Беседа 21. О том, что не должно прилепляться к житейскому, и о пожаре, бывшем вне церкви

Directing the caustic sting of words at you every time, I thought, beloved, that I would seem to you somewhat annoying, because I was revealing some kind of excessive courage, indecent for a person who had come and was not exempt from similar accusations - but you were aroused by reproofs to goodwill, and the wounds inflicted by my tongue turned into a reason to ignite greater love. And this is not surprising; because you are wise in spiritual things. “Rebuke the wise, and he will love you,” Solomon says somewhere in his writings (Proverbs 9:8). Therefore, now, brethren, I begin the same exhortation, wanting, be that as it may, to lead you away from the snares of the devil. And the enemy of truth daily wages against us, beloved, strong and varied warfare. And he wages this battle, as you yourself know, turning our wishes against us into arrows and always borrowing strength from us in order to harm us. Since the Lord bound a lot of his strength with insoluble laws and did not allow him to wipe out the human race from the earth with one desire, the envious Tatsky 77 is already gaining victory over us, taking advantage of our unreason. As crafty and selfish people, who have one thing and one plan - to enrich themselves with others, but do not have the strength to boldly use violence, they usually make ambushes along the roads and, if they see some place near them, either dug up by deep ravines, or covered by dense trees, they hide there, and with such covers, preventing travelers from seeing into the distance, they suddenly attack them, which is why they cannot notice dangerous snares until they fall into them; so this one, who has been hostile and hostile to us since ancient times, resorting to the shadow of worldly pleasures, which on the path of this life can conveniently hide a robber and harbor an evil one, unforeseenly sets up a net of destruction for us here. Therefore, if we want to safely walk the path of life ahead, present to Christ both soul and body free from shameful ulcers and receive victorious crowns, then we must turn our spiritual eyes everywhere, look suspiciously at everything pleasant, run past without slowing down and not cling to anything in thought; even if it seemed that the gold lay scattered in heaps and was ready to go into the hands of those who wanted it, for it is said: “If wealth flows, do not apply your heart” (Ps. 61:11); even if the earth grew pleasures of all kinds and offered valuable shelters: “for our life is in heaven, from there we wait for the Savior... Christ” (Phil. 3:20); at least there would be dancing, feasts, drunkenness, dinners resounding with pipes, for it is said: “vanity of vanities, ... all sorts of vanity” (Eccl. 1:2); at least one could imagine the beauty of the bodies in which vicious souls live, for the wise one says: from the face of the woman, “as from the face of the serpent, flee” (Sir. 21:2; Sir. 25, 18); even if they offered dominion and autocracy, crowds of bodyguards and flatterers, even a high and bright throne, subjugating peoples and cities to us into voluntary slavery, for “all flesh is like grass, and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass: the grass is gone, and its flower has fallen away” (1 Pet. 1:24). Under all this, so pleasant, sits the common enemy, waiting to see if we will turn aside from the right path, deceived by what is visible, and if we will not deviate towards his ambush. And it is very dangerous that, someday approaching this carelessly and not considering the pleasantness of pleasure harmful, we will swallow in the first taste the hidden trap of deceit, and then through it, willy-nilly or unwillingly, we will become attached to such things, and we will be imperceptibly carried away by voluptuousness to the terrible crossroads of this robber, that is, to death. Why is it necessary and useful for all of us, brothers, as travelers or walkers, having prepared for the journey and having come up with all the means to ease the souls in this procession, to steadily hasten to the end of the path. And no one should think that I am the inventor of new names, because I have now called human life a path. For the prophet David also calls life the same way, in one place saying: “Blessed are the blameless ones who walk in the law of the Lord,” then in another place calling out to his Master: “Leave the way of unrighteousness from Me and have mercy on me with Your law” (Ps. 119:1,29). And also, singing of God’s quick help against those who offend and happily matching the lyre, he said: “Who is God... except our God? God, gird me with strength, and make my way blameless” (Ps. 17:32-33), rightly thinking that, in any case, this should be called human life on earth - both worthy of wonder and bad. For those who make a continuous procession, alternately moving forward the soles of their feet, one overtaking the other, and constantly moving that foot that was previously established on the ground, quickly leaving the other one behind, conveniently come to the limit of the path, so those introduced by the Creator into life, at the very beginning of life, immediately entering into parts of time, and the part that was ahead of them, constantly leaving behind them, reach the end of life. And don’t you imagine that real life extends along some continuous path and procession, which is separated by ages, like crossroads; that at the beginning of the journey she presents to everyone the maternal pangs of birth, and as the end of the journey she indicates the sepulchral monasteries and leads everyone to them - some faster, others slower; some, when all the distances of time have passed, and others before they are located at the first crossroads of life? We can evade other paths that lead from city to city and not go the way we don’t want, but this path, even if we wanted to postpone the procession by forcibly capturing those on it, leads to the limit appointed by the Lord. And for him, beloved, who once approached the gates leading to this life and entered this path, it is impossible not to come to the end of it. But each of us, upon leaving our mother’s womb, is immediately engulfed by the streams of time, carried away by them, always leaving behind us the day we lived, and never being able, even if we wanted, to return to yesterday. And we have fun, striving forward, we rejoice, changing ages, as if we were gaining something; We consider it happy when someone becomes a man from a youth, and from a man an old man. Of course, we don’t know that every time we lost as much life as we lived; we do not feel the loss of life, although we always measure it as past and fleeting; We cannot imagine how we do not know how much time He who sent us on this journey will be willing to give us, and when He will open the door of entry to each of the current ones; We do not think that every day we must be prepared to depart from here and, without taking our eyes off, await the beck of the Master. For it is said: “Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning: and you are like a man who waits for his Lord when he returns from marriage, so that when he comes and pushes him, it will be opened to him” (Luke 12:35-36). We do not want to carefully examine which burdens in this field are easy for us, can be endured by those who have collected them and, turning into the property of those who have acquired them, make the future life joyful for us - and which burdens are heavy, not convenient, tied to the earth, cannot be assimilated by people forever and are not suitable for accompanying those who possess them into those narrow gates. On the contrary, we leave behind what should have been collected; and what should go unnoticed, we collect it. And what can unite with us and truly become an adornment, akin to the soul and body, we do not pay attention to; and what remains forever alien to us, marking us with only shame, we try to collect, needlessly tiring ourselves and working with such difficulty, with which only someone, deceiving himself, would want to pour into a leaky barrel. For, without a doubt, as I think, even small children know this, that not one of the pleasures of this life, for which most people go crazy, is not ours or can really become ours, but it turns out to be alien to everyone, just as much for those who enjoy it, apparently, as for those who do not approach it at all. For if others have collected a countless amount of gold in this life, it does not remain their property forever, but either during their lifetime, no matter how tightly they are locked away from everywhere, it slips away, passing to the strongest, or it leaves them at death and does not want to follow their owners. On the contrary, they, drawn along the necessary path by One who forcibly separates the soul from this pitiful body, often turning their eyes to money, mourn the labors spent on them from their youth; and wealth looks into the hands of others, imprinting on them only traces of fatigue during gathering and reproach for covetousness. And if someone acquired thousands of acres of land, magnificent houses, herds of animals of all kinds, was invested with people with all kinds of dominion, then he would not enjoy this for a century, but, having briefly benefited from this eminence, he would again cede his wealth to others, covering himself with a small amount of land, and often even to the grave, before he moved from here, he would see that his property was transferred to others, and, perhaps, to enemies. Do we really not know how many fields, how many houses, how many peoples and cities, during the lifetime of their owners, took on the names of other owners? How did those who were formerly slaves rise to the height of power, and those who were called masters and rulers willingly stood in a row with their subordinates and bowed to their slaves, when circumstances suddenly turned upside down, just as a die in a game turns the other way? But what is invented for food and drink for us and everything that arrogant wealth has invented beyond need to please an ungrateful belly that holds nothing in itself, does it become our property, even if the belly is constantly filled? After this little pleasure gives the taste a little pleasure for a while, we soon feel hostility, as if from something burdensome and unnecessary, and we try to quickly throw it out, as we are in great danger of losing our lives if it stays in our insides for a long time. And indeed, satiety caused death to many and meant that they could no longer enjoy anything. And voluptuousness, unclean embraces and all other deeds of a frantic and raging soul, isn’t it obviously a clear loss and clearly visible harm to nature, is it not alienation and diminishment of what is most essentially characteristic of everyone; because the body is exhausted from such messages and is deprived of the most natural and life-giving nutrition for the members? Therefore, in each of those who indulge in voluptuousness, immediately after committing a vile deed, when bodily lust is satisfied, and the mind, having reached the bad end that it sought, as if after intoxication or a storm, takes the time to judge what it has reached, some kind of repentance for intemperance appears. For he feels that the body has become weaker, and is slow and completely weak in performing necessary tasks. Noticing this, the instructors in bodily exercises wrote for their schools the law of chastity, by which the bodies of young men are protected inviolable by voluptuousness, and during bodily exercises they are not allowed to even look at beautiful faces if they want their heads to be crowned; because intemperance during the struggle leads to ridicule, and not to the crown. How wonderful it is to close your eyes and pass by all this, as completely alien and superfluous, incapable of becoming anyone’s property; just as much we must take great care of what essentially belongs to us. What is essentially ours? This is the soul with which we live, a subtle and spiritual being that has no need for anything burdensome: this is the body that the Creator gave to the soul as a chariot to life. For this is what a person is - a mind closely coupled with a flesh adapted to it and decent. He is formed in the depths of the mother by the all-wise Artist. The coming time of birth pangs brings him out of these dark lies. He is appointed to rule over what is on earth. The creature is prostrate before him, like a school of virtue. He is given the law to imitate the Creator to the best of his ability and depict heavenly prosperity on earth. He, called from here, moves. He appears before the judgment seat of God who sent him. He is being held accountable. He accepts retribution for life here. But others will find that virtues become our property when they are carefully woven with our nature, and just as they do not want to leave us weary on earth, unless we ourselves, of our own free will, forcibly drive away the worst by introducing them, so they precede us, hastening there, and those who have acquired them are joined with the Angels and shine forever before the eyes of the Creator. But wealth, power, celebrity, luxury and all this crowd, daily multiplied by our foolishness, did not come into life with us, and did not leave with anyone. On the contrary, what was said in ancient times by the righteous in the reasoning of every person is certainly and has force: “naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I will go” (Job 1:21). Therefore, whoever wishes good for himself will take as much care of his soul as possible, and will try in every possible way to keep it pure and inviolable, but the flesh, whether it is melting away with hunger, or struggling with cold and heat, or suffering from illness, or suffering violence from someone, will not pay much attention, calling out in every sorrow and speaking in the words of Pavlov: “even if our outer man decays, yet the inner man is renewed by all the days" (2 Cor. 4:16). And seeing the approach of dangers that threaten life, he will not be fearful, but will say to himself with hope: “We know that even if our earthly church of the body is destroyed, a creation from God, imams, a church not made by hands, eternal in heaven” (2 Cor. 5: 1). If someone wants to spare the body, as the only asset necessary for the soul and contributing to it in earthly life, then you will not take much care of its needs, just to support it and, through moderate care, keep it healthy to serve the soul, and not give it the freedom to jump from satiety. If he sees that it is inflamed by a desire for more and beyond the bounds of what is useful, he will cry out to him, admonishing him with the word of Paul: “We have brought nothing into this world, as if we could endure less than that: but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these” (1 Tim. 6:7-8). Constantly repeating and calling on the body to do this, it will make it submissive and always easy for the heavenly procession; it would be better to say: it will acquire in it a collaborator in the upcoming feats. And if he allows him to be insolent and to be filled with everything every day, like an indomitable beast, then, finally, carried away by his violent impulses to the ground, he will lie sighing without benefit. And brought to the Lord, when they demand from him the fruits of the wanderings entrusted to him on earth, since he cannot imagine any fruits, he will weep heavily and live in constant darkness, strongly reproaching luxury and its deceitfulness, which took away the time of salvation from him. But even tears will then be of no use, for “in hell who will confess to You?” - says David (Ps. 6:6). Therefore, let us flee as quickly as possible; Let us not destroy ourselves voluntarily. But if someone has long been caught, or has collected the dust of wealth for himself by untruth, and has tied his mind with worries about it, or has denigrated his nature with the indelible filth of lust, or is filled with other guilts, then, while there is still time, before he reaches complete destruction, let him lay down most of the burdens, and, before the boat is sunk, let him throw away from his cargo that he collected illegally, and Yes, he imitates the maritime industrialists. If they happen to carry what they need on a ship, but a strong swell arises at sea, and the ship, overwhelmed by the cargo, threatens to sink, they remove most of the weight as quickly as possible and throw the goods into the sea without mercy, so that the ship can sail above the waves, and so that they themselves, if possible, at least save soul and body from danger. And we, of course, need to think about this and do it much more than they do. If they lose anything, they lose it at that very moment, and they are already surrounded by the adversities of poverty. And the more we reduce the evil burden, the more and better we accumulate wealth for souls; because fornication and everything like that, if cast off, perish, and what is destroyed by tears turns into nothing, but in its place come holiness and righteousness - light things, never flooded by any waves. And the property, beautifully torn up, does not perish for those who tore it up and threw it away, but, as if transferred to some other reliable ships, that is, into the wombs of the poor, they are saved and reach the piers, and those who cast them out are considered an ornament, not a danger. So, beloved, let us set a philanthropic definition for ourselves, and if we want to turn the burden of wealth into our own profit, we will divide it among many, and they will bear it with joy and place it for safekeeping in the depths of the Master - in these safe treasuries, “where neither a worm... corrupts, nor robbers dig in, nor steal” (Matthew 6:20). Let us give freedom to wealth when it wants to overflow to those in need. Let us not pass by the Lazarus, who are still lying before our eyes; Let us not spare grains from our meal sufficient to satisfy them; Let us not imitate this hard-hearted rich man and let us not go with him into the same fire of hell. Otherwise, we will then beg Abraham a lot, we will beg each of those who lived beautifully, but there will be no benefit to us from crying, for “a brother will not deliver, will a man deliver” (Ps. 48:8)? Each of them will tell us loudly: “Do not seek philanthropy, which you yourself did not know for others; Don’t think of getting so much, you skimp on even less, enjoy what you have collected in life. Weep now: because you did not have mercy on your brother then, seeing him cry.” This is what they will tell us, and they will tell us rightly! But I’m afraid that they will strike us with even more bitter words, because we, as you yourself know, are superior to this rich man in guile. It is not because we are completely stingy with wealth that we pass by the brothers lying on the ground; not because we protect the property for children or other relatives, or block our hearing when they ask us; On the contrary, we squander it on the worst, and turn our generosity to encourage the vice of people devoted to it. Many people have so many husbands and wives at their table! Some amuse the giver of the feast with shameful words; others, with immodest glances and body movements, ignite the fire of intemperance; some try to make the caller laugh with caustic jokes at each other, while others deceive him with false praise. And they do not receive the only benefit that they are treated sumptuously, but they leave with their hands full of all kinds of gifts and learn through us that it is much more useful for them to indulge in such things and practice in this, and not in virtues. And if a beggar stands in front of us, who can barely speak from hunger, we turn away from him who is of the same nature as us, we abhor him, we hastily run away, as if fearing that by walking more slowly we will become participants in the same disaster. And if he, ashamed of his misfortune, lowers his gaze to the ground, we say that he trades in hypocrisy. If, forced by severe hunger, he looks at us boldly, we again call him shameless and insolent. If, by chance, he is covered with strong clothing that someone gave him, we drive him away from us as if he were insatiable, and we swear that his poverty is feigned. And if he is covered with rotten rags, we are again driven away for the stench, and although he adds the name of the Creator to his requests, although he constantly conjures that we too should be subjected to similar suffering, he cannot in any way change our merciless decision. For this reason I am afraid of the gravest fire of Gehenna in comparison with that rich man. If time allowed and I had the strength, then, having explained everything about the rich man to you, as shown in the book, I would put an end to the speech; but it’s time to let you go, for you are already tired. If, due to the weakness of my understanding and tongue, I did not finish speaking, then, having reproduced it yourself, like some kind of medicine, apply it to mental ulcers. For, “give wine to the wise, and he will be the wisest,” says Scripture (Proverbs 9:9). “God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that you will always have all sufficiency in everything, and you will abound for every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). But my word, which, as you see, has already been introduced into the harbour, some of the brethren again call into the field of conference, commanding not to ignore the fact that the Lord worked miracles yesterday, not to remain silent about the victorious monument that the Savior erected to shame the rage of the devil, but to give you an opportunity for rejoicing and hymns. For the devil, as you know, again revealed his characteristic fury against us, and, armed with a fiery flame, attacked the church fences. But the common mother won again, turning the enemy’s machinations against himself, and he did not succeed in anything except making his enmity obvious. Grace resisted the enemy's aspirations, and the church remained unharmed; the storm raised by the enemy was unable to shake the stone on which Christ had built a sheepfold for His flock. And now He is with us, Who of old quenched the furnace in Babylon. How long do you think the devil is groaning today, not enjoying his enterprise as he wanted? This hostile person lit a fire adjacent to the church to disrupt our progress. And the flames, fanned everywhere by his strong breaths, spread to everything around, devoured the nearby air, being forced to touch the sacred buildings and involve us in a common disaster. But the Savior made the flame turn on the one who kindled it, and commanded him to contain his fury again within himself. And the enemy prepared a malicious bow; but he was prevented from shooting an arrow, or better said, he shot an arrow, but it was pointed at his own head. He himself tasted those bitter tears that he prepared for us! But let us, brethren, make the wound inflicted upon the enemy even more painful, and let us intensify his weeping. And I’ll tell you how to do it, and you can do it. Some, although they were snatched away by the Creator from under the power of fire, they no longer had any means of life left, and only with soul and body did they escape danger. Therefore, we, who have not experienced this disaster, will offer them our property together. Let us extend our arms to the brothers who barely escaped; Let everyone say to everyone: “You were dead and alive; I bent and was found” (Luke 15:24); and may he cover the body that is related to him. Let us counter the insults of the enemy with our consolation, so that this harmful one does not dream that he has caused great harm, so that this warrior cannot point out anyone as defeated, and so that this destroyer of the property of the brothers is defeated through our generosity. And you, brothers, who have escaped danger, do not grieve too much about the disaster that has happened, do not waver in your thoughts, but shake off the darkness of sadness, strengthen your souls, using more courageous reasoning, and turn what happened to you into an opportunity to receive crowns. For if you remain unshakable, you will find yourself even more tested in your faith, shining from the fire like noble gold, and all the more will you increase the shame of the enemy, because with his machinations he could not even wrest tears from you. Bring to mind Job’s patience, and tell yourself the same thing that Job said: “The Lord has given, the Lord has been taken away: as the Lord willed, so it was” (Job 1:21). Let what he endured not arouse anyone to reason and say that there is no Providence managing our affairs; and let him not blame the economy and judgment of the Master. On the contrary, let everyone look at this ascetic and let him make him his advisor for good; let him list in order all the exploits in which Job distinguished himself, and consider that although the devil struck him with so many arrows, he did not receive a mortal wound. The devil took away his domestic well-being, and he intended to suppress it with gradual news of misfortunes. When one told him about some misadventure, another messenger came, bringing sad news about something worse; troubles continually followed one after another, misfortunes were like the pressure of waves, and before the tears stopped flowing for one thing, the opportunity to cry again opened up. But the righteous man stood like a rock, taking upon himself the attacks of the storm and turning the rushing waves into foam, he raised a grateful voice to the Lord: “The Lord gave, the Lord was taken away: as the Lord willed, so it was,” - and no matter what happened to him, he did not deserve it even with tears. When one messenger came and said that some strong wind shook the house of joy where his sons and daughters were feasting, then Job tore his clothes, thereby showing the compassion of nature, and by his action testified that he was a child-loving father. However, even then, having set a limit and measure of grief and decorating what happened to him with these pious words, he said: “The Lord gave, the Lord was taken away: as the Lord willed, so it was.” as if crying out like this: “I have been called father for as long as it pleased Him who made me a father. Again He was pleased to take away the crown of offspring from me: I do not dispute His property with Him. May that which pleases the Lord prevail. He is the Creator of the race, and I am the instrument. What need do I, being a slave, be upset in vain and complain about a sentence that I cannot change? With similar words the righteous man struck the devil. But when the enemy again saw that Job was winning, and that nothing could shake him, he used tempting means against his very flesh, and having beaten his body with unspeakable blows, he brought it to the point that it was oozing out a lot of worms, and, having removed this man from the royal thrones, he put him on the rotting heap. But Job, even stricken with such suffering, remained unshakable; when his body was tormented, he guarded the treasure of piety inviolate in the secret place of his soul. Therefore, the enemy, no longer finding anything to do, brings to mind his ancient intrigues, and, having drawn the wife’s mind into an impious and blasphemous intention, through her he attempts to shake the ascetic. And tired of the long labor, she appears to the righteous man, with a downcast gaze, claps her hands at the sight of him, mocks the fruits of his piety, describes the former flourishing state of household affairs, points out present disasters, what his life was like before and what it has become now, what reward he received from the Lord for his many sacrifices. And she incessantly repeated words that, it is true, are characteristic of female cowardice, but could confuse any person and seduce even a courageous mind. “I go “wandering and serving,” she says (Job 2:9), “from a queen I became a slave; forced to look at the hands of her servants; I used to feed many, but now I can barely find food from others. It would be good and beneficial for you, having used an ungodly word and sharpened the sword of the Creator’s wrath, to be exterminated from the earth, and not to continue ascetic labors for yourself and your partner, patiently enduring these disasters.” But the righteous man, saddened by these words more than by all the disasters that had previously befallen him, with a look filled with anger, turns to his wife as an enemy, and what does he say to her? “Why did you say that you are alone from mad women?” (Job 2:10). “Leave your wife,” he says, “this advice. How long will it take you to insult common life with such words? You slandered what I did not want, and my behavior; By saying this, you slandered my life as well. Now I see that I, too, am half wicked; because marriage made both of us one body, and you fell into blasphemy. “If we receive good things from the hand of the Lord, will we not endure the evil ones” (Job 2:10)? Remember the benefits you enjoyed before; balance the best with the worst. No person's life is completely blissful. It is always characteristic of God alone to be blissful. And you, if the present is sad for you, console yourself with what preceded it. Now you cry, but before you laughed. Now you are a beggar, but before you were rich. You drank from the clear stream of life - drink with patience and from the muddy one. And river flows are not clean everywhere; and our life, as you know, is such a river that flows continuously and flows in waves one after another. Part of it has already leaked, and the other is still flowing; some have barely emerged from the sources, while others are evaporating - and we are all rushing to the common sea of ​​death. “If good things are received from the hand of the Lord, will we not endure the evil ones!” Shall we force the Judge to always give us the same benefits? Are we really going to teach the Lord how to order our lives? He is sovereign in His determinations; He arranges our affairs as he wants. He is wise and He gives what is useful to His servants in abundance. Do not touch with your mind the judgment of the Master, but only endure with love what His wisdom constructs. Whatever it gives you, accept it with pleasure. Show in sorrowful circumstances that you were worthy of the former joy.” By saying this, Job repelled this attack of the devil and inflicted complete shame on him as a defeated one. What happened from this? The illness soon fled from him as if it had visited in vain. The flesh was renewed with youth a second time, life again flourished with all its blessings, and riches flowed from everywhere into his house in great measure, so that he received one thing so as not to lose anything, and the other was the reward of the righteous man for his patience. But why did he receive a greater measure of horses, and mules, and camels, and sheep, and cultivated fields, and all the joys of abundance, and the number of children he produced was equal to those who died? Because dumb animals and all perishable wealth perished completely; and the children, even after death, were alive with the most excellent part of their nature. Therefore, he was again adorned by the Creator with other sons and daughters, and he acquired this in great measure. For some children were with their parents, bringing them joy in this life, while others, anticipating their father, were waiting to surround Job with all of them, when the Judge of human life would gather the whole people's Church, when the trumpet signaling the coming of the King, resounding loudly in the tombs, would demand from them the pledge of their bodies. Then those who are now revered as dead will appear sooner than the living before the Creator of all. Therefore, I think, the One who endowed Job with the rest of his wealth determined that he should be content with the number of children equal to the previous one. Do you see how many benefits righteous Job acquired for himself through patience? Therefore, if something distressing happened to you from the fire kindled yesterday by the malicious intent of demons, endure it with patience, lull the sorrows of suffering with the best thoughts, and according to what is written, “Cast your sorrow on the Lord, and He will nourish you” (Ps. 54:23). To him be glory forever and ever. Amen! You might be interested in: