Беседа на четвертое воскресенье Евангельских чтений по Луке, говорящее:

“Go out, sow, sow your seed”; it also says that before this sowing, in order for it to be successful, we must decorate our soul with good deeds 298 1. Our Lord Jesus Christ chose His Disciples not from among the wise 299, not from among the nobles, not from among the rich or famous, but from among the fishermen and tent makers 300 and the poor and uneducated, in order to show everyone that neither poverty, nor lack of education, nor modesty of position, nor any of these other things, is an obstacle to the acquisition of virtue and the knowledge of divine words and mysteries. Spirit, but that - even a poorer person and occupying a more modest position in the world and less educated, if he shows a desire and an appropriate turn to good, can not only comprehend the divine teaching, but, by the grace of God, himself become a teacher for others; and what hinders the understanding and perception of spiritual instructions is our negligence and pursuit with all our might of temporary and everyday things and, on the basis of this, unwillingness to devote either time or space to listening and thinking and bringing to memory the instructions heard (in the church), or to take care of the future and the eternal. 2. This is most evident from the Gospel text read today. So, after the Lord spoke to the people in parables, His Disciples came to Him in private, wanting to know the purpose and meaning of the parable spoken then, and asked Him for what reason He spoke to the people in parables, which were not easy to interpret. To this the Lord answered them: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables: but those who see do not see, and those who hear do not understand” (Luke 8:10). Someone could boldly object to Christ: “What does this mean, O Master? – You, the One Enricher of all (“apanton Proagorevs”), the one Lord and Provider of all, the One common Father, the One common Savior. Light for those in the darkness of ignorance, Light - “who enlightens every man who comes into the world” (John 1:9), and, behold, You enlighten only Your chosen Disciples; Do you speak unclearly to others, so that they do not understand and therefore are not enlightened?” “Yes,” He says, “it was only by My own desire that I created a living person in this world; I came into the world not to destroy what was spoiled, but to revive the creation of My hands; but I do not force anyone; I consider worthy of enlightenment and deserving of it only those who, by their free choice and desire, strive to realize saving knowledge in practice. – “Everyone who asks receives it, and everyone who seeks finds it, and the door is opened to him who asks” (Luke 11:10). Nevertheless, due to My superior love for mankind, I also address those who do not possess these good spiritual qualities, although I do not speak to them with the same clarity with which I address you, in order to encourage them and convert them to show a desire to learn, and then seek and actually implement the teaching taught to them. Because in this way it will be given to them to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to you, who ask Me in private with great zeal, it has been given to know them, so that you can put your knowledge into action. Because knowledge is beautiful not in itself, but when it is carried out in practice, representing, as it were, the result of it. “They are not the ones who hear,” they say; “But the creators of the law will be justified” (Rom. 2:13). 3. So, do you see, brethren, that our own laziness and negligence are the reason that we do not comprehend, do not easily perceive the sacred teaching? I say this to your love now, and I, by destinies known to God, have been appointed to be a teacher among you: if anyone does not understand in all the meaning of what I teach in church, let him come and ask in private, and he will receive a clearer explanation and put into action what he heard - with the assistance of God, who gives me the word “at the opening of my mouth,” and also for the sake of his diligent seeking. 4. Let us examine this parable from its beginning. “Go forth, sow, sow your seed.” “It is wonderful that the grace of the Spirit has ordained that just now at this time this parable should be read publicly in the churches: because now is the time of sowing and more people will be tasked with sowing into the ground seeds that themselves have grown from the ground. He who sows annual grains into the ground, since he sows perishable things - and does not grow unless they decay - of course, he will also reap the perishable and gather in the form of a harvest, that which will serve for the temporary composition of the body, which will soon itself collapse. Let us learn from this parable: what kind of spiritual and incorruptible seeds these are, what time this sowing is, and who is it that sows them, and what kind of land is it that receives them, so that we work not only in hope of the harvest, which has to provide us with temporary fruits, but we also do everything in hope of the harvest, which has to give us eternal life. “He came forth,” Christ said, “sowing to his seed.” Who is this sower? – The Lord Himself, who predicted about Himself through the mouth of the Psalmist: “I will open My mouth in parables” (Ps. 77:2). But where did He who is present everywhere come from? – Again, He proclaims Himself, saying: “He departed from the Father and came into the world” (John 16:28). He came from the Father and from the Father’s bosom inseparably, and came into the world, which is in the world and “through whom the world began to be” (John 1:10), and descended from heaven to earth (John 3:13), filling heaven and earth; so the “processing” of the Only Begotten Son of God and His descent from heaven means nothing other than His appearance in the flesh and His depletion from the ineffable height of Divinity to the limits of human nature. 5. So He thus went out to “sow His seed.” What kind of seed is this? – The word of teaching, the words of eternal life, the instructions of immortality, the promise of rebirth, the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. These are His seeds. Because He says about Himself: “The words that I speak are spirit and life” (John 6:63); and Peter turns to Him: “The words of eternal life are imashi” (John 6:68). So, this seed belongs only to Him, and only He is the One who sows it incessantly and, through this seed, the Existing God of all Himself becomes manifest. Because every teacher and evangelist and preacher of Piety and a pious way of life, he himself sows the words of life, the word of the Gospel and heavenly teaching, but having served in his lifetime according to the will of God, he leaves as he was not before; the word of salvation, which, while teaching, he sows, is not his, but belongs to God, who works for him and “gives the word by the opening of his mouth” (Eph. 6:19). Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true God, has this seed of eternal life as belonging to Him, and He Himself is always the Sower, both through the law inherent in the nature of things, and through the law given in written form to the people of Israel, and through the broadcasts of the Prophets, and later through the Gospel of grace. The time of this sowing 301 is the entire life of each individual person, and this especially applies to the time that comes after His First Coming and extends until the end of all time 302. The time for the harvest of this seed belongs to the expected Second Coming and the appearance of the Lord, which is why the Apostle says that “there must be an emphasis on hope” (1 Cor. 9:10) 303. and “sow to the Spirit, from the Spirit he will reap eternal life” (Gal.6:8); and the Psalmist-Prophet says: “Those who sow with tears” (now), “they will reap with joy” (then) (Ps. 126:5) 304. 6. Thus the Lord came out to sow His seed. Where to sow? – Into human hearts: because they are the fields that receive spiritual seeds. But some of them are likened to a road, as if trampled and crushed by bad thoughts and passions and their rulers - the worst demons; others are likened to stony soil, these are those who, due to cowardice and coarseness, cannot fully grow the seeds of teaching and, thanks to them, bear fruit for eternal life 305: and some are likened to the ground on which thorns grow, as a result of the pursuit of money and wealth and temporary pleasures 306 and all that grows from this. So, due to the fact that great differences are observed in relation to human hearts, “he went out,” the parable says, “to sow his seed: and as he sowed, it fell along the way, and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the air attacked it.” “One of the seeds,” He says, “fell along the road: i.e. into the hearts of those who exist or outside the right path of the Lord (Acts 13:10), which is why it was trampled underfoot by crafty demons passing along the impassable roads, or during their bad road, which is why the birds of the air, i.e. the evil spirits in the air pecked at him and destroyed him, and thus these people seemed to become equal to those who did not hear the word of God at all: because “those who fell along the way are the ones who listen, to whom the devil then comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they do not believe and are saved” (Luke 8:12). - “And the other one will fall on the stones”; and according to Matthew: – “to rocky places” (Matthew 13:5): i.e. in a heart that is hardened and cruel, which cannot accept the word inside itself and firmly hold it within itself and, as it were, root it; therefore, says the Lord, “it dried up, for it had no moisture,” i.e. it lived and even blossomed for a short time, 307 and then, encountering some temptations (or sorrows), it died, unable to reach maturity, due to the instability of the spiritual structure of those who accepted it. “They who fell on the stone,” He says, “are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy, but who have no root, and believe at times, but fall away during temptation.” “Another fall is among thorns”: i.e. into hearts completely devoted to bodily, temporal and worldly things and immersed both in the worries associated with them and in the pleasures resulting from them. “Those who fell among the thorns,” He says, “are those who listen to the word, but, going away, are overwhelmed by the cares, riches and pleasures of this life and do not bear fruit.” 7. Thus, having excluded and rejected those who do not heed the teaching of the Divine Spirit, such as those who exist along the way, as well as those who, although they heed, but for a short time, who are like rocky soil, and those who, although they receive and retain in the area of the mind, but because of wealth, fame and pleasures, cause it to stall (because these are rocky places) 308, He then, through a parable, introduces and presents some hearts worthy of respect, saying: “Another blaze fell on the earth”: i.e. into a soul that has a wonderful and good disposition, which ardently accepts and holds within itself the word of teaching, not allowing the emergence of a path through which the enemies of its salvation would enter, and in patience firmly preserves it, holding on to what is heard to valiantly endure temptations, and perfects it, moving away from the covetous and built on the search for pleasures and a relaxed lifestyle, and bears fruit, as the divine Mark says, “ascending and growing, and increased in fertility by thirty, and by sixty, and by a hundred” (Mark 4:8), which could be compared with the state of slavery, mercenary and sonship. Because he who truly approaches God, at first, indeed, is like an accountable slave due to his previous rebellion and disobedience; then, having been in the state of a slave, he seeks payment (i.e., reward from God for his penitential labor 309), having succeeded in love, he already becomes like a son, making virtue as if his second nature and, one might say, obeying the Heavenly Father without coercion 310. Let us try, brothers, either 1) to strive for the state of divine sonship, through love for God and freeing ourselves from everything earthly and bodily, 311 through constant prayer and psalmody and undistracted concentration, or 2) to be numbered with the mercenaries of God, successfully maintaining abstinence in everything during the feat; or 3) become numbered among the servants of God, mourning past sins; because he who does not belong at all to any of the three states is also outside the number of those being saved. 8. But “the Lord shout this saying,” it is said, “having ears to hear, let him hear.” Not in the sense that not all people have ears, but in the sense that not everyone has them to hear the saving word. Since “the mind sees and the mind hears,” in the words of the respected Pythagoras, those who listen with mind and consciousness are those “who have ears to hear.” If “knowledge is good for those who create” (Ps. 110:10) 312. and the word is known by works 313 (Matthew 7:20), then, consequently, he has hearing ears who not only listen, but also obey and try to put what he hears into action. Let us pay attention, brothers, first of all, to the fact that the Lord did not say that He went out to plow the verbal fields, nor to cut with a plow twice or three times, nor to pull out the roots of wild grasses, nor to level the soil, that is, to pre-decorate (prepare) our hearts and thoughts, but, He says, directly “went out to sow.” Why is this so? – Because before this (Christ’s) sowing on our part, we must pre-adorn, prepare our soul for this. Therefore, the Forerunner of the Gospel of Grace, having preceded it, exhorted with a great voice, saying: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths right” and “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is drawing near” (Matthew 3:2-3). The preparation and beginning of repentance consists of self-reproach, confession and abstinence from evil. But moreover, he threatens those who have not prepared themselves in such a way as to bear fruits worthy of repentance: “Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10). Cutting off is God’s sentence for those who sin without repentance, a sentence according to which, torn out both from this life and the future, they are sent to the unquenchable, alas, fiery Gehenna. 9. So, let us repent, brothers, and show fruits worthy of repentance: let us each turn away from our own wickedness (sins and evil); let us learn to speak gracefully and act well; Let us make ourselves ready to receive the heavenly seed, the word of life; Let us keep our tongue from evil; which one? – from idle talk, swear words, condemnation; - and their lips are from deceitful words (Ps. 33:14), lies and idle talk. It is possible that these are those mentioned in the Lord’s parable about the sower, the birds of the air who devour and destroy the good seed. Because every word is like a creature flying in the air, which is why words were called “winged” (an expression from Homer in the Iliad). An evil word, emitted by the lips from the evil treasure of the heart, as if from some nest, deprives the soul of holiness; which is why the Lord says in another place: “What comes out of the mouth defiles a person” (Matthew 15:11). So, “let not corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth” (Eph.4:29); but let such word proceed as is suitable for the edification of those who hear. Let none of you be so committed to worldly things that because of them you seem to be petrified, unable to open your ears and heart to the dew of the teaching of the Spirit. Because what is the reason that the earth, having received rain, softens, becomes wet and thick, while the clay remains ossified, dry and hard? – Is it because the earth is warmed by the sun’s rays, but is not burned by them, why it has open pores to receive rain, and clay, which is burned from contact with intense heat, has deep pores so tightly compressed and closed that it cannot receive rain, even if it is the lightest? Likewise, everyone who is in the power of bodily, earthly and worldly things greatly and constantly hardens his heart and, having killed his thoughts before turning to the earth, 314 makes the teaching from God remain imperceptible (ineffective) in him; he who uses this world, as if not using it, according to the admonition of the Apostle (1 Cor. 7:31) 315, will be ready to seek the heavenly and to consciously listen and do with diligence and zeal; and not only will he listen in this way, but he will also keep it within himself and put it into action, so that, having become like a faithful and prudent servant, he will be worthy and blessed by the Lord, who says: “Whoever hears My words and does (them), I will liken him to a wise man” (Matthew 7:24). 10. He who relaxes himself with gluttony and excess in drinks and pleasures and intoxication, let him no longer do this; if he does not leave this, then he receives the heavenly seed, the word of teaching, in vain: because he will not be able to appear as a fruitful field for God. You all see that when there is too much moisture in the sown fields, they are not able to bear fruit; so how can a heart immersed in pleasures and intoxications bear fruit? Let him who has fallen into some kind of prodigal defilement turn and depart from it and purify himself by repentance. “Padayai food does not rise? or will he turn away and not be converted?” (Jer.8:4) 316. Because if he is wallowing in this mud, then, having accepted, how will he keep the divine myrrh, a precious pearl, intact, I say - a saving word? Pearls are not given to a pig, and those in their right mind do not mix myrrh with dirt: because if someone were to pour it out, mix it with dirt, or put it in an unclean vessel, it would equally render this ointment unusable and destroy it. And although the divine world is not vulnerable, however, if, being rendered unusable, it suffers damage, then the one who accepted it and at the same time did not take care to retreat from uncleanness will suffer for this. Let him who is in excess 317 no longer allow himself to indulge in excess, but let him give from his property to the poor. Because if he does not do this, he will not escape God's wrath; not having escaped God's wrath, how will he accept the divine seed? Because those who ask, how can we avoid the wrath to come? John, the Forerunner of the Lord, answered: “If you have two garments, let him give to those who do not have, and if you have food, let him do the same” (Luke 3:11). And in general, each of you, who, due to a passionate and pleasure-loving life, has nurtured the thorns and thorns of sin, let him, through repentance, uproot them, throw them out. In this way, he will adorn himself and prepare himself to receive the saving seed and, having received it, it will grow and bear fruit - eternal life, for which he is worthy of sacrificing not only his carnal aspirations, but, if necessary, giving up his very soul. Because in this way we will follow the Master’s footsteps and will be participants in the glory in Christ and the kingdom, forever remaining with Him and being co-glorified. 11. And our witness to this is the indescribable Top of the Martyrs, the Wonderworker and Myrrh-Blower Demetrius, to whose icon kings and priests fall and, rejoicing, surround (the shrine of his relics), because with his life and word and suffering he followed the footsteps of Christ. An acceptable praiser and participant in the already foretold celebration will be not just any person, but the one who, through repentance, has prepared himself for this. Because the one who has withdrawn himself from all material attachments and has shown himself to such an extent - in the words of the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 2:15) - “the fragrance of Christ” that even his tomb, after the deeds he endured, has shown himself to be the source of the most fragrant world - how will he allow such a person to celebrate and sing with praise, who breathes (filled with) passionate matter and carries within himself the smell of incurable wounds of sins? – “The praise of martyrs is not red in the mouth of sinners” - according to Scripture (Sir.15:9). Therefore, as we pre-celebrate, we will also pre-purify ourselves for the upcoming main day of the feast of the Great Martyr, so that when we remember his struggles for Christ and before the struggles of his way of life according to Christ and upon completion of the feats of accepting victorious crowns from Christ, spiritually having fun and rejoicing with him, we perceive this 318 as a guarantee 319 of the joint life we hope for in heaven with the eternally rejoicing, which may we all receive through our prayers compatriot guardian of our city and the Martyr of Christ, to the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. In Greek book ed. 1861 is listed as No. 47, pp. 59–71. The name is given in free translation. Those. recognized as wise by their education. This means Ap. Paul. Those. time to receive the heavenly seed. Because this is the most favorable time for salvation. “Whoever plows must plow with hope”: The brackets belong to the original text itself. Because rocky ground is both shallow and hard. There is a typo in the book, it follows: “apolavsesi”. Original: "Give glory." What is in brackets belongs to the original text. We have included what is in brackets for clarification purposes. The phrase is freely translated; original: “In the possession of virtue, having become both by nature and as if without compulsion, obedient to the Heavenly Father.” We complete the translation according to the note in the text. “All who do His commandments have a right mind”: According to the words of the Savior: “By their fruits you will know them”: There is a typo in the book, “yew” is printed instead of “tin”. Those. indifferent to the blessings of this world. “Do not those who fall rise up, and when they turn aside from the way, do they not return?”: That is this festive joy. 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