram was Isaac's parable, or image. Since the sacrifice was completed and Isaac was slain in the intention (of Abraham), God gave him to the patriarch. 2. Do you see how what I constantly talk about is revealed from here? When we make our mind perfect and show that we despise earthly things, then God will give us earthly things, but not before that, so that we, attached to earthly goods, having received them, do not become even more attached to them. Free yourself first from slavery, He says, and then receive, so that you receive not as a slave, but as a master; despise wealth and you will be rich; despise glory, and you will be in glory; despise taking revenge on your enemies, and you will take revenge on them; despise peace and you will receive it - so that when you receive, you receive not as a prisoner or a slave, but as a free one. With small children we do this: when a child strongly desires children's toys, we carefully hide them from him, for example a ball, or something else, so that he is not distracted from necessary activities; and when it does not pay attention to them and does not desire them, then we give them without fear, knowing that this will not cause him any harm and this fun will not be able to deviate him from necessary activities. God does the same with us: when He sees that we do not desire earthly goods, He allows us to use them, because then we own them as free men and as men, and not as children. But what really happens is that when you despise taking revenge on your enemies, then you will take revenge on them, about this, listen to what (the apostle) says: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink,” and adds: “for by doing this you will heap burning coals on his head” (Rom. 12:20). That indeed, when you despise wealth, then you will receive it, about this listen to what Christ says: “And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). That indeed, when you despise glory, then you will receive it, listen to this, what Christ says again: “Whoever wants to be great among you, let him be your servant”; and also: “whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 20:26, 23:12). What are you saying? If I give an enemy something to drink, am I punishing him? If I give away property, do I own it? If I humble myself, do I become high? Yes, he says, such is my strength; it produces the opposite through the opposite; I am rich and wise, do not be afraid; the nature of things obeys my will, and I do not follow nature; I do everything, and nothing else guides me; therefore I can change and transform everything. And is it surprising that this happens in such things, when the same thing happens in everything else? Thus, when you harm (another), then you harm yourself; and when you are harmed (by others), then you do not suffer harm; when you take revenge, then you take revenge (not on another), but on yourself. He who loves unrighteousness, says (the Wise One), “hates his own life” (Proverbs 29:24). Do you see that in this case you are not harming (the other) but yourself? That is why Paul says: “Why would it be better for you not to remain offended” (1 Cor. 6:7)? Do you see that this does not mean to suffer harm? When you offend (another), then you offend yourself. This is partly known to many: sometimes they say to each other: let’s move away from here, so as not to humiliate ourselves. Why? Because there is a great difference between you (the offender) and him (the insulted); whatever insults you give him, they are addressed to his honor. Let us always reason this way, and we will rise above insults; and how, I will explain. If we began to be at enmity against the wearer of purple, then the insults directed at him would be directed at ourselves, since by blaming him, we ourselves become worthy of censure. What, tell me, do your words mean? Being a citizen of heaven, possessing heavenly wisdom, why do you humiliate yourself on a par with one who thinks only about earthly things? Even if your enemy had countless wealth, even if he had power, he does not know your goodness. Do not humiliate yourself by insulting him; spare yourself, not him; give credit to yourself, not to him. Doesn't the proverb say: whoever honors (another) honors himself? And rightly so: he does not honor him, but himself. Listen to the words of the Wise One, who says: “With meekness glorify your soul and give it honor according to its dignity” (Sir.10:31). What does it mean: “according to her dignity”? If anyone, he says, deceived you out of covetousness, do not do the same; If you insulted, don't insult. Tell me, I ask you: if some poor man takes a piece of dirt lying in your yard, will you really take him to court for this? No. Why? So as not to humiliate yourself, so that everyone does not judge you. So it is here. A rich man is a poor man; and the more rich he becomes, the more poor he becomes in true poverty. Gold is dirt thrown into the yard, not lying in your house; your home is heaven. Therefore, if you call him to court for this, will not the citizens above condemn you? Will they not throw you out of your fatherland, you who are so low, so despicable that you decide to fight over a small piece of dirt? Even if the whole world were yours and someone took it away from you, then even then you should only turn away from it. 3. Don’t you know that if you enlarge the universe ten times, or a hundred, or ten thousand, or twice as much, then even in a small fraction it will not compare with the blessings of heaven? He who admires the blessings here insults those there, if he considers the former, so far removed from the latter, worthy of affection; or better yet, he is not able to admire the latter - how can he really be capable of this, having become addicted to the former? Let us break someday, I exhort you, these chains and networks - i.e. earthly affairs. How long will we bend to the ground? How long will we plot intrigues against each other, like beasts and fish? However, even animals do not plot intrigues with those who are akin to themselves, but with those who are different; so, a bear will not quickly kill a bear, a snake will not kill a snake, respecting kinship; and you kill even the one who is related to you and with whom you have countless relationships - sameness of origin, rationality, knowledge of God, power over nature and much more without number - you kill your relative, who has the same nature as you, and burden him with many evils. What is the matter if you do not thrust a sword into him and strike his neck with your hand? You make it worse by exposing him to constant sorrow. If you had done the first, you would have relieved him of his worries; and now you are giving him over to hunger and slavery, despair and many other sins. I say this, and I will not stop saying it, not to encourage you to kill or advise you to do less evil, but so that you do not hope to remain unpunished. “The bread of the needy is the life of the poor: he who takes it away,” says (the Wise One), “is a bloodsucker.” (Sir.34:21). Let us restrain our hands, I ask you, let us restrain them, or, better said, let us not restrain them, but let us stretch them out for good—not for covetousness, but for almsgiving; Let not our hand be barren and dry; The hand that does not give alms is dry, and the hand that extends to covetousness is filthy and unclean. Let no one eat food with such hands, because it is an insult to those invited. Tell me: if someone invited us to recline on carpets, a soft bed and gold-embroidered clothes, in a brilliant and magnificent house, and, surrounding us with many servants, then setting up a table of silver and gold and filling it with various luxurious dishes, asked us to eat with the only condition that we would not disdain his hands, stained with dirt or human feces, and allow him to recline in this state with us, would he bear it? Who would carry out such an execution and wouldn’t consider it an insult? I think that everyone would immediately run away. Meanwhile, now you see not only your hands stained with dirt, but also the food itself, and you do not refuse, do not run away, do not denounce, but if a person is in power, then you consider it a great thing (to be with him) and you destroy your soul by eating such food. After all, covetousness is worse than any dirt; it defiles not the body, but the soul, so that it is difficult to cleanse it. And you see at the table someone defiled by this dirt, you see his hands, and his face, and his house, and the table filled with it - truly such dishes are worse and more disgusting than manure, or what is even worse - you recline with him, considering it an honor for yourself and, as it were, receiving pleasure? Or are you not ashamed of Paul, who allows us to unhinderedly approach even the table of the pagans, if we wish, but forbids us to be with covetous people, even if we desire it? “Whoever,” he says, “is called a brother, remains a fornicator,” here calling every believer, not a monk, a brother. Really, what does brotherhood bring to us? The bath of rebirth, the opportunity to call God father. Therefore, a catechumen, even if he were a monk, is not a brother; a believer, even if he were a layman, is a brother. “Who,” he says, “is called brother.” Then there were no traces of monasticism, - all this blessed (Paul) said to the laity. “Whoever,” he says, “is called a brother, remains a fornicator, or a covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a predator; You shouldn’t even eat with someone like that” (1 Cor. 5:11). He (speaks) differently about the pagans, but how? “If one of the unbelievers, meaning the pagans, calls you and you want to go, then eat everything that is offered to you” (1 Cor. 10:27). “Who, while calling himself a brother, remains... a drunkard.” 4. What severity! And we not only do not run away from drunkards, but we ourselves go to them to participate in their affairs. That’s why everything with us was distorted, everything got mixed up, became upset and died. Tell me: if one of these people invited you to a prepared feast - you, who are considered poor and despised - and then heard from you: since what is offered was collected by covetousness, I will not defile my soul - then would he not be ashamed, would he not be confused, would he not be embarrassed? Indeed, this alone would be enough to correct him, so that he would consider himself unhappy with his wealth, and would be surprised at you with your poverty, seeing with what pickiness you neglect him. But we, I don’t know why, have become slaves of men, while Paul constantly instills: “Do not become slaves of men” (1 Cor. 7:23). Why did we become slaves of people? Because we first became slaves of the belly, wealth, glory and everything else, we lost the freedom that Christ gave us. What, tell me, will happen to the one who became a slave? Listen to what Christ says: “a servant does not remain in the house forever” (John 8:35). Here is a decisive verdict that he will never enter the kingdom (heavenly) - because it is precisely designated by this house: “In my Father’s house,” says (the Lord), “there are many mansions” (John 14:2). Thus, a slave does not remain in the house forever - He calls the slave of sin a slave - and whoever does not remain in the house forever, remains forever in Gehenna, receiving no consolation from anywhere. But the evil has reached such an extent that they even give alms from such property, and many accept. Because of this, we have lost our boldness and can no longer reproach anyone. Let us at least from now on run away from the evil that comes from here; and you, who have been defiled by this unclean thing, refrain from such evil and curb your addiction to such feasts, so that we may now appease God and receive the promised benefits, of which may we all be worthy, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and 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: