Слово в неделю XXII-ю по Пятидесятнице, сказанное в Предтеченской церкви архиерейского дома 27 октября 1857 года.

“Child, remember that you received your goodness in your belly, and Lazarus was also evil: now here you are comforted, but you suffer” (Luke 16:25). Let no one think, hearing this answer from the father of believers, Abraham, to the rich man who suffered in hell, that all the rich, all the happy people of the world, who have tasted the “good” in this life, will suffer in the afterlife, and on the contrary, all the poor, unfortunate, who have tasted the “evil” on earth, will be comforted in heaven. Such a thought would be the greatest injustice: for among the rich and noble there are good and true Christians, and among the poor and beggars there are vicious people, even extremely vicious. No, Abraham’s answer applied to a rich man, but an ungodly rich man who did not take advantage of his wealth to save his soul, and concerned a poor man - Lazarus, but a pious poor man who knew how to use his poverty to save his own. Therefore, from the words of the father of believers, we can draw for ourselves the following lessons: Let's assume that you are one of the rich and happy people. While enjoying the blessings of the world with which the Lord has blessed you, ask yourself more often: what did you do to deserve these blessings? Have you tried to please the Lord by doing His will? Did you know how to live as St. commands? faith? If your conscience gives you an affirmative answer: then rejoice and thank the Almighty for His mercies towards you. Give thanks not only with words, but with new and new deeds of Christian piety. Use wealth itself as a means to please the Lord. No matter how abundantly the treasures flow to you, do not put your heart on them (Psalm 61:11). Do you want to multiply them and spread them? Multiply, but by legal means, consistent with the spirit of Christian justice, honesty and love for others. Do you want to put your wealth to proper use? Use it for your most essential needs, and not for whims, not for excess, not for satisfying your passions: use it for the glory of God, for the creation and decoration of the Holy Spirit. churches and St. monasteries, and for the benefit of your neighbors - for public and private charity, to benefit the poor, orphans, widows and generally those in need of your help. What could be more enviable then than your fate? It is not in vain that they will call you lucky: having received your goodness in this life, you will not only not be subjected to suffering, on the contrary, you will receive eternal blessings in the afterlife. But if your conscience tells you and continues to repeat that you live lawlessly and do not deserve the benefits with which Providence rewards you: then be afraid and be extremely attentive to your situation. Here is one of two things: either the Lord showers you with his gifts and mercies, despite your wickedness, solely because of his inexhaustible goodness, wanting to conquer your cold heart with his fatherly love, lead you to repentance and extract you from the abyss of vices into his arms. And then, if you neglect such riches of God’s kindness and long-suffering, if you remain unanswered to such a call from the Heavenly Father, you only, “out of your cruelty” “and unrepentant heart, accumulate” and increase for yourself “wrath on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:4-5). Or, perhaps, the Lord provides you with the blessings of the world, despite all your sinfulness, in His infinite truth, wanting to reward you for those few good qualities that you have, for those few virtues that you have committed, so that later, if you do not repent during this life, to reward you after death for all the evil to which you have so long and stubbornly indulged. Ah, feel your dangerous situation, hasten to improve your life and use your wealth to save your soul! Otherwise, your fate after death will be terrible: in vain you will cry out for mercy. “Child,” then both the goodness and truth of God will tell you, remember, “how” you “received” from us “your goodness in your belly”: now accept also your evil according to your merits, for the abuse of everything that you used from us. Let us turn to you, poor, suffering people, who call themselves unhappy in the world! Consider your own life more carefully, and delve more impartially into whether you yourself are to blame for your misfortunes, whether you have earned them with your vices. If it turns out that the Lord is punishing you for your sins: rejoice and thank Him. He is so merciful to you that He punishes you here so as not to punish you in eternity; He punishes you with the goal that you will repent of your evil deeds and become better. Understand the power of fatherly punishment and use it to save your soul. Or perhaps you are suffering innocently, suffering for truth, piety, for the name of Christ? Oh, in this case, rejoice even more and thank God: for “your reward is many in heaven” (Matthew 5:12). In the midst of disasters and sorrows, your soul will gradually be purified, just as gold is purified in a furnace (Wis. 3:6). Here, in the midst of the temptations that surround you, a vast field opens up before you to show in the whole world your living faith, your firm hope in God, your true love, which “never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8) - to strive, rise and succeed in Christian humility, meekness, patience, self-sacrifice and other virtues. And as you, walking the thorny path on earth, rise in virtues, you will earn for yourself the highest and highest rewards in heaven, and “even now light sorrow” of yours, “when it multiplies into prosperity, it will become a burden of eternal glory” for you (2 Cor. 4:17). But if, from which, God save you, you, having brought upon yourself disasters due to your sins, not only do not recover from this punishment and admonition of God, but also indulge in new vices; or, if, having been innocently exposed to suffering, you do not find in yourself enough firmness and courage to endure it in a Christian manner, on the contrary, you begin to murmur against God, become cowardly, and subsequently even indulge in crimes that you did not know before: then woe to you, woe! Even if you were poor on earth your whole life, even if you experienced all kinds of suffering and sorrow, they will not serve in the least for the salvation of your soul; from temporary disasters you will move on to eternal torment. Brothers! Holy faith teaches us that our present life is the time of our education for eternity. Earth is a school where we prepare for heaven. Happy and unfortunate events in our lives are the lessons that our heavenly Mentor, who holds in his right hand all human lots, gives us. Let us learn to understand these lessons and use them to save our souls. Then both rich and poor will be equally able to achieve eternal bliss. Amen. You might be interested in: