Слово в день св. пророка Илии, произнесенное в Вознесенском, тамбовском, женском монастыре 20 июля 1857 года.

“Be wise above all, not on earth” (Col. 3:2). Life of St. the glorious prophet Elijah is very rich in the most wonderful events and highly edifying. But one feature in this life, almost never found in the lives of others, attracts special attention: the feature that the wondrous prophet did not taste bodily death at all, but was taken directly from earth to heaven along with his body. At first glance, there is nothing here for us to follow: because it is not up to us to ascend to heaven after the prophet. But if we delve into the meaning and reason for this extraordinary event, we will find the most important and instructive lesson for ourselves. Brothers! St. Elijah was taken alive into heaven, but even before he ascended there in the flesh, he constantly ascended there with his soul; St. Elijah, without a doubt, was worthy of ascending to heaven in the flesh because throughout his entire earthly life he strove there with the greatest zeal with his soul, “he philosophized above, not earthly.” So, if we want to dwell in heaven, first with our souls, after the death of our bodies, and then with our bodies, after their resurrection, we must constantly and unremittingly, while living on earth, “be wise above, not earthly.” Who is wise on high? The one whose mind, will and heart are occupied only with heavenly things: who thinks about heavenly things, desires heavenly things, strives for heavenly things; who firmly remembers that our fatherland is in heaven (Heb. 11:14), that real life is only a school where we must prepare for eternity and try to take advantage of all the means that God has given us for such preparation; who cares to do the will of God on earth as it is fulfilled in heaven; who with all his being and all his activity “seeks those on high, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). If so, isn’t it obvious that this person is moving forward and heading towards heaven? He gradually, as it were, renounces the earth, tearing one after another all the threads that bind the sinner in the earth, “mortifying his ouds”, “even on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, covetousness” and so on. (Col. 3:5). He gradually rises with his soul above his body, “crucifying his flesh with passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24), and thus weakening, refining, as if spiritualizing the flesh itself. He gradually rises with his soul along the ladder of moral perfection, whose upper end reaches the sky. He gradually purifies, elevates his soul in its very essence, makes it angelic and godlike. What should be the natural outcome of all this? When death comes and releases the soul from the body, breaking the last thread that kept it on earth: where will this soul rush if not to heaven, to which it has strived throughout its entire life, to which it has already become so close and prepared, with which it has become so close? And when, finally, by the will of God, the dead rise from their graves, “let everyone receive whatever he has done with his body, either good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10): where will this body, resurrected and renewed, go, if not to heaven, to share with its soul its joys and eternal bliss? Who is wise on earth? One who lives only for the earth; who with body, soul, thoughts, desires, and actions constantly revolves in the whirlwind of earthly vanity; who “loves the world and what is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of desire and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16); who cares about acquiring earthly blessings and puts his heart into them, indulges in sensual pleasures, and is addicted to earthly honors and distinctions. Does such a person go to heaven? On the contrary, the more he lives, the more and more he becomes attached to the earth. Does his soul rise above his body? On the contrary, it enslaves the soul to the body and gradually suppresses it, so that sometimes it becomes almost completely invisible: “My spirit shall not dwell in these men,” the Lord once said about such people, “for they are flesh” (Gen. 6:3). Does one ascend the ladder of virtues? On the contrary, it descends along the ladder of sin and vice. Does it cleanse and ennoble your soul? On the contrary, it coarsens and earthens her more and more, drowning out all her highest needs. Where will he go at the end of this life? There, without a doubt, where he was going throughout his life: his soul, according to the force of moral gravity, will naturally rush into the depths of hell. And when, on the day of resurrection, he unites with his body again, it will inevitably drag him with him into the same endless abyss. I am addressing you here in particular, pious sisters in the Lord! That's why you left the world, and that's why you retired to this holy place. monastery, so that more easily, more conveniently, “you have chosen the good part, not the earthly wisdom.” But having removed yourself from the world in body, try to remove yourself from it in your soul, try to renounce it with your thoughts, desires, and all the attachments of your heart: alas, no matter how deep solitude a person lives, as long as he remembers and dreams of earthly pleasures, grieves over the blessings of life and, although from afar, his soul hovers in the midst of the vain world, until then he “is earthly wise.” You spend your days in fasting, prayer, visiting the church of God and other pious activities. Thank the Lord! But see if all this is not limited to just appearance, whether in the midst of these activities your very soul is improved, whether it is weaned from previous vicious inclinations and habits, whether it becomes kinder, whether it is confirmed more and more in faith, hope and Christian love, whether it thirsts for heavenly blessings and is drawn to them with all its strength. Oh, if it is perfected and attracted: then you truly “are wise above, not earthly.” And rest assured that, sooner or later, you too will ascend to the same place, first with your souls, and then with your bodies, where St. glorious prophet Elijah, to whose name your church is dedicated. May the Lord God, with His grace, deign us all, brothers, to reach our mountainous fatherland! Amen. You might be interested in: