In response to the words: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the ancient creature is gone, and behold, he is all new” (2 Cor. 5:17)

A farmer has a strong desire to sow seeds when he sees the arable land cleared and free from both weeds that are harmful to the growth of the crop, and from stones that impede the work of the plow. A similar feeling is most strongly experienced by those who begin to sow the word, when they see the listeners in full readiness to hear the word. So I see the arable land cleared - and no traces of weeds on it. The weed here would be the concern for wealth, drowning out the word. I say this not because there are no rich people here, but to show what an advantage the poor have in hearing the word. The point is not just the preacher: an intelligent listener is also needed. Scripture requires both - a wise teacher and an intelligent listener, so that our work does not turn out to be unnecessary due to the indifference of the listeners. And the concern for wealth does not allow the word to penetrate the soul, but distracts the attention of the listeners. And now, when I see you all in full readiness to listen - your secret thoughts, of course, are unknown to me, but I watch the eyes of each of you, I see your eyelids raised like horns, I notice your intent gaze, testifying to the intensity of your attention, and I conclude from here that you are all free from everyday worries, that each of you is just waiting for it, only thinking about how to catch the word - concentrate all your attention, open the depths of your soul to make it easier to throw seeds into it. I want to devote my tongue to Paul’s meal for a long time: I will not stop calling him that - this simpleton, ignorant, rootless, tent maker. This is my advantage, this is my praise, that I have such teachers who shine not with worldly virtues, but with spiritual perfection. If a Hellene asks me: “What kind of teacher do you have?” – I’ll call him the tent maker. “And who else?” - “Fisherman.” - “And who else?” - "Tax collector." - “And then who?” - “The Magi and the Harlot.” - “And who else?” - “The robber.” And not only am I not ashamed, but I also boast about it.” - “You boast that your teacher is a simple person?” - “And even very much.” Why? After all, if the simplicity of the student shows the strength of the teacher, then the simplicity of the teacher testifies to the Divinity of the teaching. After all, if people announced it, then it was not people who discovered it; if people sowed it, then people did not give birth to it. People are only tools, and the artist is God; they are a zither, the strings of which are moved by His strong hand. Therefore, that prophet, being a king, clothed in scarlet and adorned with a crown, turning his speech to the whole universe, renounced the ordinary everyday situation, but so that no one would consider his words to be the words of a king, he said: “A good word poured out from my heart; I say: my song is about the King; my tongue is a scribbler's reed" ("my heart will vomit out good words, I will speak my deeds to the princess. My tongue is a scribbler's reed") (Ps. 44:2). Why do you call your tongue a reed? So that you know that it is not I who write, but the hand that owns me. After all, the reed does not write on its own, but whatever the hand that moves it wants. And my tongue is a reed, and it is controlled by the Holy Spirit. So, when a Hellene (pagan) asks you: “Who is your teacher?” - don’t be ashamed and don’t blush, but answer: “A simple man, a tent maker, standing in the market, sewing leather.” - “Who is your teacher?” - “Plato, Pythagoras, are not ordinary people, but philosophers.” But if I say: “Who is your teacher? Philosopher; your teacher is of noble birth; your teacher is rich; your teacher has a sophisticated language, surpasses rivers in the abundance of speeches, is adorned with honors, has famous ancestors, is revered everywhere; and my teacher, in terms of his qualities, is the complete opposite of him,” then it becomes clear on whose side the victory is. How is this? So that the simple man defeated the philosopher, the poor man the rich, the speechless the eloquent, the scourged man who did not experience any suffering. A series of opposites that increases the brilliance of victory. Mine speaks the wrong language, yours speaks exemplary, but the speaker speaking incorrectly defeated the speaker speaking exemplarily. He has a shortcoming in language, but he masters thought like a true philosopher; I don’t need words, thoughts are important to me. My teacher defeated yours. How? The simpleton of the wise, the ignorant of the speaker? But how can you see that he won? Shameless one, don’t you see that things are crying loudly about this? Where is Plato? Nowhere. Where is Pavel? His name is on everyone's lips. Where is Plato? Nothing is heard of him, he is forgotten. Where is Pavel? He took possession of royal Rome, where he not only had power during his life, but also won victory after his death. He died in body so that he could live in spirit; The paper has decayed, but the scripture remains, because it was not written with ink, but confirmed by the spirit. The sun will suffer damage, but not Paul's words. In fact, what does the one who gave him these very words say? “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). If these are only words, rebuke, but if the word has become deeds, bow down. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” The sun will sooner go out and the sky will disappear than the words of my Lord will be violated. And they are confirmed by experience by events, and by the length of time, and by the attacks of enemies. It is indeed surprising that what the Savior proclaimed not only did not collapse, but was also successful despite the efforts of the enemies. Watch what I say carefully. Paul preached, John preached, the fisherman and Evangelist, who threw down his nets and took the Gospel, left the fisherman's rod and accepted the word of the Teacher. What did the fisherman preach and what did he say? Let's see if I catch the words of the fisherman and at the same time not the fisherman: on the one hand, the fisherman, since his mouth uttered them, and on the other, not the fisherman, since these are the words of the Spirit. What is he saying? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). What will the Jew say to this? He is very proud of Moses that he split the sea, divided and united the waves again, changed the air, cut the stone, sent down manna, destroyed cities along with people and defeated an army without weapons. Is that why you are proud of Moses? Listen to what Moses said and compare it with what the fisherman said to see how meager the revelation of the Old Testament is and how abundant the revelation of grace. What did Moses say? “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). What about the fisherman? Nowhere does he say “created,” but what? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” This one begins with the creation, and this one with the Creator. Do you see how much higher he rises than Moses? He heard the words of Moses that God created the sky - left the sky and rushed higher. Angels met him on the way - he passed them; the archangels met - he passed by; cherubim - did not stop at them either. “Where are you heading?” - “I need something different. Although the cherubim shine, they are creatures; although the seraphim sing, they are my fellow servants.” - “What are you looking for? Principalities and dominions are also slaves, also creatures; power - and those are creation. Where are you going? – “I seek the Creator Himself, I seek the One Consubstantial with the Father. I will not stop until I comprehend Him, as far as it is possible for man to comprehend. Moses spoke about heaven and limited himself to this, because he did not have the Spirit that I have: it is true that he did not receive the spirit of work in fear, but received the spirit of adoption as sons in the obedience of faith (Rom. 8:15), but I was entrusted with more. That is why my Lord descended from heaven to earth, so that I could ascend from earth to heaven.” - “What are you looking for?” - “The Creator Himself; When I find Him, then I’ll just stop.” Found it - and what does it say? "In the beginning was the Word". Nowhere does he say: “created,” nowhere does he say: “happened,” because his teaching is not about creation. He speaks about the Word: “In the beginning was the Word.” How many tyrants, since the fisherman uttered this word, wanted to destroy it, and could not, but wherever you go, you hear everywhere: “In the beginning was the Word,” and in the field and in the city - everywhere you hear: “In the beginning was the Word,” and in Persia, and in India, and in Mauritania - everywhere this word shines brighter than the sun. The sun shines during the day, but hides at night, and this word does not lose its radiance even at night, but is imprinted in the consciousness of everyone. The one who wrote it died, but the word shines; The body of the one who uttered this word has decayed, and it shines brighter than the sun. Wherever you go, these words sound before you: “In the beginning was the Word.” And everyone, woman, man, slave, free, king, subject, rulers and subordinates, carefully preserves it in their hearts, and no one can blot out this most beautiful heritage, but firmly guards this wealth. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” The devil cannot destroy this word; Why? Because this is not a simple word, but the word of God. So, do not be ashamed when you hear: “these are the words of a fisherman, these are the words of one who sews a net.” Did you see that this fisherman sat in the depths of poverty and rose to the pinnacle of virtue? But so that, starting with one thing, we do not get carried away by the flow of speech in the other direction, abandoning the development of thought, let us curb our language and return to the previous subject of conversation. So what does the tent maker, the merchant, say? I don’t even think of giving up the frequent repetition of these expressions for the sake of the foolishness of many and their unfounded views. Many say with arrogance: “Merchant! What do you need, merchant? But tell me: what is a merchant? It's not a crime to be a merchant, is it? After all, it’s not a crime to stand in the market and work? Staying at home and robbing someone else’s property is a crime. Judge what is shameful and what is commendable, and do not mock: being in the market is not a crime, but being a robber, indulging in greed is criminal. What is the use if you sit in the inner chambers of your house, but are greedy like a wolf? What harm does it do to anyone if a poor man stands in the market place, imitating the ox and the tiller? Do you work in the market, are you a craftsman? There is nothing bad here; on the contrary, it is commendable that you earn your own food through honest work, without trespassing on other people’s houses. There is nothing shameful about working in the market; it is not at all reprehensible to be a craftsman. What's shameful? It is shameful to live in idleness - and if only in idleness, without at the same time working in vice! Pavel was a craftsman and worked in a workshop. And it’s not that he was like that before the Gospel, but changed after the Gospel. No, he both preached and sewed skins; preached, and stayed with Aquila and Priscilla: “and, due to the same craft, he stayed with them and worked; for their trade was to make tents” (Acts 18:3). Oh, the wisdom of Paul! Oh, the height of thought and the invincibility of spirit! Oh, understanding that reaches to heaven! O soul that despises everything visible! Oh, the thought! He revered the shine of life as a web. He did not go to the kings, he did not go to the rich, he did not turn to wealthy people, but he went to the tent maker, out of common craft, and did not hide his occupation out of shame for him, but announced it to everyone. He stood in the market place, preaching the Gospel, raising the dead, healing lepers; he was not ashamed of the place, but decorated himself with his deeds while standing in the market. He sold leather, and others approached him, for example, with a request to resurrect the dead. Two women appeared, and one said: “Make me a bed out of skin,” and the other asked: “Resurrect my son,” and he answered both. This did not make it difficult for him: his hands worked, and grace acted, and the tent maker satisfied both, one with what related to his craft, the other with what required the participation of grace. “What do you need? I undertake to make a leather bed, because I sew leather. What do you want? I will bring your dead back to life, as I pray to God.” There is no shame in the craft. Paul did not go to a rich and prosperous house, because he followed the commandment of his Master, which reads: “Whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and remain there until you leave” (Matthew 10:11). Is the tentmaker worthy of Paul? Quite. Why not? After all, he became a tent maker out of love for poverty. Shall I tell you what kind of praise he received that was worth more than a royal crown and more glorious than a scarlet robe? “Greet Priscilla and Aquila,” writes the apostle, and he names the wife before the husband, so that you know that she was superior to him in virtue. “Greet Priscilla and Aquila...,” he writes to the Romans, “who laid down their lives for my soul” (Rom. 16:3, 4). Isn't this a crown of praise? Are these not living martyrs - “Who laid down their heads for my soul”? After all, this is martyrdom in the full sense, without the shedding of blood, but with all the power of spiritual impulse. Don't tell me, "They didn't sacrifice their lives." Yes, they themselves did not suffer before the slaughter, but in their souls they experienced this sacrifice. But God values ​​not the execution of a task, but readiness. And Abraham did not stab his son with a knife, because his knife was not stained with blood, and God says to him: “You did not withhold your beloved son from Me” (Gen. 22:12, 16). “You did not spare in your heart, but I spared in deed.” “Who laid down their lives for my life.” They served the apostle with their blood. Did you understand what I said? They did not sacrifice pigs and birds for him, but shed their own blood. This is the height of hospitality! Others, if they give ten obols, then consider it a burden to themselves, but those shed their blood and did not think about real life. This is hospitality, and not at all like those of today, who make a stern face and raise their eyebrows if they happen, and even then through a servant, to give ten obols to a poor man. But these are not like that, but they themselves served him. So are Abraham and Sarah. After all, Sarah herself kneaded the dough, as a reproach to today’s women who have spoiled themselves with gold jewelry and silk clothes; She herself ground the flour. Her husband tells her: “quickly knead three measures of fine flour” (Gen. 18:6). And she didn’t say, “Is this bearable? Are you turning me, your wife, into a baker? Didn't I bring you a dowry? Am I not noble? You push me around like a servant: is this what I dreamed of when I entered your house?” She said nothing of the sort, but hurried to the task and kneaded the dough. Yes, she was the wife of Abraham, not only according to the law of cohabitation, but also according to fellowship in virtue. “Let the feat of hospitality be common,” he says, “so that together we may taste its fruit. Here,” he says, “is a treasure; let's use it together; I will bring the calf, and you will bring the flour.” He killed the calf and received Isaac; Sarah kneaded flour, and her seed became “like the stars of heaven and like the sand that is on the seashore” (Gen. 22:17). I say this, humbling human pride and, on the one hand, eradicating the foolishness of all those who are rich, and on the other, encouraging the poor, so that no one loses heart in poverty or exalts himself in wealth: neither one nor the other is incompatible with virtue. The art of the helmsman is to maintain the direction, not being embarrassed by either the storm or the complete calm of the sea, in the midst of excitement, maintaining an unshakable balance of spirit, not succumbing to change and not retreating in either direction. This is exactly how Job - neither in poverty did he become a blasphemer, nor in wealth did he exalt himself, but when he was rich he did not close his doors from the poor, and when he himself became poor, he exposed his own ribs. Thus, having previously been distinguished by his love of poverty and subsequently remaining faithful to philosophy, he calmly endured the turning point that had taken place in his life. But since all this is about the tent maker, let us extract something for ourselves from what has been said, limiting ourselves to a few words, but discovering in them an immeasurable sea of ​​thoughts. Such is the treasury of Scripture: its wealth is not in the abundance of sayings, but in the power of thoughts. So what does the tent maker say, a mouth full of holiness, a tongue terrible to death? What does this right hand write, adorned with chains and clothed in fetters, but raising the dead? What is she writing? What does this tongue say? What is this hand writing? "We… if we knew Christ in the flesh, now we no longer know him. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Pay attention to the depth of thought. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the ancient has passed away, now everything is new. All things are from God” (2 Cor. 5:16–18). Of course, this treasury is closed; but let us try to penetrate into its hidden depths; after all, its depth does not conceal impenetrable darkness, but there are sources of light in it. Although these words themselves are not clear, I will try to make them understandable and accessible to the simpleton, the poor man, the servant, the cook, the sailor, the woman, the free man and the slave. After all, in general, Divine teaching is offered to everyone in a hidden form, but interpretation makes it understandable. And if we encounter any difficulty, I will make this spiritual meal clearer in terms of the accessibility of the instructions. Just listen to my words with full attention and do not become distracted. However, I already have sufficient experience regarding your ability to follow the development of thoughts, which is why I often took on difficult subjects, not expecting that they themselves would turn out to be intelligible, but noticing how, with the diligence of the listeners, even the difficult turns into easy. For a cheerful thought nothing is difficult; for concentrated attention everything is clear. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the ancient has passed away." Reading these words, the Greeks laugh and make fun of us: “This is what Paul writes: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” You boast, Paul,” they say, “you seduce us with your dreams, arouse our attention, fill our ears with new judgments.” “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” First of all, learn not to be completely blinded: you are throwing yourself into the abyss. Don’t you know and haven’t heard: “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness” (1 Cor. 2:14)? Don't you know this treasury? Above the treasury there are weeds and stones, and if you dig it up, there will be pearls at the bottom. Keep in mind not only words, but also thoughts: it’s not about words. Consider carefully what the “new creature” is; understand what it means: “in Christ”; understand and come down to the light. It often happens that a child, seeing a king passing by, laughs at him, and the king sees this, but ignores it, because there is no insult to the king, but simply the innocence of childhood. Come here, I will lead you into the inner sanctuary; do not look from afar from the vestibule; come here and I will reveal to you the full depth of this secret. “But what will you tell me,” they say, “didn’t the apostle say that Christians have a new creation?” - "Said". “Show us,” they say, “this new creation; show us that the sky has become new, that before the coming of Christ it was different, and now it has become different, that the sea is different, the seeds are different, the nature is different, that the fruits have changed, the rivers have changed, the winds are not the same? After all, all this is old, and you say that it’s a new creature” - “Hold on, don’t freak out. The more you contradict, the more obvious is the superiority of truth.” - “Am I crazy? “Am I contradicting,” the Hellene will say, “look, I am calm.” - “And stay calm, and I will ask you.” - "Ask". “Does he say that before Christ came there was one heaven, and after His coming another appeared? And before Christ appeared in the flesh, there was this very sky, and after His coming the sky remained the same, as well as the earth, and the sea, and the air, and the winds.” - “So, what is Paul babbling when he proclaims: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the ancient has passed away, now everything is new”? I don't see anything new." - “You don’t even have the eyes to see this new thing. Come here, I will open your eyes and you will see.” - “Will you open my eyes?” - “I’ll open it.” - “Are you a creator?” - "Certainly". - “Are you completely sane?” - “In full.” - “Give me this vision of yours.” - “You will receive more - spiritual vision.” - “And will you give me this vision?” - "Certainly". - “But don’t I have it?” - "Of course not". - “How is it: you have vision, but I don’t? Explain to me." - “When you enter a church and see a naked wooden image or a soulless stone and say: “This is God,” do you have sight? If you call this stone a god, where are your eyes? And what use is there to the eyes of the body when the eyes of your soul are blinded? You see now how much you need me to open your eyes, so that you see a stone as a stone, so that you do not confuse completely heterogeneous things and do not combine the opposite in one. You have eyes when you see a tree and bow to it, but I will take it and burn it: where are your eyes when you decide to call what is being burned a god, and even more so when you deify passions? A person gets drunk with wine, loses stability and in intoxication becomes like a dumb person. And you say that drunkenness is a god, and you call him Dionysus. You claim that fornication is god and [you call him Venus; you declare that theft is a god, and] 1 you call him Hermes. So, when you idolize the passions and the tree, do you really have eyes? You don’t see the visible and you want me to believe you in the invisible? Do you see that you need to open your eyes? Your Dionysus is just a worthless stone, and your Venus is a tree. Don't you believe my words? Trust this axe: I will strike with it and cut down your gods; give me fire and I will burn them. This is the passion for drinking. The law condemns her, but you idolize her? Aren't you blind after this? Do you see how necessary it is to open your eyes with an intelligent word? This is how the Jews were: they had eyes and did not see, but the blind man had no eyes and saw. Christ asks the blind man: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” . And he answers: “I believe, Lord,” and worshiped Him (John 9:38). And the Jews saw Christ and crucified Him. The blind man worships, and the sighted man crucifies. That is why Christ said: “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind” (John 9:35, 39). This is how you end up blind. Do you want me to open your sight with a word, to give you eyes of understanding, eyes that see the unseen? Such are the eyes of us who contemplate by faith; They do not see the visible, but the invisible. If you want to follow us, follow, if you don’t want to, in any case, I will do my job, I will teach you. The application of the word is varied: it reconciles opponents, corrects its own, manifests itself in different forms and adapts to everything. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the ancient has passed away, now everything is new.” Oh, lips! Oh, shine! I see the treasure even before it is revealed; I see the entire vessel of the Creator. O eyes that can see! Be attentive, concentrate. In Scripture, creation is called not only the transition from non-existence to being, but also in general the transition of existing things to a better state. I put it this way for the sake of brevity, but I consider it necessary to explain my words in more detail. It is said that God creates not only when He creates something that did not exist before, but also when He corrects and purifies something that exists, but is corrupted and defiled. For example, if I say: “God created man,” this means that He brought him from non-existence to existence. And when He makes a bad person good, there is a simple transition from a worse state to a better one. There the creation of the non-existent, and here the change of the existing, but damaged - for the better. And in order for you to be convinced that creation is called not only the transition from non-existence to being, but also the correction and cleansing of what is corrupted and defiled, listen to what David says. Once he himself existed, and his heart was, of course, created, but it was defiled by adultery and murder; and so he prays to God - for what? “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps. 50:12). Well, before that he didn’t have a heart? How then did he overthrow Goliath? How did you please God? Obviously, he is not talking about the essence of the heart, but about its correction. Here, therefore, creation is not called the bringing of a thing from non-existence to existence, but the correction for the better of something that already existed previously, but was only damaged. So, when you see that someone intemperate has come to his senses, say to yourself: “he has a new soul”; when you see a harlot who has become chaste, say to yourself: “she has a new soul”; when you see a predator inclined to mercy, say to yourself: “he has a new heart,” because the wolf became a sheep, the hawk became a dove. So this is a creation. That is why the font of rebirth is called creation. “Put off,” says the apostle, “the old man’s former way of life, which is being corrupted by its deceitful lusts, and put on the new man, which has been created” (Eph. 4:22, 24) according to “the image of Him who created him” (Col. 3:10). The creation of this man is creation: “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10), but before that there were works of destruction. Then there were works of destruction. The Father took the dust of the earth and created man; now the Son takes water and turns it into wine. And there is the basic principle, and here is the basic principle; and there is a change in the basic principle, and here is creation for the better. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” So, what is the “new creature”, the new creation? And indeed, what would it profit me if a new heaven were to appear? Notice firmly: neither the sky became new, nor the sun, nor the earth - new. And what good would it do me if a new sky were spread over me, and I myself still had to remain under sin? What benefit is there for me here or what harm does it do for me that the sky remains the same if I myself do not remain the same as I was? Heaven is a house, and I, who am in this house, am sick. And so, if you see that a doctor has entered the house and does not pay any attention to the patient, but whitewashes the walls, puts gilding on the ceiling, don’t you tell him: “Oh, man, treat the patient; Why are you decorating the house?” And Christ came into this world, in which he found my nature stricken with illness. Consider again what I am saying. A doctor comes to a big house, finds a sick person in it, in the heat, with wounds: what, does he leave the sick person and take care of a stranger, whitewash the walls, gild the ceiling, decorate the floor? No, of course, he doesn’t pay any attention to the house, but he takes full care of the patient. If the owner of the house is healthy, everything else will follow. So it is here. Christ came into the world, took on flesh, but always remains in everything, and Scripture calls His coming into the world the dispensation. The one who created it himself came to this great world. I found in it ailing human nature, not lying on its bed, but mired in wickedness, corrupted in its entirety, I found sacrificial fires burning, sacrificial fat defiling the air, children slaughtered by the hands of their parents, I found nature trampled upon, natural laws shaken, compassion rejected - “and they sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons” (Ps. 105:37), - I found that people were getting drunk. debauchery to the point of madness, one is a fornicator, the other is an adulterer, the other is a murderer, the whole earth is perishing, people are lying on the bed of vice, the devil is waiting for prey, the furnace is kindled, the wounds are open, the doctors are powerless - I mean the prophets who accused, but did not achieve correction - so the doctors sit, prepare medicines, but do not provide help, but only convict everyone. “There is no one righteous, not one, no one who seeks God 2,” that’s what the doctor says. What hope is there when the doctor blames the patient? One said: “These are fattened horses: each of them neighs at the other’s wife” (“the horses of misogyny have been created, each one neighs at the wife of his sincere man”) (Jer. 5:8). Another sat in the desert like a raven: “Woe is me!.. There are no more merciful on earth, there are no truthful people among people” (“Oh, it is cruel to me, my soul, for the pious perished from the earth, and there is no one who corrects among men”) (Mic. 7: 1–2). The third said: “Oaths and deceit, murder and theft, and adultery have spread greatly” (“oaths, and lies..., and theft, and fornication have spread throughout the earth”) (Hos. 4:2). Each one oppresses his neighbor with oppression. Still another: “Alas, a sinful people” (Is. 1:4). The doctor comes and cries; What hope can a patient have when he sees a doctor in tears? What hope can you have when you see him in despair? What benefit can be expected from it for the patient? It is not for nothing that doctors often, already foreseeing the approach of death, but avoiding upsetting others, overpower themselves and hide their fears under a cheerful expression on their faces, so as not to cause a decline in spirit in the patient. After all, if a patient notices confusion on the doctor’s face, what useful things will he expect from him? But here the disease has become so dominant that the doctor himself is crying: “What should I do? Wounds, rot, worms, complete breakdown; “alas, sinful people.” And one such doctor even wrote a whole book of lamentations, this is Jeremiah. One is grieving, the other is crying, the third is begging. And God from above says: “I have left My house.” What hope is there when God says: “I have forsaken everything, I have forsaken My inheritance; I have given what is most dear to my soul into the hands of my enemies” (Jer. 12:7). And Elijah below cries out: “Lord, “they have destroyed Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword; I am left alone, but they are also looking for my soul” (1 Kings 19:10). If this was the case in Judea, where there was the law, and the church, and the ark of the covenant, and the Jewish sacrifices, what happened there, where are the idols, where is the fat and smoke, where are the lawless sacraments and wickedness, where passions are deified, where they imitate the barking of dogs, which at the festival in honor of Dionysus perform sacred acts in goat skin and with a dog’s voice in order to completely destroy nobility? The devil made dogs and pigs into gods, made vipers and snakes, and invented white asps. The law is powerless, the prophets denounce. So, what about you, unfortunate one? Having appeared and found the universe in such a terrible state, Christ should have left the sick man and set about decorating the sky? No, He did not do this, but hurried to the sick man, for whose sake the sky was created, for whose sake the earth, and the sea, and the air, and everything else. That is why He did not take His appearance from heaven, since He came to serve not heaven, but man. That is why He tied Himself to the sick man by ties of kinship and came as that sick man, without being sick himself, because “He committed no sin, neither was flattery in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22), but came having a vessel akin to His nature. He did not come openly in His Divine form, lest man run away, lest he frighten his prey, but acted as a doctor often does: being a noble man, perhaps even noble by birth, dressed in silk clothes, the doctor, entering the house of a poor patient in need of an operation or some other treatment, takes off his clothes, forgets about his high origins, takes a towel, girds himself, meaning burn and cut the body of the patient, and, in a word, does not think about his own dignity, but about the cure of the patient. This is exactly what the Lord of the Angels did, whose glory is indescribable: He descended to earth as a man, girded Himself with a towel, that is, clothed Himself with our nature, the rich became poor, not losing his wealth, but hiding it. “For you know,” says the apostle, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Do you see poverty - the mother of wealth? Do you see poverty as the key to getting rich? The rich man became poor so that I, the poor man, could become rich. Like a doctor, He girded Himself. What has He condescended to? He girded himself: He did not limit himself to putting on our nature, but also took on the form of a slave, not only the nature of a slave. And so He came, found our nature infected with diseases, and became what I was, except, of course, for sin. Came to the hut where I was laid; I saw worms, I saw rotting, I saw a great stench; I saw that the law does not help, the prophets only accuse, sin prospers, the patient is obsessed with disordered passions, does not want to know abstinence, does not listen to doctors. They tell him: “don’t kill,” but he kills. “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:13–14), and meanwhile, “each of them laughs at the other’s wife” (Jer. 5:8); “You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15), and yet “oaths and deceit, murder and theft, and adultery have become extremely widespread” (Hos. 4:2). The doctor said one thing, but the patient did something completely different. What to do? The doctor ordered, but the patient did not obey; the disease developed; the enslaver of man, the devil, lay in wait for him like a runaway slave: “What do you want? I'll give you a cold drink. What do you want? I will give you meat, I will give you something that will upset your stomach, in defiance of the doctor.” The doctor gave orders and left; the deceiver sneaked in secretly and delivered everything. “Do you need fornication, do you need lies? - he asked the patient.” He answered: “Yes, I want it; not what the doctor orders, but what you suggest.” The unfortunate body was dying. God accuses, the prophets accuse, the traitor seduces, and the sick man clings not to the one from whom he should benefit, but to the one who destroys him. An entire family perished, the damage spared nothing. A Doctor came who had all the means to deal with any complications, who knew an easy, convenient and reliable way to cure. “If I say,” He says, “do this and that,” they will not do it. Why? They did not fulfill the requirements of the law - will they submit to grace? The earthly things turned out to be beyond their power - will they be able to follow the heavenly things? If I offer them fasting, if I offer them to put on a hair shirt, if I offer them poverty... They do not know an honest marriage, and I will tell them about virginity? They steal what belongs to others, and I will teach them non-covetousness? They indulge in fornication, debauchery, and I will offer them hair shirt? How can this be? I am a man while I wear this body and deal with those who despair of their salvation; I will fight against sin and present in My person an example of a person healthy from birth; I will show nature as it is in itself, regardless of the fall; I will show a man who committed no sin, and there was no flattery in His mouth, so that they, seeing this, may have hope of salvation, and their treacherous enemies will be put to shame when they see a man who knows no sin.” Shame on you, devil! Here is the flesh, here is the body of my Lord. That’s why he walked around all the time, saying: “If this is the Son of God, then how is it that He does not sin when everyone else is under sin?” – “But sin is not a matter of nature, but of free will; So I will show a person in his healthy form, a cleaned vessel, without any uncleanness.” In front of all the people He said: “Which of you will convict Me of unrighteousness?” (John 8:46), and no one was found to say anything. What's next? He approaches those who were sick until that time, acting on them with words, as a doctor acts with medicine: “It will not be bad for you if you observe chastity; The disease is serious, but recovery is possible.” Convinces them: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The sick were burdened; illness, licentiousness, fornication, theft, lying, perjury - all these are burdens, and no burden is as heavy as a bad conscience. But since the patient is afraid of the doctor, especially when the illness is serious, so that he does not cut, cauterize, and many of the sick prefer to die from the disease than undergo a painful operation and then, in return for this suffering, enjoy health, so that no one is afraid of the fact that He has come and does not begin to say: “He demands from us an answer for our sins, He will exact from us for our misdeeds, He will punish us and then will correct us,” so that under the influence of such a thought someone will not decided to run, He said: “Come to Me.” “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47). Do not be afraid: I have neither a knife nor fire for cauterization, I do not burn, I do not cut; My healing is painless, My treatment is not difficult. If you don’t believe me, here are some examples: a harlot, a thief, the wise men, a publican, a Canaanite woman - these are clear examples of My healing. Did I burn? Did I cut? The harlot shed tears - and became more honest than the virgins; the wise men bowed down and became evangelists; The Canaanite woman came and received healing for her daughter. “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. Come... all who labor and are heavy laden." These are My words. I am the Master, I have no needs, I am not a slave subject to the law. The law accuses you, but I resolve this accusation, I abolish the accuser himself. How? Grace makes it superfluous. The prophets accuse, but I give more freedom.” So, having come and finding our nature in a sick state, some mired in adultery, others given over to fornication, and the very air contaminated with smoke and stench, and everything else, what does He do? Seeing our family exhausted in the heat, He washes it; first of all he says: “Wash yourself and be healed of your illness”; washes and anoints you in the font of regeneration: “I anoint you with the anointing of peace, and wash you and regenerate you.” And such is the power of this ablution? That's exactly what it is. "Come downstairs." He goes into the font and becomes a new person. Without any weapons? Without cutting and pain? The benefits of connecting with pleasure? Healing without burden? What should we do to be saved? We have committed countless evils, our conscience is corrupted, we are lost. He says that we should be baptized, and through that we will be saved; and indeed, he takes us, anoints us, washes us, then feeds us with solid food. Yes, after the sick person has become innocent, He feeds him, and, moreover, feeds him with His own body, and gives him His own blood to drink, that is, the blood of His sinless one. And since you also came out of the font sinless, then, taking such a body, He anoints, washes, nourishes it. This will be the new creature. When a fornicator enters the font and a righteous man comes out, is this not a new creation? When a predator comes in and leaves his sins, isn't he a new creation? This is what a creation of grace is like. But look, this creation continues in life. How many harlots have left spectacles, rejected silk garments, eaten ashes, clothed themselves in hair shirts, and are now living their lives in Christ? Isn't this a new creature? When you see that the harlot has ceased to be a harlot, but surpasses the virgin in her modesty, say to yourself: “She has a soul created, her heart has been reborn, her former character has changed anew; she no longer strives for spectacles, she no longer attracts others to destruction, but she herself is saved; she no longer seduces others, but serves their salvation, since other fornicators, seeing her, become chaste.” Do you recognize that this is a new creation? When you see a predator, a pagan, licking altars, raging against Christians, robbing thousands of orphans, stripping thousands of widows, who, having become a Christian, gives his own property to the poor and spends his nights in prayer, say to yourself: this man has been created again. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” And notice, this new creature is everywhere in the universe. When you see monks who settled in the mountains, crucifying themselves, suppressing the necessary demands of nature, imitating the angels in dispassion, is this not a confirmation of the words: “So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”? Transport yourself to Persia, at least not with your body, but only with your imagination: so what? Where it was possible to marry one’s mother, one now labors as a virgin. Indeed, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” You can trace this new creation back to the crowned kings. Before, kings filled everything with their wickedness, but now they go to church; and although kings inspire fear in everyone, now they themselves have fear of the church. Who dares to say to the king: “Leave your crown”? And the church tells him, and he obeys and goes to the church with his head naked, without anyone’s invitation, but only according to the suggestion of his mind; stands here with her head naked and unadorned; puts aside the crown and takes up the cross. Both the king and the beggar approach this meal in the same way, and not so that the king does it differently and the beggar does it differently. And the king will not say: “Give me more, and give this beggar less,” but rather he will say: “With the same humility, with the same reverence, like this beggar, I approach.” “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” For all this let us thank God, for to Him be glory forever. Amen. The prisoner in [ ] is not present in Greek. text. Ps.13 - “if there is... seek God”; Ps.13 - “do not do goodness, not even one.” Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom, and classified in the Minya edition as Spuria. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: