Беседа 29

Hebrews 12:4–7. Вы еще не до крови сражались, подвизаясь против греха, и забыли утешение, которое предлагается вам, как сынам: сын мой! do not despise the Lord’s punishment, and do not lose heart when He reproaches you. For the Lord punishes whomever he loves; he beats every son whom he receives. If you suffer punishment, then God treats you as sons. For is there any son whom his father does not punish? 1. There are two types of consolation, which, apparently, are opposite to each other, but mutually reinforce each other; both (the apostle) are cited here. Precisely: one is when we say that some people have suffered a lot: the soul becomes calm if it finds many accomplices in its suffering. This (the apostle) presented above when he said: “Remember your former days, when you were enlightened and endured a great struggle of suffering” (Heb. 10:32). The other is when we say: you suffered a little: with such words we are encouraged, excited and made more ready to endure everything. The first calms the weary soul and gives it rest; and the second excites her from laziness and carelessness and turns her away from pride. So that pride does not arise from the evidence given, look at what (Paul) does: “You are not yet ready for blood,” he says, “you have fought, struggling against sin, and have forgotten consolation.” So he says in his letter to the Corinthians: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man,” i.e. small (1 Cor. 10:13), because in this way the soul can awaken and be encouraged when it imagines that it has not yet achieved everything, and is convinced of this by previous events. The meaning of his words is as follows: you have not yet suffered death, you have only lost property and glory, you have only suffered exile; Christ shed his blood for you, but you did not shed it for yourselves; He stood for the truth even to death, struggling for you, and you have not yet been exposed to dangers that threaten death. “And they forgot the consolation,” i.e. they dropped their hands and became weak. “Not to the point of blood,” he says, they fought (glory: they stood up), struggling against sin. Here he shows that sin attacks strongly and is also armed - the word: “stood up” is spoken to those standing. “And they forgot the consolation that is offered to you as sons: my son! do not despise the Lord’s punishment, and do not lose heart when He reproaches you.” Having presented consolation from deeds, now he now adds consolation from sayings, from the evidence given: “Do not lose heart,” he says, “when He convicts you.” So this is the work of God; and it gives us no little consolation when we are convinced that what happened could have happened through the action of God, through His permission. Так и Павел говорит: «Трижды молил я Господа о том, чтобы удалил его от меня. But the Lord said to me: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:8-9). Следовательно Он сам попускает это. «Ибо Господь, кого любит, того наказывает; бьет же всякого сына, которого принимает» . You cannot, he says, say that there is any righteous person who did not endure sorrows, and although it seems so to us, we do not know of other sorrows. Следовательно, вся­кому праведнику необходимо пройти путём скорби. And Christ said that “Enter at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in through it; for strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it” (Matthew 7:13–14). If it is possible to enter into life only in this way, and otherwise it is impossible, then it follows that all those who entered into life followed a narrow path. «Если вы терпите наказание , – говорит, – то Бог поступает с вами, как с сынами. For is there any son whom his father does not punish?” If (God) punishes you, then it is for correction, and not for torture, not for torment, not for suffering. Look how (the apostle) by the very same thing, because of which they considered themselves abandoned, inspires them with confidence that they are not abandoned, and, as it were, says: undergoing such calamities, do you already think that God has abandoned and hates you? No, if you did not suffer, then you should be wary of this, because if he “beats every son whom he receives,” then the unbeatable one may not be a son. But how, you say, don’t evil people suffer? Of course they suffer, how could it be otherwise? - but he did not say: everyone who is beaten is a son, but: “he beats every son.” Therefore you cannot say: there are many evil people who are beaten, for example murderers, robbers, sorcerers, grave diggers. They are punished for their own crimes; they are not beaten like sons, but punished like villains; and you are like sons. Do you see how he borrows evidence from everywhere - from events mentioned in Scripture, from sayings, from his own reasoning, and from examples that happen in life? Further he also points to a common custom: “If,” he says, “you remain without punishment, which is common to everyone, then you are illegitimate children and not sons” (Heb. 12:8). 2. Do you see that, as I said above, it is impossible for a son to remain unpunished? Just as in families fathers do not care about illegitimate children, even if they never learn anything, even if they never become famous, but they care about legitimate sons so that they are not careless - so it is in the present case. Therefore, if it is common for illegitimate children not to be punished, then one should rejoice at punishment as a sign of true kinship. Therefore, (the apostle) himself says: “Moreover, if we, being punished by our carnal parents, were afraid of them, then should we not much more submit to the Father of spirits in order to live?” (Heb.12:9). Again he borrows encouragement from his own suffering, which they themselves endured. As he said there: “Remember your former days,” so here he says: “God deals with you as with sons,” you cannot say that you are not able to endure, and at the same time, “The Lord punishes whomever he loves.” If (children) obey their carnal parents, how will you not obey the Father in heaven? Moreover, here the difference is not only in this and not only in persons, but also in the very motives and actions. He and they (God and carnal parents) do not punish out of the same motive. That is why (the apostle) adds: “They punished us according to their own will for a few days; but He is for our profit, that we may share in His holiness” (Heb. 12:10), i.e. they often do this for their own pleasure and not always with benefit in mind, but this cannot be said here, since (God) does this not for any of his own reasons, but for you, solely for your benefit; They punish you so that you can be useful to them, and often in vain, but here nothing like that happens. Do you see what consolation comes from here? We are especially attached to those in whom we see that they do not order us from any of their own species, or give instruction, but all their concerns tend to our benefit. Then there is sincere love, real love, when someone loves us, despite the fact that we are completely useless for the lover. So (God) loves us not in order to receive anything from us, but in order to give us; He punishes, does everything, takes all measures to ensure that we become capable of accepting His benefits. “Those,” says (the apostle), “punished us at will for a few days; and this one is for our benefit, so that we may have a share in His holiness.” What does it mean: “in His holiness”? Those. purity - so that we become worthy of Him, if possible. He takes care that you accept, and uses every means to give to you; and you are not trying to accept. “I said,” says (the Psalmist), “to the Lord: You are my Lord; You don’t need my blessings” (Ps. 15:2). “Moreover, if we,” he says, “being punished by our carnal parents, were afraid of them, then should we not much more submit to the Father of spirits in order to live?” “To the Father of Spirits,” he says this, meaning either gifts (spiritual), or prayers, or incorporeal Forces. If with this (disposition of spirit) we die, then we will receive life. He said well: “They punished us arbitrarily for a few days, because what is pleasing to people is not always useful, but this is for the benefit, so that we may have a share in His holiness.” 3. Therefore, punishment is useful; therefore, punishment brings holiness. And of course it is. After all, if it destroys laziness, vicious desires, attachment to worldly objects, if it concentrates the soul, if it disposes it to despise everything here - and this is where sorrow comes from - then isn’t it holy, doesn’t it attract the grace of the Spirit? Let us constantly imagine the righteous and remember why they all became famous, and Abel and Noah before all of them: was it not through sorrows? And it is impossible that one righteous person should not grieve among so many wicked ones. “Noah,” says Scripture, “was a righteous man and blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9). Think: if now, having so many husbands, and fathers, and teachers, whose virtues we can imitate, we nevertheless experience so much sorrow, then how should he have suffered, being alone among so many? But should I talk about what happened during the wonderful and extraordinary flood? Should we talk about Abraham, about what he happened to endure, somehow: about his incessant wanderings, the deprivation of his wife, dangers, battles, temptations? (Should we talk) about Jacob, how many disasters he suffered, being driven out from everywhere, working in vain and exhausting himself for others? Нет нужды перечислять все его искушения; It will be enough to cite the testimony that he himself expressed in a conversation with Pharaoh: “The days of my wandering were one hundred and thirty years; The days of my life are small and miserable, and have not reached the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage” (Gen. 47:9). Should we talk about Joseph, Moses, Joshua (Joshua), David, Samuel, Elijah, Daniel and all the prophets? Ты найдёшь, что все они прослави­лись посредством скорбей. А ты, скажи мне, хочешь просла­виться посредством удовольствий и роскоши? But this is impossible. Should we talk about the apostles? И они превзошли всех скорбями. But what am I saying? Сам Христос тоже сказал: «В мире будете иметь скорбь» ( Ин.16:33 ); и еще: «вы восплачете и возрыдаете, а мир возрадуется» ( Ин.16:20 ). “For strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it” (Matthew 7:14). The Lord of this path said that it is narrow and cramped; are you looking for something broad? Isn't this reckless? That is why you will not achieve life because you follow a different path, but you will achieve death because you have chosen the path that leads there. Do you want me to tell you and introduce you to people devoted to luxury? From the latest we turn to the most ancient. The rich man burning in fire, the Jews devoted to the womb, for whom the womb was god, who constantly sought pleasure in the desert - why did they die? Like Noah's contemporaries, is it not because they chose this luxurious and depraved life? Likewise, the Sodomites (perished) for gluttony: “satiety,” it is said, “and idleness” (Ezek. 16:49). This is what it says about the Sodomites. If the satiety of bread produced so much evil, then what can be said about other pleasures? Wasn't Esau intemperate? Were these not the sons of God who were deceived by women and carried away into the abyss? Were these not the ones who gratified their lusts on men? And all the kings of the pagans, Babylonians, and Egyptians, didn’t they end their lives in misfortune? Are they not given over to torment? But, tell me, doesn’t the same thing happen now? Listen to what Christ says: “They who wear soft garments are in kings’ palaces” (Matthew 11:8); and those who do not wear such clothes are in heaven. Soft clothing relaxes even a hard soul, pampers and upsets; and no matter how strong and strong the body that it puts on, from such luxury it soon becomes effeminate and weak. Tell me: why do you think women are so weak? Неужели только от природы? No, but also from lifestyle and upbringing; They are made so by pampered upbringing, idleness, ablutions, anointings, an abundance of aromas, a soft bed. And in order for you to understand this, listen to what I say. From the heaps of trees growing in the desert and shaken by the winds, take some plant and plant it in a moist and shady place, and you will see how it becomes worse than how you first took it. And that this is true is evidenced by women brought up in villages; they are much stronger than city men and could overcome many of them. And when the body becomes pampered, then, of necessity, the soul also experiences the same evil with it, because the functions of the soul for the most part correspond to the state of the body. During illness we are different due to relaxation, and during health we are different again. Как в музыкальных инструментах, когда струны издают звуки мягкие и слабые и они нехорошо натянуты, то уменьшается и достоинство искусства, принужденного покоряться слабости струн, так и в теле: душа терпит от него много вреда, много стеснения; she experiences bitter slavery when the body needs frequent healing. Therefore, I exhort you, we will try to make it strong and not painful. I say this not only to husbands, but also to wives. Для чего ты, жена, по­стоянно расслабляешь тело свое роскошью и делаешь его негодным? Why are you ruining his strength with his obesity? After all, obesity constitutes weakness for him, not strength. Если же ты, оставив это, будешь вести себя иначе, тогда явится и красота телесная по желанию твоему, как скоро будет сила и свежесть. А если, напротив, будешь подвергать его безчисленным болезням, то не будет у тебя ни здорового цвета, ни свежести, но постоянно будешь чувствовать себя дурно. 4. You know that just as a good house is beautiful when clear weather illuminates it, so a beautiful face becomes even better from a cheerful mood; and when (the soul) is sad and sad, then (the face) becomes uglier. Dejection comes from illness and disorder; and illnesses come from relaxation of the body through satiety. So for this reason you should avoid satiety, if you believe me. But there is, you say, some pleasure in satiety? Not so much pleasure as trouble. The pleasure is limited only to the larynx and tongue; when the meal is over, or when the food is eaten, you become like the one who did not participate (in the meal), and even much worse than him, because you endure from there heaviness, relaxation, headache and a tendency to sleep similar to death, and often insomnia from satiety, shortness of breath and belching, and you curse your stomach a thousand times, instead of cursing intemperance. Итак, не будем утучнять тела, но послушаем Павла, ко­торый говорит: «попечения о плоти не превращайте в похоти» ( Рим.13:14 ). Набивающий желудок делает то же, как если бы кто-ни­будь, взявши пищу, бросил её в нечистый ров, или даже не то, а гораздо хуже, потому что последний наполняет только ров без вреда для себя самого, а первый навлекает на себя тысячу болезней. Питает нас только то, что принимается в потребном количестве и может перевариться; and excess beyond what is necessary not only does not nourish, but also causes harm. Между тем никто не замечает этого, обольщаясь нелепым удовольствием и обычным пристрастием. Do you want to nourish your body? Leave the excess, give him what he needs, and as much as he can digest; Don't load it too much so as not to sink it. Taken in the required quantity both nourishes and gives pleasure; действительно, ничто не доставляет та­кого удовольствия, как хорошо переварившаяся пища; ничто так не способствует здоровью, ничто так не поддерживает живости чувств, ничто так не предотвращает болезней. Thus, what is taken in the required quantity serves for nutrition, pleasure, and health, and what is taken in excess leads to harm, trouble and illness. Satiety does the same thing that hunger does, or even much worse. Hunger in a short time exhausts and brings a person to death; and satiety, corroding the body and producing rot in it, exposes it to a long illness and then the most severe death. Meanwhile, we consider hunger unbearable, and we strive for satiety, which is more harmful than it. Where does this disease come from in us? Where does this madness come from? I’m not saying that you need to exhaust yourself, but you need to take food in such a way that the body receives pleasure, true pleasure, and can be nourished, so that it is well-ordered and trustworthy, a strong and capable instrument for the actions of the soul. If it becomes overflowing with food, which will, so to speak, dissolve the very constipations and integral connections, then it will no longer be able to hold back this flood - the invading flood dissolves and destroys everything. “Do not turn cares for the flesh into lusts,” he says. He said well: “in lust,” because satiety is food for vicious desires, and the one who is satiated, even if he is the wisest of all, necessarily suffers some harm from wine and food, necessarily feels relaxed, and necessarily arouses a strong flame in himself. Hence - fornication, hence - adultery. A hungry stomach cannot arouse carnal lust, just like a (stomach) content with moderate with food, vicious desires are born in the stomach, which indulges in satiety. Just as soil that is too wet and dung sprinkled (with water) and having too much phlegm gives birth to worms, and, on the contrary, land that does not have such dampness bears abundant fruits - because it does not contain anything superfluous - and even being uncultivated, it produces greenery, and when cultivated, it bears fruits - so are we. Therefore, let us not make our flesh (the body) useless, worthless, or harmful, but let us grow good fruits and fruitful plants in it, and make every effort so that they do not wither from satiety, since they too can fester and give birth to worms instead of fruits. Thus, innate lust, if you begin to saturate it beyond measure, gives rise to disgusting and even very disgusting pleasures. Let us destroy this evil in ourselves in every possible way, so that we may be worthy of the promised blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord (with whom to the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen). The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: