Слово в неделю Ваий, сказанное в Предтеченской церкви архиерейского дома 16 марта 1858 года.

“Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel” (John 12:3). Solemn was the last entry of our Savior into Jerusalem. He walked like a King, in accordance with ancient prophecies, riding “on the foal of a donkey.” Countless multitudes of people came to the feast in St. The city, hearing about the approach of Jesus, took branches from the dates and went out to meet Him. And then some preceded Him, others accompanied Him; Some in delight took off their clothes and spread them before Him, others cut branches from trees and threw them in His path, and all of them, not only adults, but also the very children cried out to Him: “Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel, hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:8-9). Isn’t it amazing after this that the Evangelist remarked that Christ, when he approached Jerusalem, “seeing the city, wept over it” (Luke 19:41)? What would that mean? Why, when everyone around the Savior rejoiced, did He alone cry? Was this rejoicing of the Jews, this living sympathy for Him, this solemn meeting really not pleasing to Him? The Jews greeted Him as their King... But they did not understand Him: their concepts of the Messiah-King were perverse, sensual. The Jews thought that Christ would be their earthly king-conqueror, that when He sat on the throne of David, He would first of all free them from the yoke of the Romans, under which they were then under, and then conquer all nations, so that the people of God would become the ruler of the universe. No matter how much the Lord tried in the days of his public preaching to dispel this destructive prejudice, prejudice still remained dominant among the Jews. And with such vain hopes they now met Christ as their King in Jerusalem! This is not enough: while some, in whole crowds, met Him with joy and greeted Him as their King, others, His enemies, the scribes and elders of the Jews, were secretly “indignant” and were even more blinded by envy and hatred of Him, and were even more zealously concerned about how to destroy Him as quickly as possible (Matthew 21:15). And that’s not all: the Lord foresaw that even these same jubilant crowds, now showing Him royal honors, would in a few days completely abandon Him and go over to the side of His enemies, that those very ones who are now crying out: “Hosanna to the Son of David,” the King of Israel, in a few days would cry out: “Take him, take him, crucify him; not the imams of the King, but of Caesar” (John 19:15). But the gaze of the Lord extended even further. He foresaw how the enemies of the Jewish people, the Romans, would come and surround St. the city of Jerusalem from all sides with their countless hordes, they will destroy it, beat up all its children and leave no stone unturned in it. For what? Because Jerusalem has not now realized the day of the Lord’s visitation, that the Jews have not recognized their true Messiah, and in a few days they will betray Him even to death... (Luke 19:42-44). That is why the Lord wept today for St. city ​​in the midst of jubilant Jews. He saw not only the external, but their very thoughts, he saw not only what was happening around Him, but everything that was happening and planned in Jerusalem at that time, he saw not only the present, but also the future of the saint. hail. And we, brethren, now brightly celebrate the solemn entry of our Savior into Jerusalem. And we meet Him as a King, with statues in our hands and, bearing these signs of victory, we cry out to Him as the conqueror of death: “Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Well, isn’t there anything displeasing to our Lord in our celebration? Our concepts of Him as a King are, without a doubt, true concepts. We believe that He is the King of the blessed kingdom or Church that He founded on earth. We know that although He now enters Jerusalem to suffer on the Cross, He will suffer in order to defeat our enemies - death and hell, in order to reconcile us with God and acquire for us the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in order to send the Holy Spirit upon His apostles and through them to preach the Gospel to all creation and to create in the world from all people, not only Jews, but also pagans, one grace-filled kingdom in which He will reign until the end of time. Such concepts are the very ones that the Lord himself preached, and therefore our celebration, imbued with them, at least in this respect, cannot be regrettable for Him. But isn’t something similar happening among us now that happened in Jerusalem when Christ entered it? Are there people among us who, looking at the glory of Christ the King, at the spread and prosperity of His gracious kingdom on earth, not only do not contribute to the success of St. faith, but they even oppose it in any way they can, and would be ready to completely extinguish it? Are there those who, although they now joyfully greet Christ as he enters Jerusalem in glory, will in a few days or even now go over to the side of His enemies? And the enemies of Christ are the devil and everyone who does his will; these are heretics and schismatics who are tearing apart the Church and causing rebellions and civil strife in the blessed kingdom of Christ and destroying thousands of weak souls; These are generally all lawless people who oppose the will of God. Are there among us sons of perdition, who, if they do not soon cry out about Christ: “Take, take, crucify Him,” then they themselves will “second crucify” Him spiritually by their falling away from the faith, or in general by their godless, non-Christian life? Are there any unfortunates who, with their unrepentance for sins and bitterness, are preparing for themselves an even worse fate than what awaited Jerusalem for their failure to recognize and crucifixion of the Messiah - preparing for themselves eternal torment? All this is completely open before the Lord; He sees not only our whole life from beginning to end, but our very hearts. And will any of us say after this that his participation in the present triumph of the Church is pleasing to the Lord? Brothers Christians! We all know that Christ is the King of the grace-filled kingdom or Church; we all have the happiness of belonging to this kingdom. Let us love our King and Lord, let us unswervingly fulfill His holy orders. will and use all the means that He gives us for our salvation: for if He founded His kingdom on earth and reigns in it, then only for our salvation. Then not only the present, but also all our other celebrations in honor of Him will become truly pleasing to Him. Meanwhile, let us remember that in addition to the earthly Jerusalem, where Christ has now entered, there is also a heavenly Jerusalem, and besides the kingdom of grace, there is another kingdom of Christ - the kingdom of glory. Christ himself had already entered there in all his glory when he ascended into heaven; but one day He will bring all His true followers there with glory. Oh, if only we too were worthy to enter this heavenly Jerusalem! With what joy we would have celebrated this solemn entrance then - we celebrated not just one day, but an entire eternity! Amen. You might be interested in: