Благоденствие

Sons of men,” I will begin with the words of the great-voiced 15 David, “how long will you persevere? Why do you love vanity and seek lies (Ps. 4:3), considering as something great the life here, amusements, petty glory, insignificant power and false prosperity, which belong to those who have them no more than to those who only hope to have them, and to those who hope no more than to those who have no hopes at all? All this, like dust in a whirlwind, is admired and transported from one to another, or, like smoke, spreads out like a dream, mocking us like a shadow, uncontrollably; when it leaves, it is not hopeless for those who have not acquired, and when it comes, it is not true for those who have. How can we not turn our gaze to the sky, mountain? Let's not get sober? We won’t clear the pus from our eyes! We do not know what is true wealth, what is true celebrity, where is unlosable dignity, what is endless bliss, where is the unshakable, unchangeable good that does not expose us to slander? Wouldn’t we begin to acquire them, if this happened, with much effort and labor? Shall we not enjoy our hopes like this, if we must enjoy anything here? Shall we not think about the holy martyrs and other saints who, like some kind of common bond, have embraced the entire Universe and in whose honor this festival is celebrated? Why did they endure wounds, and bonds, and torture, and prohibition by fire, and the edge of swords, and the cruelty of animals, and darkness, and hunger, and abysses, and the theft of property, and the rejection of members, and, finally, death itself, willingly, as if laboring in someone else’s body? What did they want to be, what to inherit? Doesn’t everyone know this, even if I didn’t say it? Why don’t we, with the same hope, before the same dispenser of rewards and heroic hero, take up arms against the same tormentor, just as now as at that time, a cruel persecutor of souls, an invisible enemy and adversary? Why not strive with the same courage in the general disgrace, that is, in the disgrace of the world (if not in extreme danger, when liberation is soon, then in daily labors and struggles), in order to be rewarded with the same crowns or something very close to that? And to every husband and wife, old man and young man, city dweller and villager, commoner and boss, rich and poor, since everyone is called upon by one feat, I give one piece of advice - prepare for this feat willingly, do not relax, do not hesitate, do not waste time that is no longer possible to return. For the present is the time of doing, and the future is the time of reward (1). If, being an unfortunate product of sin, you prosper, then know that you are being prepared for final torment. And if, being virtuous, you receive a sorrowful life as your lot, then know that you are being purified, like gold in a furnace. Or if, like the new Job, you are exhausted in your body in the fight against an envious person, then in order to receive a victorious crown after your feat. Therefore, even when you are prosperous, do not delight your thoughts and in sorrows do not lose heart, accepting everything with a Christ-bearing heart (2). This is the most useful lesson for many, that danger is better than safety and disaster is preferable to prosperity (2). Great-voiced - having a magnificent voice. – Approx. ed. You might be interested in: