Поучение в 26-ю неделю. О лихоимстве

During the wandering of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth, one day an unknown person brought Him a complaint against his brother on the occasion of a disagreement that occurred between them regarding the division of property (Luke 12:13–21). The kingdom of the Lord is “not of this world” (John 18:36). With meekness and humility, the Lord answered those who asked for His judgment in an earthly matter: “Man! Who will make Me a judge or a divider over you? It is not earthly affairs that constitute the subject of the message of the incarnate God the Word to earth! Then, leading the litigating brothers to a correct view of themselves, of earthly life and its blessings, the Lord added: “Be careful and keep yourself from covetousness: for it is not out of abundance that anyone eats his life from his possessions,” i.e. The duration of earthly life does not depend on possessions. The passion of covetousness is evil: the Lord commands vigilance against it, so that it does not creep into the soul in an inconspicuous way. The passion of covetousness is destructive: the Lord commands to be protected from it. This passion, striving to open an entrance to the soul, usually imagines a person’s long life, painful old age, various vicissitudes and accidents that can befall a person, in which accumulated property seems to be the only and omnipotent source of benefits. The Lord, in order to strike the passion of covetousness at its very beginning, in the basic thoughts on which it relies and on which it is based, shows that these thoughts are completely erroneous and false, shows that the duration of earthly life with its vicissitudes is in no way connected with the accumulated excess property. The duration of earthly life and its well-being do not come from a lot of property; they flow from the blessing of God. When the mercy of God departs from a person, then irresistible and terrible disasters approach him, striking him in the midst of all his abundance, in the midst of all his power. Wealth looks with coldness at its imaginary owner when the hand of God punishes him, and with an uncompassionate gaze responds to his suffering, farewell glances that he casts, parting against his will with perishable property. The deceitfulness of thoughts and dreams that deceive a person when he clings with all his soul to wealth and places his trust in it, the Lord picturesquely depicted in the parable that he told two brothers after the instruction about guarding oneself from covetousness. “A certain rich man should take care of the field - this is how the parable begins - and think within himself.” The first effect of a bountiful harvest on the rich man was that he began to engage in special reflections. This almost always happens to those who suddenly become rich or to those who suddenly receive a significant increase in their previous wealth. Thinking with himself, the rich man said: “What will I do?” What should I do?.. Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria rightly notes that excessive wealth is similar to poverty. Both of them cry out from the difficulty of their situation: what should I do? The reason for difficulty in poverty is a lack of bodily needs; in wealth, there is an excess in them. “What will I do,” the rich man asks himself, “for there is no place for the imam to gather my fruits,” there is nowhere for me to put the wealth I have acquired. Finally, he figured out what to do, and, as if rejoicing at his resourcefulness, he said in delight and with determination: “Behold, I will do: I will destroy my barns and build a greater one, and I will gather all my life and good things. And I say to my soul: to my soul, there is much good that lies ahead for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry.” The blind rich man did not think about God, about eternity, about his poor brethren; he thought only about himself, he thought disastrously for himself, because he forgot about the purpose of the soul and, in his dream, destined for it the ultimate enslavement of the body. He did not think about God, who, while benevolent to him, called him to charity. He did not think about eternity, where it is necessary to send part of his property in alms, so as not to end up there as a beggar, unworthy of the heavenly palace. What an untrue dream does the rich man flatter himself with! He says that his property is enough for a long time, meaning by this that his life will last just as long or even longer; He bases his orders on this vain, unsteady dream. The state of self-delusion is common to all covetous and peace-loving people. Earthly life seems to them eternal. The thought of death is completely alien to them, like the thought of an event that can never have anything to do with them. What assumptions does the blinded rich man base on his enrichment? He, as they say in the world, “wants to live well.” What does it mean to “live well” in this sense? It means: sweet, eat and drink a lot, indulge in entertainment and amusements, commit adultery, live luxuriously, be vain, satisfy all your lusts and desires. If we look more closely at the world, we will find that the Gospel parable of the rich man can serve as a mirror for all of us: not all of us are constantly carried away by the dreams of the rich man, but we are all more or less carried away by them from time to time. When the rich man dreamed with delight about the sinful life ahead of him, God’s verdict was suddenly pronounced against him. God said to him: “Crazy! This night they will take your soul from you: but what you have prepared, to whom will they be?” What happened to the rich man happens to every person who forgets God and surrenders himself entirely to the service of sin. While such a person reaches the end of his desires, as he arranges his situation in the best possible way, God sends death or some kind of vicissitude is allowed - and the most lasting earthly well-being collapses. The Lord expressed this in the words with which He concluded the parable: “Gather for yourself this way, and not become rich for God.” This is the fruit of the love of money, covetousness and, in general, an intense desire to acquire property, a desire carried out under the exclusive direction of self-love. The Lord called the proud rich man insane because this rich man, blinded by pride, acting in self-delusion as if solely in his own favor, acted in the very thing against himself, lowering himself from the high dignity of man, created for eternity, who must act on earth for heaven, who must always grant dominion to the soul over the body. To grow rich in God means to lead a life pleasing to God. Earthly activity, directed according to the Gospel commandments, brings imperishable wealth to the soul: knowledge of God and oneself, faith, humility, love for God and neighbors. Such activity correctly disposes of earthly property as a gift from God and, through correct disposal, transforms perishable property into incorruptible property, transfers its treasures from earth to heaven. By transferring his perishable property to heaven through alms, a Christian will inconspicuously transfer his heart to heaven, as the Lord himself testified: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be” (Luke 12:34). Such a Christian will live in heaven with his thoughts, inclinations, and feelings, just as the Apostle lived there, who even during his stay on earth declared about himself: “Our life is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). Amen. You might be interested in: