Беседа 23. На день святого мученика Маманта 82

I am not unaware of the importance of laudatory speeches in ceremonial meetings; but as much as I know this, I am equally aware of my weakness. For the subject of the word requires that something be said that is worthy of those gathered, worthy both of the hope that they have for me and of the subject itself. Since today we commemorate the martyrs with the greatest triumph, every mind is tense, every ear is prepared, expects that something worthy of a martyr will be said, and out of love for the martyr comes to the assembly. And grateful children demand great praise from their parents and will not allow the greatness of those being praised to be endangered by the smallness of the speaker. Therefore, the more zeal, the greater the danger. What should I do? How can you satisfy your desires and not leave here without taking advantage of this opportunity? I advise every soul, with what reserve of memory it came here, to renew its thoughts, and to leave from here having been nourished by this, having rejoiced itself with its own parting words. Let all those who enjoyed him in dreams remember the martyr; who, coming to this place, had him as an assistant in prayer; by which, being called by name, he appeared in action; whom he brought home from his journey; whom he restored from illness; to whom he returned the children who had already died; which he extended his lifespan. After collecting all this, create a word of praise from the total contributions. Everyone knows what he knows, tell another who does not know, and what he does not know, borrow from someone who knows; and thus, having treated each other with a common offering, forgive my weakness. For this is the praise of the martyr - the wealth of spiritual gifts. We have no need to glorify him according to the law of worldly words of praise; we don’t need to talk about his famous parents and ancestors; It is a shame for one who shines with his own virtue to adorn himself with other people's clothes. According to the laws of custom, this is also included in laudatory speeches; and the law of truth requires that everyone should have his own praise. The horse is not made quick by the superiority of his father's running; It’s no praise for the dog that was born of the most greyhounds. But just as the perfection of every other animal is considered in itself, so man has his own praise, evidenced by his personal merits. What is his father's celebrity to a son? So this martyr did not borrow fame from others, but through the continuation of his life he himself lit the lamp of glory. From Mamant - others, and not from others - Mamant. The children who learned piety from him will be glorified by him. He himself exudes virtue. This is not a spring stream, famous for the confluence of waters alien to it, but a source, pouring out kindness from its own depths. Let us marvel at a husband who is not adorned with other people's decorations, but is glorious with his own. Do you see the glorious horse trainers? Do you see their whitening monuments? Do you see how they pass by these stones without attention? And the whole country is moved by the memory of the martyr; the whole city takes part in the celebration; It is not relatives who flock to the graves of their fathers, but everyone who flocks to the place of piety. This principle, the leader of truth, is called father, and those who are not guilty of carnal life are called fathers. You see how virtue is celebrated, not wealth. Thus, the Church, by honoring those who preceded it, thereby excites those still living. “Do not covet,” she says, “neither wealth, nor the wisdom of the world that “fades away” (1 Cor. 2:6), nor glory that fades - all this disappears with life: but be a worker of piety; it will also take you to heaven; it will prepare for you immortal and lasting glory among people.” Therefore, if anyone remembers the shepherd, then let him not marvel at his wealth, because we have not gathered to praise the rich. Leave here not marveling at the rich, but at poverty combined with piety. Shepherd is not an important, not a wise title. When you get angry, don’t you say in reproach to the one who insulted you: “Are you a shepherd?” The shepherd has nothing more than daily food, puts on a bag, carries a staff and a daily supply, does not care at all about tomorrow; he is an enemy to beasts, an ally of meek animals, runs around the marketplace, runs around judgment courts, is not familiar with informers, is not familiar with trade, does not know wealth, does not have his own shelter, lives under the general cover of the world, looks at the sky at night and studies the miracles of the Creator from the stars. Shepherd? Let us not be ashamed of the truth, let us not imitate pagan fable-makers, let us not clothe the truth in the splendor of words. Truth is naked, does not require defenders, shows itself. In most relationships it is demeaning; but let us marvel even more at the praise. Shepherd and poor - these are honorary titles for a Christian. If you look for the beginning of leaders in the school of piety, these are fishermen and tax collectors. If you look for disciples, these are poor leather tanners. No one is rich, no one is famous. All this was abolished in peace. So, look whose day we are celebrating, for whose sake we are all bright, for whose sake life has changed. Since we mentioned the shepherd, do not despise this title. Have you heard that the first person to please God - Abel - was a shepherd. And who is his imitator? Moses, the great legislator, who escaped the wrath of Pharaoh and hated the malice of his fellow tribesmen; he was a shepherd on Mount Horeb and during his shepherding he talked with God. Not when he became a judge, he saw an Angel in a bush, but as a shepherd he was awarded this heavenly conversation. Who is after Moses? Patriarch Jacob, who in his shepherding showed patience for the truth, and in a small way imprinted his entire life. To whom did he convey his jealousy? David. David moved from shepherding to kingship; because both the pastoral and the royal ranks are sisters, except that one is entrusted with the management of irrational creatures, and the other with rational beings. Thus, pastoral knowledge serves as the basis for higher knowledge. Therefore, the Lord, combining both in Himself, is both Shepherd and King; He shepherds the foolish, and brings the more intelligent into the administration of His Kingdom. Do you want to know what the dignity of a shepherd is? “The Lord feeds me” (Ps. 23:1). How is the pastoral position the sister of the royal position? “Who is this King of glory?” (Ps. 23:8). He who is a shepherd here is a king there. And do not think that this is attested to by others, but He Himself is ashamed of this name. On the contrary, by keeping silent about false shepherds, He appropriated to Himself the true testimony of shepherding. “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). “I... am and I do not change” (Mal. 3:6). And when he says about something great: “I established the earth with My hand,” “I spread out the sky alone” (Isa. 45:12; Isa. 44:24), and when he says something else worthy and worthy of saying this about God, this is how the Good Shepherd expresses himself. He drives away false shepherds and appropriates the truth to Himself. “I am the good shepherd.” Find out who is the Shepherd and who is the good Shepherd? Here the Church asks: if the Lord is the Shepherd, then who is the hired shepherd? Isn't the devil a hired shepherd? Who is the wolf? Of course, the devil is a wolf - this wild, predatory, insidious beast, this common enemy of all. Therefore, let the hired shepherd have his own name. The Lord called those to whom he then addressed his speech “mercenary shepherds.” And now there are (it would be better if they did not exist), there are those who acquire the name of mercenaries. Then we understood the bishops and Pharisees and this whole Jewish schism. He called them shepherd-mercenaries - they, not for the sake of truth, but for the sake of their own self-interest, took upon themselves the power of shepherding. Those who, out of vain hypocrisy, pray to eat the bread of widows and orphans (Matthew 23:14) are mercenaries. Those who serve their own benefit, chase the present, and do not have the future in mind - those are mercenaries, not shepherds. And now there are many mercenaries who have devoted their lives to miserable glory; Even now they are making strife about the sound words of the Lord. For when the Lord said this, there was strife among them; some said: “to have a demon”; others: the demon cannot make blind eyes see (John 10:19–21). You see how old this passion for strife is. For the “spade” soon separates the chaff from the wheat (Matthew 3:12); the light and unstable is separated from the nutritious, but what is suitable for spiritual food remains with the farmers. That’s why there was discord, and some said one way, others another. It is fitting for the Jews to be in strife. The Church of God, having accepted “the tunic is not sewn, it is worn from above” (John 19:23), which the soldiers kept not torn, the Church, putting on Christ, let not the garments be torn. “And I know Mine, and they know My Me” (John 10:14). The heretic used these words to compose his blasphemy. Behold, he says, it is said: “They know Mine, and I know Mine.” What does it mean to know? Understanding the essence? Measure the quantity? Is it the same thing to comprehend about the Divinity that you promise with your impudent lips? Or do you not understand what preceded, what is the measure of knowledge? What do we know about God? “My sheep listen to My voice” (John 10:27). This is how God is understood - through hearing His commandments and through fulfilling what is heard. This is the knowledge of God - keeping His commandments. Why not an inquisitive understanding of the essence of God, not a search for the supernatural, not an imagination of the invisible? “They know Mine, and I know Mine.” It is enough for you to know that the Shepherd is good, that he laid down his life for the sheep. This is the limit of knowledge of God! How great is God? What is the measure of Him? What is He really like? – Such questions are dangerous for the questioner and difficult for the person being asked. The best way to deal with them is silence. “My sheep listen to My voice,” He said, and do not argue about it, that is, they do not remain disobedient, do not enter into competitions. Have you heard the Son? do not go into subtleties about the manner of birth, do not bring under the cause what is not conditioned by the cause, do not delimit the united by your cross-section. Therefore, the evangelist has previously protected you; and before you heard, and hear, of course: “in the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1). In order not to consider the Son to be a human creation, originating from something that does not exist, the evangelist said to you: “Word,” meaning dispassion; said: “be”, meaning that not in time; said: “in the beginning” in order to unite the born with the Father. You see how the obedient sheep listens to the Master’s voice. “In the beginning”, and “be”, and “Word”: Do not speak like “be”? And if “be”, then it is not born; and if it is born, then it is not “be”. He who speaks like this is no longer a sheep: the skin of a sheep, but a wolf speaks from within. Let the accusers know! “My sheep hear my voice.” You have heard the Son; understand His likeness to the Father, I say likeness, due to the weakness of the strongest, but according to the truth itself (I am not afraid to approach the truth, I am not inclined to slander), I mean identity, preserving the personal properties of the Son and the Father. In the Hypostasis of the Son, represent the Father's image; just observe the exact concept of image, just understand Godly: “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” (John 14:10), imagining not the merging of essences, but the identity of distinctive features. But it seems, beloved, that a thing has happened that is in itself contradictory; because the obedience of your hearing forced my weakness to say and pronounce something in this meeting, so that the power of God would be revealed especially in the weakness of the instrument. For perhaps this is why my weakness abounded, so that He who strengthens what is weak might be more glorified. He who brings back this triumph of ours, puts an end to last year’s prayers and heads the coming summer (for one and the same day encloses the past circle of time for us and serves as the head of the new one), and so gathered us and gave us strength to act for the future, may he keep us unharmed, not offended, not plundered from the wolf, and may he also keep this Church unshakable, fenced by the great pillars of martyrs, may he ward off all the evil deceptions and attacks of heretical demons, may he allow us to learn in silence the words of God and recognize the given grace of the Spirit; because to Him be glory and dominion with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto ages of ages! Amen. The Holy Church commemorates this holy martyr on the 2nd of September. You might be interested in: