Слово 34. На св. Рождество Христово.

The holiday of all holidays has arrived and filled the universe with joy. The holiday of the crowning of all virtues, the source and root of all our blessings; a holiday by which the Sky was opened, the Spirit was sent down, the mediastinum was destroyed, the barriers fell, the distance was united, the darkness was dispelled, the light shone, the Sky took on the nature that came from the earth, the earth - the One resting on the Cherubim, the slaves became free, the enemies became children, the foreigners became heirs. Through him, long-lasting enmity and a long war were destroyed, and peace, long awaited by the Angels and righteous people, came. And Paul exclaimed, saying: “He is our peace, having made both one and broken down the barrier that stood in the middle, having abolished the hostility in His flesh” (Eph. 2:14). Through him the sign of the Cross was erected, brilliant and glorious, the spoil of Christ, the firstfruits of our nature, the armor of our King. Is there anything equal to this holiday? God is on earth, man is in Heaven, Angels will serve people, people are in communion with Angels and other heavenly powers; the demons flee, death is destroyed, Paradise is opened, the oath is lifted, sin is gone, error is banished, truth has descended. Nature, from which the Cherubim protected Paradise, united today with God. Hearing this, leave despondency. It is beyond all hope and expectation that God became man. If this has happened, then everything will follow with reasonable consistency. He would not have humbled Himself so recklessly and so vainly if He had not had the power to exalt us. He was born according to the flesh in order to regenerate you according to the spirit; born of a Woman, so that you may cease to be the son of a woman; He allowed His father to become a slave, so that you, a slave, could become a Father of the Master. Let us therefore rejoice and be glad, remembering with joy our blessings. If Patriarch Abraham was glad to see the day of the Lord, and saw it, and rejoiced, much more so for us, when we see God in swaddling clothes - this terrible and amazing sight - we should rejoice and be glad, be surprised and be amazed at the greatness of such a good deed. But how did this amazing and great thing happen? How can we, who have sinned, who have been unworthy of the earth, who have been deprived of power, been elevated to such a height? How did the war end? How is anger destroyed? How? What is most surprising and amazing is that peace came not when we, who had sinned, turned for help, not when our enemies were overthrown, but when He called us, whose righteous wrath we deserved. “We pray according to Christ, as I pray to God with us” (“in the name of Christ we ask: be reconciled to God”) (2 Cor. 5:20). What is this? He was insulted, and He prays. Yes, he says, He is Good and therefore He prays. And we will try, if you allow, by further speaking, to show that, while man has not accomplished any feat, He alone, by His goodness, gives us present and future blessings. But listen carefully. Before the Angels and other Heavenly Powers appeared, there was God, Beginningless and All-Satisfied from eternity, because this is a property of the Divine. He created Angels, Archangels and other incorporeal beings - He created them not for anything else, but solely for His goodness. He did not need their service, and would not have been their Creator if He had not been Good. After creating them, He creates man, again for the same reason, and this whole world. And having filled him with thousands of blessings, He made the insignificant and insignificant one the manager of so many affairs, revealing him on earth to be what He Himself is in Heaven. Having created him and surrounded him with such honor, He placed at his disposal, as a palace is given to a king, the best of all that was on earth - Paradise. And not only did He honor him with this, but he alone of all gave the word, honored him with knowledge about Himself, gave him the opportunity to enjoy, as much as he could accommodate, a conversation with Himself, promised to grant immortality, filled him with much wisdom, gave him a spiritual gift so that he could prophesy something. What happened after so many and such benefits? He believed the devil more than the One who gave him all this, and, despising the commandment of the One who gave it, he preferred to it the deception of the one who wanted to destroy him in every possible way. So, did God destroy him - which was true - after he showed such ingratitude from the beginning, one might say, from the first step? Not at all. He cares for the fallen more than before. Subsequently, when the human race began to become corrupted, so that there was a danger that it would disappear from the face of the earth, those who insulted it, however, enjoyed such care that the Lord justified Himself before the slave, spoke to him as to a friend of equal honor, and indicated for what reason destruction would occur. Then He gave the law to help, sending prophets to indicate what needs to be done. Finally, He sent His only begotten Son, born of a Woman, who became under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive sonship. Therefore, the prophet, amazed at His great care for the universe, exclaims with a loud voice for all to hear, saying: “He appeared on earth and spoke among people” (Bar.3:38). It is truly amazing to hear that God, Ineffable and Unspeakable, Immense and equal to the Father, the true Son of the Beginning God, passed through a virgin’s womb and deigned to be born of a Woman. He will not stop doing and arranging everything until He brings us to Him, to God, and until He makes friends out of enemies. As if someone, while two people were fighting each other, stood in the middle, stretched out both his hands and took the hands of those fighting, and united them, so He did, uniting the Divine nature with the human, His with ours. Pay attention to the excess of goodness: offended, He Himself prays, as was said, and arranges reconciliation. Look then how he overthrew the tyrant: the king, for example, having taken off his purple and diadem, often puts on the dress of a soldier, so as not to attract enemies to himself after they recognize him; here the opposite happened - Christ came in our clothes, so that, after He was recognized, He would not force the enemy to flee from a collision with Him, and so as not to confuse all His own - because He wanted to save, and not terrify. But why, they will say, was reconciliation accomplished not through one of the incorporeal forces or a simple person, but through the belittlement of the Word? Because if we had accepted the general salvation of the human race through some other righteous man, we would not have recognized the full greatness of His Providence for us; a matter that was amazing for all ages would fall into the category of insignificant matters that do not contain anything truly amazing. When creature unites with creature and participates in a common slave state, there is nothing mysterious in this, and it does not give rise to amazement. And besides, how could man accomplish the work of God and the Divine? If something had happened—no matter what—it would have been more likely a fall, and the person would have been lighter, or would have become himself, or even would have become worse. If the Jews, against whom they often grumbled, saying that the salvation he brought was worse than the suffering in Egypt, if, after his death, they wanted to proclaim him a god - which was, as some say, the reason that his tomb remains hidden from the eyes of the Jews and unknown - then would they not have proclaimed as a god the one who freed them from the worst violence, would they not have proclaimed him even if did you know its nature? But it is obvious that this would not be the destruction of sin, but a more serious and more incorrigible sin. Then we can point out another reason why, if an Angel or a simple person had been chosen to save us from sin, not only would we not have received salvation, but the human race would have lost its most beautiful and precious, unspeakable glory. What is this reason? We could not be anywhere near what we enjoy and partake of since the Word became incarnate. If human or angelic nature took upon itself the Providence for us, how could it be granted to the human race to become at the right hand of the Father, to be above all the choirs of angels and archangels and to enjoy such honor and glory that they, the heavenly powers standing in the proximity of God, desire to penetrate into our glory, which we enjoy for the sake of that confusion, and find our fate above any desire? And if our race had been deprived of this blissful share, if, precisely, (at a human or angelic union) it had not accepted the glory with which it is now enlightened, if we had not achieved such strength, power and such superiority of honor, then what would not our enemy have dared to do against us? What means would he not use, nourishing hopes of once again conquering, through them, the human race, subordinating it to his original power? Who would he try to take power over? Would he not have shown more insolence than before, so that he would not have considered it insolence to harbor evil plans against Heaven itself? For this and other similar reasons, the Word of God, the Son and True God, and not anyone else, by taking on our flesh, accomplished the general salvation of the human race. Let no one accuse us of speaking unworthy of God; we say precisely that God, having built a living church for Himself in a virgin’s womb for the salvation of the whole world, through it brought the heavenly dispensation into our lives. What would really be the harm to God from such housekeeping? Don't you see that the sun, felt by our body, is corruptible, changing - even though the Hellenes disagreed with this - while joining with uncleanness and many other similar things, it does not, however, accept even insignificant damage and, on the contrary, destroys the stench with its falling ray? But won’t you admit that the Only Begotten Son of God can produce something equal in our flesh, so as not only not to be contaminated by it, but to make it even purer and more holy? You do not tremble, daring to imprison the being of God in trees, stones, and even in that which is of little value. How do you accuse us and say that it is indecent for God to dwell in a pure and undefiled body, saving the universe through it? If becoming man, as you say, is shameful for God, then it is much more shameful for Him to be in stone and wood, just as stone and wood are more insignificant than man. Or perhaps the human race seems to you more insignificant than this sensory matter? But we will leave the word about this for another time, and now we need to talk about what was said in the Gospel: “The birth of Jesus Christ was like this” (Matthew 1:18). What Christmas are you talking about? Obviously about the carnal. No one knows about the beginningless birth, not even the Only Begotten Son of God Himself, who exists in the bosom of the Father. How did the birth of Christ take place according to the flesh? “After the betrothal of His Mother Mary to Joseph, before they were united, it turned out that She was with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). It should be noted that he did not say: “betrothed to the former Virgin,” but simply: “after the betrothal of His Mother.” And he did this so that the word could be accepted more easily, and so as not to be brought into extreme amazement by further speech - that “before they were united, it turned out that She was pregnant with the Holy Spirit.” But why didn’t She conceive and bear child before her marriage? So that everything that happened would be kept in secret, and so that notoriety would not touch the Virgin. Since the betrothed should have been jealous of Her, and yet he not only did not triumph over Her after conception, but accepted and served Her, this should convince everyone that he kept Her and began to serve Her after he was convinced that what happened happened through the action of the Holy Spirit. Here (the evangelist) speaks, meaning only what is usually said in strange cases: “she is pregnant with the Holy Spirit.” And you, having heard that “from the Holy Spirit,” do not inquire about anything else, for example: “How is the Infinite One in the womb? All-containing - and conceived by a wife? How does a Virgo give birth and remain a Virgo? How did the Holy Spirit prepare this church?” etc. The power of the Most High overshadowed the Virgin, and the Son of God became born: “Her husband Joseph, being righteous and not wanting to make Her public, wanted to secretly let Her go” (Matthew 1:19). He was such an amazing person that he not only didn’t punish Her, but didn’t even tell anyone, including the suspect herself, but only thought with himself about not kicking Her out, but letting Her go. And so, when he was confused by such thoughts, an Angel appeared before him to resolve the difficulties in his thoughts. That he was embarrassed is clear from his plans: “I wanted,” he says, “to secretly let Her go.” If he had been convinced that the conception occurred from an illegal seed, he would have wanted to let Her go, neither secretly nor in any way at all, but would have handed Her over to the law and for punishment, precisely because he was righteous. But he wasn't convinced. On the other hand, he was not convinced that conception is a consequence of Divine action - because this is beyond human understanding. So he hesitated in his thoughts. And at this time, when he was confused by his thoughts, an Angel appeared to him and said: “Do not be afraid to accept Mary your wife, for what is born in Her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). Saying: “don’t be afraid... to keep your wife with you,” the word “accept” means exactly this, and not “let her go,” as he was supposed to, - saying this, the Angel showed that he was afraid and trembled, lest he offend God. She, he says, is not only free from illegal intercourse, but conceived by the power of a higher nature. This means exactly what he added, saying: “What is born in Her is of the Holy Spirit; and she will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus” (Matthew 1:20–21). Do not think, he says, that because I said that “there is of the Holy Spirit,” you are outside the ministry of housebuilding; I give you the power to give a name to the One who is being born. Although you did not contribute anything to His birth, you will nevertheless give Him a name. Even if He is not your son, you will still show your paternal rights in Him and through the assignment of a name you will become close to the one being born. He did not say: “She will give birth to you a Son,” but “She will give birth,” because She did not give birth to him, but to the whole world. That's why he added: “For He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). When he says, “His people,” he means not only Jews, but also pagans. His people are all who receive the knowledge of Him. The one who is born shows Himself to be the Son of God also in the fact that he forgives sins, because the forgiveness of sins cannot be a property of any other power than the Divine being. “And all this happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: Behold, a virgin is with child and bears a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means: God is with us” (Matthew 1:22-23). I wish that all the Jews and Greeks were here, so that they could take this book from the Jews and read the prophecy to them. You know, of course, that both in courts of law and everywhere else, evidence is perfect, beyond suspicion, if it comes from enemies. Without a doubt, they cannot say that this was invented by us - not by us, but by the people who nailed Christ to the cross, and who handed over to us the books that speak of His economy. However, whether they exist or not, we will do our job and begin the interpretations. But, if I may, let us take the prophecy a little higher so that you can see what is said in connection. “And the Lord continued,” it is said, “to speak to Ahaz, and said: Ask yourself a sign from the Lord your God: ask either in the depths or on the heights. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I tempt the Lord. Then Isaiah said, “Listen, O house of Israel: is it not enough for you to trouble people, that you want to trouble my God also? So the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel” (Is. 7:10–14). When the prophet said: “Ask yourself a sign,” he, hypocritically posing as a complete believer, said: “I will not ask and I will not tempt the Lord.” See with what great force the prophet strikes, justly, after exposing the hypocrisy, strengthening the accusation. Therefore, he does not deign to answer him, but turns to the people, saying: “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to make trouble for people that you want to make it difficult for my God too?” . What has been said is obscure; therefore, it is necessary to explain the saying with precision. What he says means the following: “Are these my words? Is it my saying? If not believing people without any reason is a serious crime, it is even more criminal not to believe God. “To make it difficult” means nothing more than not to believe. Is this, he says, a small fault? Is it a minor crime to not trust people? If this is criminal, it is even more criminal not to believe God. He said this so that everyone would know that the prophet was not deceived and that he was not deceived by the words spoken, but that he expressed his decision to the thought of Ahaz. After he spoke with him with great meekness, delivered him from disaster, ordered him to be calm for the present, gave evidence of this, revealing the intentions of the enemies, revealing betrayal, predicting complete and decisive captivity and indicating the time - he was not satisfied with this, but goes further and does not wait until he demands a sign, but turns to him, although he does not even want this due to excessive pride. And he doesn’t just appeal, but gives him a choice; he does not say: “this is such a sign,” but “if you want.” The Lord is rich, His power is omnipotent, His being is indescribable: if you want a sign from heaven, nothing interferes; if you want, from the ground, and then there are no difficulties. This is what the words mean: “either in depth or at height.” Since he did not attract him with these words, and since at the same time the prophet himself did not remain silent, but denounced him in the subsequent speech - and this is for the correction of the listener and in order to show that he is not deceived, not deceived - then he reveals a mysterious prophecy that will serve to save the world, to correct everything. And he says that the sign is not given to Ahaz, but to all the people of Judah. At first the prophet addressed his word to Ahaz, but since he showed himself unworthy, he speaks to the whole people. Therefore, “he will give...,” he says, “not to you, but to you, a sign.” “To you” – to whom? House of David. Then comes the sign. What kind of sign is this? “Behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel.” It should be noted that I said earlier that the sign is not given to Ahaz, and that this is not a guess, but the prophet himself accuses and denounces, saying: “Is it not enough for you to make trouble for people?” . And he adds: “So the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the Virgin will receive with child.” If the Jews said that the prophet did not say: “Virgin,” but “young woman” (νεανίς), then even then victory is ours: Scripture usually appends the name of a young woman (νεανίς) to a girl, as it is written in the psalms: “let young men and maidens, old men and youths praise the name of the Lord” ( Ps.149:12-13). And Moses speaks of a girl who became the subject of an assault: “the betrothed young woman cried out” (Deut. 22:27), that is, the girl. Yes, there would not have been a sign at all if She had not been a Virgin, because a sign must go beyond the ordinary order of things, be higher than usual in nature, seem strange and unexpected, so that each of those who hears and sees sees it as a sign. That is why it is said “a sign” because it is wonderful. But it cannot be wonderful if it is lost among other events. So, if we were talking about a woman giving birth according to the law of nature, then why does he call something that happens every day a sign? Therefore, at the beginning he did not simply say: “Behold, the Virgin” (ίδού παρθένος), but by adding a member (ίδού ή παρθένος), hints that She is the Wonderful and Only Virgin. That this is precisely what is expressed by the increase in the penis can be seen from the Gospels. When the Jews sent to John to ask: “Who are you?” - they did not say: “Are you Christ (Χριστός)?”, but: “Are you Christ” (ό Χριστός); They did not say: “Are you a prophet (προφητής)?”, but: “Are you a prophet (ό προφητής)?” (John 1:19, 21). Each of these questions has its own nuance. Therefore, John, starting the Gospel, did not say: “in the beginning was the Word” (Λόγος - without a member), but: “in the beginning was the Word” (ό Λόγος, with a member), “and the Word was with God” (John 1:1). So here too the prophet did not say: “Behold, a virgin,” without a member, but: “Behold, a Virgin” (ίδού ή παρθέυος), with a member. This “behold” is befitting the dignity of a prophet. It means that he sees and imagines what is happening and has great confidence in what he says. His eyes see the invisible more clearly than our eyes. The senses may be mistaken, but the grace of the Spirit provides a sure solution. Why, they will say, did he not add that this would be from the Spirit? What was said was a prophecy and was supposed to announce what he often spoke about in secret, due to the recklessness of those listening, so that they would not burn even the books when they clearly learned about it. If they did not spare the prophets, much less would they be shy with the Scriptures. And that what was said is not a guess, this is clear from the fact that another king under Jeremiah, taking these very books, cut them up and put them on fire. Do you see the madness unbearable? Do you see senseless anger? It was not enough for him to spoil the books, but he burned them, wanting to satisfy his unreasonable passion. Meanwhile, the amazing prophet, speaking in secret, nevertheless said everything. From whom, if not from the Holy Spirit, can a Virgin conceive while She remains a Virgin? No one else, except the Organizer of nature, is able to defeat the law of nature. Therefore, saying: “The Virgin will give birth,” he declared everything. Speaking about birth, he also names the name of the One who is being born and says: “and she will give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel.” But how, they will say, was given the name not Immanuel, as the prophet said, but Jesus Christ? But he did not say: you will name, but the nations will “name”, that is, this is already the outcome of events. Just as he calls Jerusalem the city of righteousness, although the city was never called righteousness, giving this name because of its deeds, because a great change for the better has occurred in it and because it is in the power of the righteous; and earlier, when he calls the city a harlot, it is not because the city was ever called that way, but he gives it that name because of its wickedness, and later he calls it by that name because of its virtue—the same should be said of Christ, because the prophet gave Him the name because of His works. Then God, who appeared on earth and lived with people, showing great care for us, was primarily with us. It was not an Angel, not an Archangel, who was with us; but the descended Lord Himself took upon Himself universal correction, speaking with harlots, reclining with tax collectors, entering the houses of sinners, giving hope to robbers, attracting magicians to Himself, going around everywhere and correcting everything, uniting nature itself with Himself. The prophet predicts all this, speaking together about the Born One and about the unspeakable and immeasurable gain that will come from this birth. When God became with people, there is no longer anything to fear or tremble, but you need to be calm about everything. And so it happened: the original and unshakable evil was destroyed, the rejection that weighed on the entire human race was removed; the power of sin has weakened, the power of the devil has been shaken; Paradise, inaccessible to everyone, is opened first of all to the murderer and the robber; the vaults of Heaven are open, people have entered into communication with the Angels; our nature has been elevated to the throne of the King, the bonds of hell have become unnecessary; death, stripped of its content, remained only in name; choirs of martyrs and women erased the sting of hell. The Prophet, foreseeing all this, rejoiced and rejoiced and expressed it all in one word, prophesying to us about Emmanuel: “The oil and honey will come before He knows whether to will evil or choose good. Before he knows whether to cast aside good or evil, he will put away evil even if he chooses good” (“He will eat milk and honey until he understands to reject evil and choose good;.. This Child will understand to reject evil and choose good”) (Is. 7:15-16). Since the Youth being born was not a simple man and was not only God, but was God in man, the prophet rightly changes the word, speaking now about this, now about that, setting out strange things and not allowing, for the sake of the excessiveness of the miracle, to reject the economy. Having said that the Virgin will give birth (which is higher than the forces of nature), and that the Begotten will be called Immanuel (which also exceeds all expectation), so that someone, having heard about Emmanuel, would not fall ill with Marcion and fall ill with Valentinus, out of foresight, he expressively gave the clearest proof of the economy, certifying Him from the meal. What is he saying? "He will eat milk and honey." This cannot be a property of the Divine nature, but it is a property of our nature. Therefore, He dwelt in man, not only taking on his image, but He endured conception and a nine-month stay in the womb, birth, swaddling clothes and nutrition of an early age, in order with all this to block the mouths of those who are plotting to deny the economy. Anticipating all of the above, the prophet speaks not only about birth and about that amazing Born, but also about nutrition at an early age, in the very swaddling clothes, which is no different from the nutrition of other people, and has nothing strange in this regard. It is impossible to say that everything in Him is different, nor that everything is common. The fact that He was born of a Woman is common; the same thing that was born from the Virgin, this is more than happens to us. Then, the fact that He had food according to the general law of nature is something He has in common with all people; to be a church inaccessible to evil, and not to endure temptation, is strange, unusual for us and belongs only to Him. Therefore, the prophet concerns both of them - having said: “He will eat milk and honey,” he added: “before he understands whether good or evil, he will reject the evil one and choose the good” (“for before this Child understands, he will reject the bad and choose the good”). He again expresses the same thought in the same expressions and emphasizes the word. Since what he said was very sublime, he certifies it with the persistence of the narrative. What he indicated above, saying: “until he understands to reject evil,” he pointed to this further, saying: “before this Baby understands”; then he takes advantage of the flow of the story and continues: “good or evil, he will reject the evil one, and choose the good (reject the bad and choose the good”). This repetition is what makes it unique. That is why Paul constantly turns to the same thing. Since Christ had to die, so that any of the infidels would not think that He was suffering punishment for His sin, the apostle constantly points out His sinlessness in order to show that His death is the cleansing of our sins. That is why he says: “Christ, having risen from the dead, dies no more” (Rom. 6:9). “For in that He died, He died only once to sin” (Rom. 6:10). He, he says, suffered death not as a guilty person, because of His sin, but for the common sin of all. If, accordingly, He was not responsible for the first death, then this proves more than is necessary that He will not die in the future. But we said this in passing; it's time to turn to the gospel again. “Rising from sleep,” it is said, “Joseph did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife” (Matthew 1:24). Look here at the husband’s wisdom and his complete impartiality. He neither tried to keep the Virgin with him when he suspected something shameful and indecent, nor did he insist on parting with Her when he was freed from that suspicion, but he accepts Her and serves the entire economy. The Evangelist constantly uses the name “wife,” not wanting that Sacrament to be revealed ahead of time, and at the same time not giving room for evil suspicion. “And You accepted... without knowing Her, until She gave birth to Her Firstborn Son” (“And He did not know Her until She finally gave birth to Her Firstborn Son”) (Matthew 1:24–25). He said here: “dondezhe” (“like finally”), not so that you would harbor the suspicion that after this he knew Her, but so that you would know that She remained completely inviolable before birth. But why, they will say, did he use this “dondezhe” (“like finally”)? Because in Scripture it is customary to do this often, using this phrase to denote an indefinite time - for example: the raven did not return to Noah, until the earth dried up, although he did not return then. And the psalms say: “The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool” (“The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool”) (Ps. 109:1). And Paul says: “It is fitting for Him to reign until He puts all enemies under His feet” (“For He must reign until He puts all enemies under His feet”) (1 Cor. 15:25). But neither here nor here “dondezhe” indicates the boundaries of time. Otherwise, how could the following prophetic word stand: “His dominion is everlasting, and His kingdom” (“Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and whose kingdom is”) - a kingdom that will not perish, and of His kingdom there will be no end (Dan. 4:31) - if he were to reign until such and such a time? So it is here: he said “dondezhe”, affirming what happened before birth; he left what happened after for you to think about. What you need to learn from him, he said this, saying that the Virgin remained untouchable until birth; that which follows from what has been said and is in agreement with it is left to you for reflection - for example, that he, being such a righteous man, did not subsequently want to know Her, who thus became a mother and was honored with such a new and wondrous way of birth. “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” for we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him” (Matthew 2:1-2). The enemies of truth, clinging to the word here, say: “So when Christ was born, a star appeared: this shows that astrology is a correct activity.” What can we say to this? We will begin the solution from the star itself. This star was not one of many stars; even more, she was not a star at all; it was an invisible force clothed in such a form. This is evident, firstly, from the fact that the sun, moon and stars, from the east, incline towards the west; the same star went from north to south, - after all, this is how Palestine lies in relation to Persia. Secondly, from the fact that it was visible not at night, but also in the middle of the day, in the light of the sun. Thirdly, from the fact that she appeared and disappeared. She was visible all the way to Palestine, while she led the magicians. But when they reached Jerusalem, she disappeared. Then, as soon as they left Herod, she appeared again. All this is characteristic not of a star, but of some intelligent force. Fourthly, from the fact that she indicated the place. She showed the place, descending down, because it was impossible to do this while remaining at the top, since the height is immeasurable, and, remaining there, it was impossible to outline and make noticeable to those who want to see such a narrow place. You see, there are so many reasons to think that that star was not one of many stars, and that it did not appear following an external birth at all. Why, they will say, did she appear? To strike at the insensitivity of the Jews. Since, constantly listening to what the prophets said about His coming, they did not listen to them, He forced the barbarians to come from a distant land, looking for the king of the Jews from themselves, so that they could learn in the language of the Persians what they could not learn from the prophets; so that they will have the greatest reason for conviction if they turn out to be well-meaning, and so that for the future all excuse will be taken away from them if they continue their obstinacy. God draws magicians through the star, calling them through what is familiar to them; He shows them a large and unusual star in order to amaze them with its size, beauty of appearance and manner of its procession. When He brought them and, guiding them, placed them at the manger, then He began to speak to them no longer through a star, but through an Angel. Through the star and through the Angel, He taught us through the Only Begotten Himself the sublime, the mysterious and beyond our understanding. Reflecting on the greatness of His condescension, let us give Him worthy honor and reward. Our reward to God cannot be anything other than the salvation of us and our souls, except concern for virtue and care for our brothers. Nothing else can be a sign and distinction of someone who believes in Christ and loves Him, except concern for our brothers and concern for their salvation - because Christ did not please Himself, but many. Paul says this: “Seeking not your own benefit, but the benefit of many, so that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:33). Knowing this, beloved, let us discuss our lives, let us have great concern for our brothers, let us maintain unity with them. That terrible, awe-inspiring sacrifice encourages us to do this, commanding us to approach it in the greatest unanimity, with ardent love and, having become eagles here, thus ascending to Heaven itself. “For where there is a corpse, there the eagles will gather” (Matthew 24:28), calling the body a corpse because it dies. If He had not been a corpse, we would not have been resurrected. He speaks about eagles, showing that he who approaches that Body must be elevated, must not have anything to do with the earth, must not rush down and become humble, but must constantly strive upward, look at the Sun of righteousness and have a keen mental gaze. After all, this is a meal for eagles, not jackdaws. Those who now eat worthily will meet Him when He descends from heaven; on the contrary, those who partake of the Meal unworthily will suffer the most terrible torments. If they don’t touch the king unnecessarily, what do I say: the king? - without need, they will not touch the royal clothes with unclean hands, even if the king were in the desert, even if he were alone, and there was no one with him yet, - and yet the clothes are nothing more than threads spun by worms and mulberry caterpillars, the color that you marvel at is only the blood of a killed fish, and yet they do not dare to touch it with unclean hands - so, if they do not dare unnecessarily touch human clothing, then how can we accept the Body of the God of all with such desecration - an undefiled, pure Body, participating in the Divine nature, by which we exist and live, by which the gates of death were broken and the vaults of Heaven were opened? I beg you, let us not destroy ourselves by shamelessness, but let us come to Him with trembling and all purity, so as not to suffer the most severe punishment. The more benefits we have received, the heavier the punishment we will accept if we find ourselves unworthy of the benefit. Before this Body, even when it lay in a manger, the magicians bowed in reverence, and men who did not know God, and barbarians, leaving their fatherland and home, made a long journey and, having arrived, worshiped Him with great fear and trembling. Let us imitate the barbarians, we, citizens of Heaven. They approached Him with great trepidation, seeing Him in the manger and under the tent and not seeing anything that we now see: but you see Him not in the manger, but on the altar; you see that it is not the woman who is holding Him, but the priest standing by, and the Spirit with great abundance overshadows the proposal. You see not just the Body itself, like those, but you know His power and all the economy; to you, who are thoroughly devoted to everything, nothing remains unknown to you that He has accomplished. Let us rise up and be filled with trembling, let us show greater purity than those barbarians, so that, by approaching recklessly and somehow, we do not bring fire on our own heads. I say this not so that they do not approach the Sacrament, but so that they do not approach it recklessly, because just as it is dangerous to begin that mysterious Meal without attention, so not to partake at all means hunger and death. This Meal is the engine of our soul, the force that binds our minds, the basis of boldness, hope, salvation, light, life. Going there with this Sacrifice, with great boldness we will reach the sacred gates, as if fenced on all sides by golden weapons. What am I talking about the future? Here this Sacrament makes the earth Heaven for you. Open the gates of Heaven and look at them - at the gates not even of heaven, but of the Heaven of heavens - and then you will see what was spoken about. I will show you what is most valuable there, lying on the ground. Just as in royal palaces the most valuable thing is not the walls, not the golden roof, but the body of the king sitting on the throne, so in heaven the most valuable thing is the Body of the King. But you can see Him on earth too. I will show you not Angels, not Archangels, not Heaven and the heavens of heavens, but their Lord Himself. Do you see how the most valuable of all things on earth is open to you? And you not only see, but also touch, and not only touch, but also taste and, having taken it, go home? Cleanse your soul, prepare your mind to receive these Sacraments. If you were given to carry the king's son in ornaments, purple and a diadem, would you not give up everything that is on earth? How, tell me, do you not tremble now, having taken into your hands not a royal human son, but the Only Begotten Son of God Himself? How do you not throw away all love for worldly things? How can you not be adorned with that one decoration, but still look at the earth, love money, greedily be drawn to gold? What excuse can there be for you? What's the excuse? Don’t you know how your Master does not favor every luxury in life? Is it not because He was placed in a manger at birth and chose a simple woman as His Mother? Is this why He said to a man who was thinking about benefits: “But the Son of Man has not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20)? What about the students? Didn't they follow the same law when visiting the houses of the poor? Didn't they stop - one at a tanner's, the other at a tent maker? Because they were looking not for the luxurious decoration of houses, but for the virtues of souls. Let us also imitate them, not paying attention to the beauty of columns and marbles and seeking a higher abode; Let’s trample on all local vanity, along with the passion for money, and accept the heavenly mind. If we are sober, this world will not be worthy of us, neither the portico nor the gallery. Therefore, I pray you, let us adorn our soul, with which we will go there to reach the eternal tabernacles, with the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Ἐκλογαί άπό διαφόρων λόγων . Under this name are known collections of conversations compiled by various persons after the death of Chrysostom on certain topics, from those related to the topics and especially liked by the compilers of the works of the saint. The passages are given partly in a literal presentation, partly in a free retelling and are borrowed both from the original works of Chrysostom, and from works only attributed to Chrysostom, which have not only survived to this day, but have also been lost. These Eclogues (selections) were widespread and were used by both private individuals and kings. Known, for example, is the luxurious collection of Eclogues, owned by the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros Botaniatus (1078–1081), registered among the codices of the Koalene Library under No. LXXIX. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: