Беседа 6. На слова из Евангелия от Луки: «Разорю житницы моя и большия созижду» (Лк. 12, 18); и о любостяжательности

Two kinds of temptations: because either sorrows test hearts like gold in a crucible, revealing their goodness through patience, or often the very prosperity of life serves for many instead of testing. For it is equally difficult to keep the soul not humiliated in difficult circumstances of life and not to become exalted with pride in a brilliant situation. An example of temptations of the first kind is the great Job, that irresistible ascetic, who withstood all the violence of the devil, like the striving of a torrent, with an unshakable heart and an unchanging mind, and showed that he was the higher the temptations, the more significant and difficult the struggle that his enemy challenged him to, apparently. There are some other examples of temptations from the prosperity of life, and this rich man about whom we have been read today serves as an example of this. He already possessed one wealth, but hoped for another. Meanwhile, the man-loving God did not condemn him at first for his ingratitude of character, but constantly added new wealth to his previous wealth, in the expectation that, having satisfied him someday, he would turn his soul to sociability and meekness. For it is said: “for a rich man, a field suits 37; and thinking within myself, saying: What will I do!.. I will destroy my barns and build greater ones” (Luke 12:16-18). Why should the man who did not want to do anything good from this harvest “grab the field”? So that God's long-suffering may be revealed all the more, when even to such an extent the grace of God has been extended; because God “will rain on the righteous and on the unjust, and His sun shines on the evil and on the good” (Matthew 5:45). But such goodness of God brings greater punishment on those who are evil. God sent rains to the land cultivated by covetous hands; God gave the sun to warm the seeds and multiply the fruits through the harvest. This is what was from God: the suitability of the earth, the favorable state of the air, the abundance of seeds, the assistance of oxen, and all other conditions under which agriculture usually flourishes. What about a person? Evil disposition, hatred of humanity, stinginess. He repaid this to the Benefactor. He did not remember the common nature, did not think that excesses should be shared by the poor, did not pay attention to the commandment: “Do not refuse to do good to those who require; and: let alms and faith not fail you” (Proverbs 3:27:3); and: “break your bread to the hungry” (Isa. 58:7). All the prophets, all the crying teachers were not heard by them; His granaries were bursting, cramped by the multitude of things put in them, and his stingy heart was not full. Constantly adding new things to the old and increasing the abundance with annual additions, he fell into this insoluble difficulty, out of covetousness, not agreeing to part with the old and, due to the multitude, not finding a place where to put the new. That is why he has countless enterprises and painful worries. “What will I do?” Who would not feel sorry for a person who is in such a shy position? What makes him miserable is his harvest, what makes him miserable are his real blessings, and what makes him even more miserable is what he expects. The land does not bring him income, but produces sighs; It does not bring a harvest of fruits, but worries and sorrows and terrible difficulties. He complains like the poor, and don’t we hear the same thing from him as from a person oppressed by poverty? “What will I do?” Where will I get food from? Where will I get the clothes from? The rich man says the same thing, tormented in his heart, consumed by care. What makes others happy is what makes the covetous dry; it does not make him happy that everything in his house is full; but the wealth flowing towards him and pouring over the edges of the storehouses hurts his soul with fear lest something should fall to strangers and lest it turn into a source of some good for those in need. And it seems to me that the illness of his soul is similar to the illness of gluttonous people, who would rather tear themselves apart by overeating than share the leftovers with those in need. Know, O man, the Giver. Remember yourself, who you are, what you are assigned to, from whom you received it, for which you are preferred to many. You are a servant of the good God; overseer of slaves like you: do not think that everything is prepared for your belly; talk about what is in your hands as if it were someone else’s. It will not amuse you for long, then it will flow away and disappear; but you will be required to give a strict account of this. And you keep everything locked up, behind doors and bars, and, having attached seals, do not sleep from worries, and think with yourself, listening to a crazy adviser - yourself. “What will I do?” One should say: “I will fill the souls of the hungry, I will open my granaries, I will call together all those in need. I will imitate Joseph, showing love for mankind, I will utter a generous word: all who have no bread, come to me; as from common sources, share in the grace given by God, each one, as much as anyone needs!” But you are not like that! Why? Because you envy people for their pleasure, and, having formed evil advice in your soul, you are not concerned about giving everyone what they need, but so that, having seized everything, you deprive everyone of the possible benefit from it. Those who came for his soul were close, and he reasoned in his soul about dishes. That night he was kidnapped, and he had also dreamed of pleasure for many years. Only he was given time to change his mind about everything and make his disposition clear, so that later he could hear the verdict that his will deserved. Let this not happen to you! This is why this is written, so that we avoid such actions. Imitate the earth, man: bear fruit like it, so that you do not turn out to be worse than the inanimate (earth). She grew the fruit not for her own pleasure, but for your service. And if you show the fruit of charity, you will collect it for yourself; because the benefit of good deeds returns to the givers. Have you given to the hungry? And what you give comes back to you incrementally. Just as a grain of grain, falling into the ground, turns into profit for the one who threw it, so bread, thrown down to the hungry, subsequently brings a hundredfold benefit. Therefore, let the end of agriculture be for you the beginning of heavenly sowing; for it is said: “sow to yourselves in righteousness” (Hos. 10:12). Why are you worried? Why do you torment yourself, trying to enclose your wealth in clay and brick? “Better is a good name than much wealth” (Proverbs 22:1). And if you respect money for the honor received for its sake, then see how much more profitable in terms of fame it is to be called the father of thousands of children than to have thousands of coins in your wallet? You will leave your money here, no matter what, but you will bring the glory of your good deeds with you to the Lord, when before the common Judge a whole people will surround you, and they will call you their feeder, benefactor, and will begin to attribute to you all the names of love for mankind. Do you not see that at spectacles, for the sake of short-term honor, for the sake of popular shouts and applause, wealth is spent on wrestlers, on jesters and on people fighting with animals, which others would disdain to even look at? And you are stingy with expenses when you can achieve such fame! God will praise, the Angels will rejoice, all people, no matter how many there have been since the creation of the world, will please. Eternal glory, the crown of righteousness, and the Kingdom of Heaven will be your reward for the good disposal of this perishable property. But you don't care about any of that; Trying to take care of the present, you despise the expected. So assign wealth to various uses, providing splendor and glory as expenses for those in need. Let it be said about you: “Give to the poor, his righteousness endures forever” (Ps. 111:9). Don't be expensive by raising your price in times of need; Do not wait until there is a shortage of grain before opening your barns, for “if you sell wheat stingily, you will be cursed by the people” (Proverbs 11:26). Do not expect hunger for gold, nor general poverty for your own abundance. Do not deal with human misfortunes; Do not turn God’s wrath into an opportunity to increase your money. Do not tear the wounds of those who are beaten with whips. But you have gold in mind, but you don’t pay attention to your brother. You know the mintage of a coin and distinguish a real coin from a counterfeit one, but you do not at all recognize a brother in need. You are extremely pleased by the good color of gold, but you do not count how many moans of the poor man accompany you. How can I present to your eyes the sufferings of the poor? Having examined the inside of the house, he sees that he does not have gold and never will; household appliances and clothing are exactly the same as those of any beggar; all of them are worth not many ovols 38. What else? Finally, he turns his attention to the children, so that, having taken them to bargaining, he can find in this a benefit against starvation. Imagine the struggle between inevitable hunger and fatherly love. Hunger threatens with the most disastrous death, but nature attracts the opposite, urging you to die along with your children. Many times he gets ready to go, many times he stops; finally overcome, forced by necessity and inexorable need. And what else is this father thinking about? “Which one should I sell first? Which one would the baker look at more pleasantly? Shouldn't we take the older one? But I respect his seniority. Or the younger one? But it’s a pity for his age, which does not yet feel misfortune. This one retains the clear features of its parents; and this one is capable of learning. Alas, what a difficulty! What will happen to me? Which one should I attack? What beast can I take my soul from? How to forget nature? If I keep everyone with me, I will see how everyone will melt away from hunger. If I sell one, then with what eyes will I look at the others, having already become suspicious to them, so that they will stop believing me? How will I live in the house, having brought myself to the point of childlessness? How can I go to a table on which abundance has been produced by such means?” And after countless tears he goes to sell his dear son! And you are not touched by suffering; you don’t want to ascend into the feeling of nature! This unfortunate man is oppressed by hunger, and you hesitate and laugh, helping to prolong his misfortune! He offers his womb to you at the price of food, and not only does your hand, which collects taxes from such misfortunes, not become numb, but even you still yearn for more and try, as if by taking more, to give less, so that for this poor man his misfortune will be made in all respects more painful! Neither tears arouse pity in you, nor sighs soften your heart; you are adamant and unapproachable! You see gold in everything, you imagine gold everywhere; You dream about him in your sleep, you think about him while you’re awake. Like crazy people in a fit of rage, they do not see real things, but imagine what the disease produces in them; so your soul, obsessed with the love of money, sees gold in everything, sees silver in everything. It is more pleasant for you to look at gold than at the sun. You would like everything to turn into a golden composition, and, as soon as possible, you come up with ways to achieve this. Why don't you set in motion for the sake of gold? Your bread is turned into gold, your wine is turned into gold, and your wool is turned into gold; every trade turnover, every invention brings you gold. Gold gives birth to itself, multiplying through growth; There is no satiety in you, there is no end in sight to your desire. When children are greedy, we often allow them to eat excessively what they especially love, in order to create disgust through excessive satiety; But the covetous man is not like that: the more he receives, the more he desires. “Even if wealth flows, do not apply your heart” (Ps. 61:11); and you hold the current and block all its paths. But when it is contained and dammed, what does it do to you? Breaks down barriers. So, of course, even now, being forcibly detained and constantly arriving, he ravages the rich man’s granaries, leveling his treasuries to the ground, like an invading enemy. But will he build bigger ones? It is unknown whether their heir will be left ruined; for he would sooner depart, stolen by death, than they would be erected according to his covetous plan. But his end agrees with his evil intentions; and you listen to me and, having opened all the doors of your treasuries, give wealth an unhindered exit; as if to the great river, which through thousands of channels irrigates the abundant land, let you also let wealth flow into the houses of the poor in various ways! In wells, through scooping, the water becomes better; and if the wells are neglected, then the water in them rots, and stagnation of wealth is useless; and its movement and passing from hand to hand is generally useful and fruitful. How much praise from those who have been blessed! And don't despise them. What a reward from the righteous Judge! And don't doubt her. Everywhere before you will be the example of a condemned rich man who, while protecting the present, worrying about the expected, and not knowing for sure whether he will live tomorrow, is already sinning today and tomorrow. The petitioner had not yet arrived, but he had already shown his cruelty; He has not yet gathered the fruits, but has already earned condemnation for covetousness. The earth was preparing a rich feast for him, showing in advance a bountiful harvest in the fields, opening many grapes on the vines, offering an olive tree laden with fruit, promising every pleasure in the fruits of the tree; but he was inhospitable and barren. He hasn’t collected it yet, and is envious of those who are already in need. How many dangers are there before harvesting the fruit? And hail sometimes beats, and heat steals from the hands, and water, poured out of the clouds at the wrong time, spoils the fruit. Why don’t you pray to the Lord to complete the mercy, but first make yourself unworthy to accept what you already have in mind? You are talking to yourself in secret; but your words are judged in heaven. That's why answers come to you from there. What does the rich man say? “For your soul, have many good things lying around... eat, drink, be merry” daily (Luke 12:19). What madness! If you had the soul of a pig, what else would you please it with besides this? You are so bestial, so ignorant of the blessings of the soul, that you offer the soul fleshly food! What the womb receives, you assign to the soul. If there is virtue in the soul, if it is filled with good deeds, if it is close to God, then it has “many good things,” and let it rejoice in wonderful spiritual joy. But since you think earthly, your belly is God (Phil. 3:19), you have become all carnal, enslaved to passions, then listen to the name that is fitting for you, which was given to you not by any of the people, but by the Lord Himself: “fool!” This night they will take your soul from You: and what You have prepared, to whom will they be?” (Luke 12:20). Such ridicule of recklessness is more painful than eternal punishment! What will someone who is about to be kidnapped do? “I will destroy my barns and build greater ones” (Luke 12:18). You are doing great, I would tell him, because the treasuries of untruth are worth destroying. Destroy with your own hands what you have built poorly; break the grain bins from which no one has ever left with consolation. Destroy the entire building that covetousness guards; break the roofs, dismantle the walls, open the moldy wheat to the sun, free the imprisoned wealth from custody, open the dark refuges of mammon for all to see. “I will destroy my barns and build greater ones.” And if you fill them too, what will you come up with? Will you really destroy again and build again? But what is crazier than this - to work endlessly, carefully create and diligently destroy? If you want, you have granaries - these are the houses of the poor. Hide “for yourself treasure in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). What is put there, neither a worm eats it, nor an aphid plagues it, nor robbers steal it. “But then I will give to those in need when I fill the second granaries.” You have assigned yourself long years of life. Be careful that no hasty deadline awaits you. This promise shows not kindness, but deceit; because you promise not in order to give later, but in order to refuse this time. What hinders almsgiving today? Isn't there a poor person? Aren't the granaries full? Is the reward not ready? Is the commandment not clear? But the hungry man languishes; the naked becomes numb; the debtor is oppressed, and you put off alms until tomorrow! Listen to Solomon: “Do not say: when you go away, return, and in the morning I will give you... Do not think what the coming day will produce” (Proverbs 3:28). What commandments do you despise, blocking your hearing with the love of money! How much gratitude should you have to your Benefactor, how much joy and honor you should have, that it is not you yourself who persistently stand at other people’s doors, but others who approach your doors! And now you are gloomy and inaccessible, avoiding meetings, so as not to be forced to let go of something small. You have one spoken word: “I don’t have it, I won’t give it; because he himself is poor.” Indeed, you are poor and meager in all good things; you are poor in love, poor in love for mankind, poor in faith in God, poor in eternal hope. Make the brothers have a share in your wheat; Whatever rots tomorrow, give today to the needy. The worst kind of covetousness is not to give to those in need even that which could be damaged. You say: who am I offending by holding back my property? - Tell me, what do you have of your own? Where did you get it from and bring it with you in life? Let us assume that someone, having taken a place at the spectacle, would then begin to drive out those entering, considering as his property what was presented for common use by all; The rich are exactly like that. Having seized what is common to everyone, they turn it into their own property, because they took possession of it before others. If everyone, taking what they needed to satisfy their needs, gave what they had in excess to the needy, no one would be rich, and no one would be poor. Didn't you come out of your mother's womb naked? Will you not be naked and return to the earth again? Where did you get what you have now? If you say that this is due to chance, then you are an atheist, you do not recognize the Creator, you have no gratitude to the Giver. And if you admit that it is from God, then tell me the reason for which you received it? Is God really unjust, dividing us equally with what we need for life? Why do you become rich while he remains poor? Is it not, of course, so that you too will receive your reward for kindness and faithful stewardship, and he will be honored with great rewards for patience? And you, having captured everything in the unfillable depths of covetousness, think that you are not offending anyone by depriving so many of them? Who is covetous? Not keeping within the limits of moderation. Who's the predator? Taking away from everyone what belongs to him. How are you not covetous, how are you not a predator, when you turn into property what you only received at your disposal? He who uncovers his clothes will be called a robber; And whoever does not clothe the naked, although he can do it, is he worthy of any other name? To the hungry belongs the bread that you withhold; to the naked, the clothes you keep in your closets; to the unshod, your shoes are rotting; to the needy - the silver that is locked up with you. Therefore, you offend everyone you could provide. You will say: words are good, but gold is better. The same is said to those who talk about chastity before the intemperate. And they, when the object of their desire is condemned, are inflamed in lust by the very reminder. How can I bring before your eyes the sufferings of the poor, so that you may know from how many sighs you make up your treasure? Oh, how precious this word will seem to you on the day of judgment: “Come, with the blessing of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Be hungry, and give Me food; You were thirsty, and you gave Me a drink... naked, and you clothed Me” (Matthew 25:34-36)! What trembling, what exhaustion, what darkness will embrace you when you hear the condemnation: “Depart from Me, curse, into the pitch darkness prepared for the devil and his angel: for you are hungry, and you will not give Me food; For you were thirsty, and did not give me something to drink... naked, and did not clothe me” (Matthew 25:41-43). For it is not the predator who is accused there, but the one who did not share with others is condemned. I said that I found it useful. If you obey, the good things prepared according to the promises are known; and if you disobey, a threat is also written, but I wish that you avoid it and do not find it out by experience, accepting the best intention, and that your own wealth becomes a redemptive price for you, and that you achieve the heavenly blessings prepared for you, by the grace of Him who has called us all into His Kingdom. To him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen. There was a good harvest in the field. You might be interested in: