Беседа 26. Утешение больному

Human life is short, the short-lived joys of a difficult life are cobwebs, the outer shine of life is sleep. But very blessed is the rest of the righteous; peace in heaven is endless. Truly, these are the gifts of the immortal Generosity! For whose nature is unchangeable, His giving is endless. Therefore, the struggle of the righteous here is temporary, but the victory and rewards there are eternal. In life, as in a school of warfare, we work, struggling with sorrows; and our nature has many opponents. Pleasures take away firmness, luxury changes courage, despondency weakens strength, slander causes insults, flattery covers up malicious intent, fear causes us to fall into despair; and in such anxiety our nature is constantly overwhelmed. Not only are the sorrows of life unbearable, but the very thing that is apparently pleasant saddens us with its vicissitudes; and we go through a life almost full of sorrows and tears. And if you want to know, listen to the description of the sorrows of life. Man is sown in his mother's womb; but this sowing was preceded by sorrow. The seed is thrown into the reins of nature; If we just think about this, we will be ashamed of the beginnings of birth. The thrown seed changed into blood, the blood turned into flesh, the flesh eventually took on the image; what was formed in a way incomprehensible to the mind became animated; the animate was brought up by natural means; the embarrassed embryo jumps, is indignant at this prison of nature; but as soon as the time of birth arrived, the closures of the womb fell apart, the doors of nature opened, the mother’s womb released the fetus it had held until then; this fighter of sorrow slipped into life, these lips of the creature breathed into themselves; and what after that? The first sound from him is crying. This is enough to get to know life at first. The baby touches the ground and does not laugh, but as soon as it touches it, it is overcome with illness and cries. He already knows that he is thrown by a storm into a sea of ​​sorrows. Feeds with tears, sucks milk with compulsion; reaches age and begins to fear parents or household servants. He became an adult youth and was given to science by teachers. This is fear that knows no rest! He is lazy, takes beatings, spends nights without sleep, but he learns, succeeds well, goes far in the sciences, gains a good reputation for himself, is enlightened by all kinds of knowledge, is full of experience in law, eventually reaches manhood, and devotes himself to military service. Again the beginning of even greater sorrows! He is afraid of bosses, suspects those with malicious intentions, clings to self-interest, looks for it everywhere, goes crazy, seeking profit; vigilant, spends his life in litigation. Calculating the benefits, he leaves his homeland without being attracted by anyone, serves involuntarily, works beyond his strength, spends his nights in worries, works tirelessly during the day, like a slave. Need sold his freedom. Then, after all this, after many works and pleasing, he was awarded honors, elevated to the height of ranks, governs peoples, commands armies, is exalted as the first dignitary in the state, collected piles of wealth; but with labor, time flowed along, with rank came old age, and before enjoying wealth, the kidnapped one departed from life and was shipwrecked in the pier itself. For after vain hopes comes death, laughing at mortals. Such is human life - a fickle sea, unsteady air, an elusive dream, a flowing stream, disappearing smoke, a running shadow, a collection of waters shaken by waves. And although the storm is terrible, navigation is dangerous; however, we - swimmers - sleep carelessly. The sea of ​​life is terrible and fierce, hopes are vain, rising like storms. Sorrows roar like waves; malicious intentions are hidden like pitfalls; enemies bark like dogs; the kidnappers surround you like sea robbers; old age comes like winter; death is real, like a shipwreck. You see the storm, rule more skillfully; be careful as you sail, do not flood your boat, loading it either with wealth acquired through untruth, or with the burden of passions. Therefore, it is very timely that blessed Paul cries out: “there is great godliness to be gained” (1 Tim. 6:6), - heavenly riches, the treasure of mysteries, the sea of wisdom, the knowledge of truth, the worship of the uncreated Trinity, the mirror of the virgin mystery, unquestioning faith, a confession that avoids research, a venerable sermon pronounced by the lips, penetrating through the ear, rooted in the soul and giving illumination of the Trinity. “There is great gain in godliness with contentment” (1 Tim. 6:6), because the richest of all is contentment, life without excesses, carefree rest, wealth that does not drag you into snares, need that gives you weakness, heaviness without sorrow, content that is not stingy, pleasure that does not shame. Those who accustom themselves to contentment avoid the worries of wealth, for the rich are afraid of everything: they are afraid of days, as a time of legal proceedings; fears evenings as convenient for thieves; fears the nights as torment from worries; fears morning time as flatterers have access to it; afraid not only of time, but also of place. He is horrified by the attacks of robbers, the malicious intent of thieves, the slander of oppressors, the theft of the strong, the atrocities of households, the curiosity of informers, the insensitivity of those who correct the penalties, the reasoning of neighbors, the rottenness of walls, the fall of houses, the invasions of barbarians, the treachery of fellow citizens, the verdicts of judges, the loss of what he has, the taking away of what he owned. O man, if this is the winter of possession, then where is the spring of pleasure? “There is the attainment of great piety with contentment.” It does not stop along with real life, says the Apostle. This is immortal acquisition; with the waste of wealth it is not lost. Say, Paul: “Nothing has been brought into the world” (1 Tim. 6:7). Equality when entering the world is enough to banish the unevenness of arrogance in public life. "Nothing brought into the world". We came out naked from our mother's womb. Having nothing for yourself, you entered the world, you self-seeker; you had no gold, because it comes out of the ground; no silver, because it was not sown with you; nor clothes, because they are inventions of the weavers’ art; nor the estates that cultivated wealth and built hands; no dignity except one thing - the image of God; nor the dominion that erodes time and reaps death. Naked you entered the world: oh, if only you could emerge from life naked of your sins! “We bring nothing into life, but we bring out what we can” (1 Tim. 6:7). Is it really true, Paul, that we take nothing away from the things of life? - Nothing, just virtues, if you practiced them. We will wear out chastity if we have bloomed with it. We will give alms if we have enriched ourselves with it. These are the companions of the soul, the ouds for capturing life. Wealth remains here, gold is plundered, silver is divided, estates are sold, glory is forgotten, dominion ceases, fear fades away. With the disgrace of life, the decoration is also destroyed. So what? “Having food and clothing, we will be content with these” (1 Tim. 6:8). I shun the superfluous as useless and seek the necessary as not subject to condemnation. The rich man appears naked there. If he has virtues, he is rich there too. And if he is naked from them, then he is an eternal beggar. Nothing is richer than virtuous poverty. Peter was poor, but he took spoils from death. John was poor, but he straightened the legs of the lame. Philip was poor, but he saw the Father in the Son (John 14:9). Matthew is poor because he left his wealth along with theft (Luke 5:27–28). Thomas is poor, but he dug up an inestimable treasure - the rib of the Lord. Paul is poor, but became the heir of heaven. The Lord is poor in the flesh, because he is immensely rich in the Divine. So today he poured out the wealth of healing, freed Petrov’s mother-in-law from illness, and drove away fever with a touch. Not after many visits did he raise up the suffering one; no medicinal substance is visible; healing followed suddenly. She exhausted herself with much labor, and there was no mercy. But here only the Physician of nature appears, and the bodily winter has ceased. Look at what is most wonderful. He healed three people from the same thing - two husbands and one wife: Lazarus, the son of a widow and the daughter of Jairus. And for what? Listen, because the reason for this is mysterious. He wanted to show that He is the Lord of law and grace; therefore, in others he observes a similar image; just as there he appointed three rulers for the people: Moses, Aaron and Miriam. Listen to what He Himself cries out to the prophets: “My people, what have I done to you? or how have I offended you?.. Answer Me, beforehand... the ambassadors before you were Moses, Aaron and Miriam” (Mic. 6:3-4), - Moses in the person of the law, Aaron in the person of the prophets and Miriam in the person of the Church, which was blinded by the uncleanness of idols and healed by the love of mankind of the Incarnate. Therefore, the Church, like Mariam, having freed itself from the mental Pharaoh - the devil - and from the dominion of demons, and seeing that the old man, like Egypt, is drowned in the sea of ​​the font, taking the tympanum of thanksgiving and bringing it into harmony with the tree of the cross, strikes the strings of virtue and exclaims: “I will drink to the Lord, for I am gloriously glorified” (Ex. 15: 1). He came down from heaven and was not separated from the Father; born in a den, and did not come down from the throne; he lay down in a manger and did not leave the Father’s bosom; born, incarnate from the Virgin, and like God, was without a father; He condescended and did not separate from those above; He ascended and made no addition to the Trinity; appeared in the form of a servant, and did not lose equality with the Father, but is the Word, and the Image (eikwn and carakthr), and the Radiance; The Word, for it is never separated from the mind; An image (eikwn), not a circle cast from wax, but a seal of the same shape; Radiance, for the light is coeternal with the sun; Image (carakthr); because “he who has seen the Son has seen the Father” (John 14:9). To Him be glory and power with His Only Begotten Son and His Life-giving Spirit, now, and always, and unto ages of ages! Amen. You might be interested in: