Беседа 7

Spoken to the people in the Church of St. Peter the Apostle on the fourth Sunday after the Nativity of Christ. Reading the Holy Gospel: John 1.19–28. John 1.19–28. And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him: who are you? He declared, and did not deny, and declared that I am not the Christ. And they asked him: what then? are you Elijah? He said no. Prophet? He answered: no. They said to him: who are you? so that we can give an answer to those who sent us: what do you say about yourself? He said: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: straighten the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. And those who were sent were from the Pharisees; And they asked him: why are you baptizing if you are neither Christ, nor Elijah, nor a prophet? John answered and said to them, “I baptize with water; but there is Someone standing among you whom you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, but who stands in front of me. I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandals. This took place in Bethabara by the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 1. Through the words of this reading, we, beloved brethren, are presented as an example of the humility of John, who, having such holiness that he could be recognized as Christ, decided to hold fast to himself, so as not to be admired above himself by human opinion. For he “He declared, and did not deny, and declared that I am not the Christ.” Since he said: “not”; then he completely rejected what he was not, but did not reject what he was, so that, speaking the truth, he might be a member of Him whose name he did not falsely appropriate to himself. So, when he does not desire the name of Christ, then he becomes a member of Christ, because, zealous for the humble consciousness of his weakness, he rightly deserves a place at His height. But when we recall the thought of our Redeemer from another reading, then from the words of this reading a question arises that is very confusing for us. For in another place the Lord answers the question of the disciples about the coming of Elijah: “Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him as they wanted; so the Son of Man will suffer from them.” (And if you want to know, John himself is Elijah) (Matthew 17.12). And John, asked, says: “not” (Elijah). What is it, beloved brethren, that the Prophet of Truth rejects what Truth affirms? – For the expressions “is” and “is not” are very different from each other. Therefore, how is he a Prophet of Truth when he does not agree in words with this Truth? – But if we subtly analyze the Truth itself, then the contradictions that sound among themselves will cease to be contradictory. For the Angel says to Zechariah about John: “He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1.17). Consequently, he (John) is called coming in the spirit and power of Elijah, because, just as Elijah will precede the second coming of the Lord, so John preceded the first. Just as he would be the Forerunner of the Judge, so this one was the Forerunner of the Redeemer. So John was in the spirit and power of Elijah, but he was not Elijah personally. Consequently, what the Lord affirms about the spirit, John denies about the face, because this was how it had to be, so that the Lord would express to the disciples a spiritual thought about John, and with this John answered the carnal people, not about the spirit, but about the flesh. Consequently, although what John answered seemed contrary to the truth, he did not depart from the path of truth. 2. He, denying even the name of the Prophet, precisely because he could not only preach about the Redeemer, but also point (to Him), further states who he is, adding: “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” You know, beloved brethren, that the Only Begotten Son is called the Word of the Father, according to the testimony of John, who says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1.1). And from your very speech you know that first the voice sounds, so that later the word can be heard. So, John claims that he is a “voice” because he precedes the “Word”. Preceding the coming of the Lord, it is called a “voice” because it becomes audible from people through its service to the Father’s Word. He cries out even in the desert, because he proclaims to the abandoned and rejected Judea the consolation of the Redeemer. And what he cries out about, he inspires, adding, “Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1.23). The path of the Lord is directed to the heart when the word of truth is obeyed with humility. The path of the Lord is directed to the heart when life is prepared for (keeping) the commandment. Therefore it is written: “Whoever loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him.” (John 14.23). So, he who is proud of his mind, who breathes the flame of covetousness, who is defiled by the impurities of luxury, locks the door of his heart from the truth; and so that the Lord does not come to him, he strengthens the constipation of the soul with the oldness of vices. 3. But the messengers still object: “Why are you baptizing if you are neither Christ, nor Elijah, nor a prophet?” Since this is asked not out of a desire to know the truth, but out of malicious envy, the Evangelist silently noted when he added, saying: “And those who were sent were from the Pharisees.” He clearly says something like this: John is asked about his actions by those who do not know how to desire to learn, but (who know how) only to envy. But every Saint, even when he receives a question from a corrupt mind, does not change in observing his goodness. - Why does John answer the question of envy with the edification of life? For he immediately adds: “I baptize in water; but there is Someone standing among you whom you do not know.” John baptizes not in the spirit, but in water, because, not having the power to forgive sins, he washes the bodies of those baptized with water, but does not wash the spirit through the remission of sins. So, why does one baptize who does not forgive sins through baptism, if not so that, preserving the order of his ancestry, he who by birth preceded the One who had to be born, and by baptism preceded the Lord who had to baptize; and that the one who through preaching became the Forerunner of Christ, and through Baptism was His Forerunner by imitation of the Sacrament? - Meanwhile, he, announcing the Sacrament, claims that this (Christ) stands among people, and they do not know Him; because the Lord, having appeared in the flesh, became both visible in the flesh and invisible in majesty. About Him he further says: “He is the one coming after me, but who stood in front of me.” For this is what it says: “he stood before me,” which is the same as “he stood before me.” So, he comes after me because he was born after, but “he stood before me” because he was exalted above me. But speaking about this a little higher, he also revealed the reasons for His exaltation, adding: “who was before me” (John 1:15). He clearly says, as it were: the one born after me exceeds me even in that He is not constrained by the time of His birth. For He who is born in time from the Mother is born without time from the Father. Surrendering to Him (Jesus), he (John) declares what reverent humility one should have before Him: “And he preached, saying, One mightier than I is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down to untie” (Mk 1.7). The ancients had a custom that if anyone did not want to have as his wife the one who was engaged to him, he was obliged to take off the boot of the one who, by right of proximity, was her groom. So, how did Christ appear among people, if not the bridegroom of the Holy Church? What does the same John say: “he who has a bride is a bridegroom” (John 3.29). But since people thought that John was Christ, which John himself rejects, he rightly says that he is not even worthy to allow the thong of His boots. He clearly says something like this: “I do not have the power to expose the feet of our Redeemer, because I do not undeservedly take upon myself the name of the bridegroom.” - However, this may be understood differently. For who does not know that boots are made from dead animals? – The incarnate Lord appeared as if wearing shoes, because in His Divinity he accepted the deadness of our damage. Why, through the Prophet, he says: “I will stretch my boot on Edom” (Ps 59.10). For by the name of Idumea is meant paganism, and by the name of the boot is accepted mortality. So, the Lord says that He will stretch out His boot on Idumea, because when He became known to the pagans in the flesh, then the Divinity came to us, as if wearing shoes. But the human eye cannot penetrate the mystery of this incarnation. For it is impossible to comprehend how the Word is incarnate; how the highest and life-giving Spirit is animated in the womb of the Mother; How is it that which has no beginning both exists and is conceived? Consequently, the strap of the boots is the binding of the sacrament. So, John cannot resolve the thong of His boots, because he himself cannot penetrate into the mystery of His incarnation, although he knew about it through the spirit of prophecy. So, what do the words mean: “I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals,” if not an expression of a clear and humble consciousness in one’s ignorance? He clearly says, as it were: “What is marvelous if He is exalted before me, to whom, although I look, as one who was born after me, I do not comprehend the mystery of His birth.” Here John, filled with the spirit of prophecy, is famous for his wondrous knowledge, and yet he suggests that he does not know the unknown. 4. In this matter, most beloved brethren, we need to weigh and reflect with full attention on how holy men, in order to preserve the virtue of humility in themselves, when they wonderfully know something, try to call to the eyes of the mind that which they do not know, so that their soul does not become proud on the side on which it is perfect, thinking, on the other hand, about its weakness. For knowledge is virtue, and humility is the guardian of virtue. Therefore, the mind must be sharp, so that the wind of pride does not scatter what the virtue of knowledge collects. When you, brethren, do good, always recall evil deeds so that the soul never carelessly enjoys a good deed, cautiously looking at its own guilt. In turn, look at your superiors, especially those who do not have fellowship with you, as your neighbors, because you do not know that good is hidden in the very thing that you recognize as some kind of evil in their actions. So, let everyone try to be great, but let him in some way not know that he really is, so as not to lose it by daringly appropriating greatness for himself. Therefore, through the Prophet it is said: “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and understanding before themselves!” (Isaiah 5.21). That is why Paul says: “Do not dream about yourself” (Rom 12.16). That is why it is said against the proud Saul: “Were you not little in your own eyes when you became the head” (1 Sam. 15:17). It clearly says something like this: “When you recognized yourself as small, then I exalted you before others. But since you recognize yourself as great, I consider you small.” On the contrary, David, when, galloping in front of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, looked with contempt at the power of his kingdom, said: “I will play and dance before the Lord; and I will be humbled even more, and become even more insignificant in my eyes" (2 Samuel 6:21, 22), for who would not be moved by the crushing of the jaws of lions, the tearing of the muscles of bears, the election (to the Kingdom) with the disdain of elder brothers, the overthrow of the terrible Goliath with one stone, the offering, at the suggestion of the Tsar, of those appointed by the number of circumcisions destroyed the Philistines, receiving the Kingdom according to the promises, possessing the entire nation of Israel without any subsequent controversy? “And yet in all this, the one who admits that he is humiliated in his own eyes despises himself. So, if holy men think lowly about themselves even when they perform great feats, then what will those who are arrogant without performing a feat say in their apology? -Yes, although there would be some good deeds, they are insignificant if they are done without humility. For a wondrous feat does not elevate with pride, but humiliates. Because whoever collects virtues without humility throws dust into the wind; and from where he apparently acquires something, from there he becomes more blinded. So, my brothers, in all your deeds consider humility to be the root of a good deed. Look not at what you have already exalted, but at what you have yet become lower, so that from humility you can always ascend to the highest, having before your eyes those better than you. You might be interested in: