Поучение 1-е в неделю по Богоявлении. О покаянии

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is drawing near” (Matthew IV, 17). With these deep and sacred words, the preaching of the Word made human began to fallen humanity. A seemingly simple teaching! But we must understand it through life itself: then it will be revealed that the whole Gospel is contained in these short and unflorid words. So the holy Apostle Paul, talking about the gospel, which he preached to almost the entire then known universe, said that he testified to both Jews and Greeks “the repentance towards God and the faith that is in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts XX, 21). Brethren! To believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, you need repentance; in order to remain in this saving faith, repentance is needed; to succeed in it, you need repentance; To inherit the kingdom of heaven, you need repentance. All this is clearly stated in the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Scripture teaches us that “God sent his Son into the world, ... that the world may be saved by him, that he who believes in him will not be condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned ... the light - Christ - came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light: for their deeds of evil were evil. Every evil thing you do hates the light; and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed, for they are evil” (John III, 17-20). To those possessed by the passion of vanity, Scripture testified: “As much as you can believe, you accept glory from one another, and do not seek glory other than that from the one God!” (John V, 44). Those who were consumed by the passion of love of money not only did not believe in the Lord, but also mocked the Lord when He taught them the most necessary and holy teaching about remembering eternity and about arranging earthly affairs in accordance with man’s purpose for eternity (Luke XVI: 9, 14). Carried away by the passion of fierce envy, they not only did not believe in the Lord, but also formed a deicide plot and carried it out. All, infected with vain and sinful addictions, according to the unfalse testimony of the Gospel, renounce participation in the spiritual marriage of the Son of God, making themselves unworthy of a blessed union with Him (Matthew XXII, 5). “You can’t work for God and mammon!” (Luke XVI, 13) you cannot serve two masters together, God and sin! “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is drawing near!” (Matt. IV, 17) “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk. I, 15). But he who believes in Christ, who decides to constantly prove his faith by actions and behavior, again needs repentance. What do you think, brothers, what is the first fruit of living faith? What is the first fruit of fulfilling Christ's commandments? I borrow the answer from Saint Simeon, the New Theologian, who gained knowledge of the spoken truth from his own holy experiences. He said: “The careful fulfillment of the commandments of Christ teaches a person his weaknesses” 1 . Exactly! A person who has believed in Christ has just begun to fulfill the all-holy commandments of the Gospel, or, what is the same thing, to do the works of a renewed nature, when suddenly his fallen nature, hitherto hidden from view, is revealed to him and enters into a stubborn struggle with the Gospel. The life of an ascetic of Christ is filled with invisible falls. He involuntarily confesses with the apostle: “I delight in the law of God according to the inner man: I see another law in my heart, warring against the law of my mind, and taking me captive by the law of sin that is in my heart. I am a damned man!” (Rom. VII, 22–24) From such a view of oneself, a blessed poverty of spirit arises in a Christian, rational spiritual crying appears, a contrite and humble heart is built, which “God will not despise” (Ps. L, 19). In a person, from living according to the Gospel, repentance appears as if naturally commanded by the Gospel. And so repentance is necessary not only in order to believe in Christ: it is necessary to remain in faith, to prosper in Christ; it is necessary for living faith in Christ. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is drawing near.” It remains to explain: why in the words of our Lord we are now considering, the testament of repentance and the announcement of the proximity of the kingdom of heaven are so closely connected? Why is no intermediate feat, no intermediate circumstance put forward between them? The reason is that our Lord Jesus Christ - “the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John I, 29) - did everything for our salvation. He reconciled us to God, prepared and purchased for us the kingdom of heaven. We, humans, are given one work in the matter of our salvation - the work of accepting the salvation given to us by God completely and completely, the work of repentance. The Kingdom of Heaven and the King of Heaven are indescribably close to us - incomparably closer than we believe. “Behold, I stand at the door of the human heart, proclaims this King, and I knock on them with My all-holy and all-powerful Word: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and with me” (Rev. III, 20). The opening of the doors of the heart for the heavenly King is accomplished through repentance. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is drawing near.” Amen. Chapters Active and Theological. Kindness. Part I, Ch. 4 You might be interested in: