Беседа 3

About Susanna and Joseph, with an admonition on chastity 1. Let the holy readings and divine sayings that we have just heard, brothers, be imprinted on our thoughts. Let them not disappear without a trace for us, but serve us for some edification; because if “a bird finds a place for itself, and a swallow a nest where to lay its young” (Ps. 83:4), then shouldn’t the word of God and the mercy of God find a place with us? So we heard a reading about Susanna. Let marital modesty increase; let it rest on such a strong foundation and be strengthened by such a wall as to drive out all those who plot against it and expose false witnesses. A woman remained pure, who should have died if there had not been someone who saw what was hidden from the judges. The words spoken by her in the garden, the place of her walk, are written down, which words were not heard by anyone except those two who wanted to encroach on the honor of a strange woman and invented a false testimony against her. Only the two of them heard these words: “I feel cramped everywhere; for if I do this, death is mine, and if I do not, I will not escape from your hands. It is better for me not to do this and to fall into your hands than to sin against the Lord” (Dan. 13:22-23). She treated what she heard with contempt, because she was afraid of Him whom she had not seen. Of course, she was visible to His Divine gaze, and not in such a way that God did not see her, just as she did not see God. God saw what He Himself created, observed His creation, dwelt in His church, He Himself was in it and answered the attackers. Because if he left a woman, the source of chastity, her chastity itself would perish. It’s too close for me everywhere, she says, however, she knew the One who could keep her from cowardice and protect her from the deceit of crafty witnesses, as if from a harmful wind. Her chastity was not destroyed, because the Lord was the pilot. Then a cry was heard, they came running and went to trial. The family believed the false witnesses. And although her previous purity, her unsullied life, seemed to provide sufficient proof of her chastity, it seemed ungodly not to believe those elders (witnesses). There was never any such rumor about Susanna. They are false witnesses, but so far only God knew this. One was believed by the family, and the other was seen by God. But what the Lord saw, people did not know. It seemed fair to believe the elders who were false witnesses. So, Susanna had to die. However, even if the flesh died, chastity would still be crowned. But the Lord heard her prayer, did not allow her to die, and kept her from committing adultery. The Lord aroused the holy spirit of Daniel, young in age, but strong in piety. Since the prophetic spirit rested in him, he immediately noticed the treachery of the witnesses. But he had to prove to others what he himself could see. “They are false witnesses,” said the prophet. “Return to court” (Dan.13:49)! But that they were false, only those to whom it was revealed by the Holy Spirit knew. It was necessary to show this to others. And so, wanting to expose false witnesses, Daniel asks that they be separated from one another. Then he asked them one by one. Although they had the same passion, they did not yet have time to come to complete unanimity. One, being asked under what tree he saw the adulterers, answered that under mastic, and the other - that under oak. The disagreement of witnesses revealed the truth and saved innocence. 2. However, innocence, as I have already said, brothers, would still be crowned and glorified, even if the body, which once had to die, was put to death. After all, we will all die. And anyone who wants to avoid death does not do something to destroy death, but only postpones what should be. Death holds everyone in its power. We all must repay the debt we inherited from Adam. And if we do not die, the Lender does not give release from this debt, but only some deferment of it. Susanna was a pious woman and a chaste wife, but still she had to die someday. But even if she were killed, then in what way would her chastity suffer when her body was buried, and her innocence was offered to God and rewarded by Him? And will you think that it is something priceless that false witnesses have not prevailed over an innocent woman? No, this does not amount to anything particularly great. Her great merit is that she did not sin before God. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself was slandered and crucified. But although the false witnesses triumphed for a moment, what harm could they cause to the Lord who had risen? So, by His example, our Lord Jesus Christ in His weak flesh, in the form of a servant, who took on to free a slave, to find the lost, to redeem the corruptible, to save the perishing, set an example for the servant not to be afraid of false witnesses and not to be afraid when others believe them. They can spread a false rumor, but they cannot offend a clear conscience. After all, three youths were saved from the fiery furnace; The Lord was with them. They walked in the fire unharmed, engulfed in flames all around, and without being burned, giving praise to God in the flame itself, and came out of there unharmed; The Lord was with them (Dan.3). But wasn’t the Lord also with the brothers of the Maccabees (2Mac.7)? Those came out of the fire unharmed, but these were soon burned. Both those and others were tested: these - having lost their flesh, and those - remaining with an intact body, but both of them received a reward. Nebuchadnezzar made a promise that if the three men remained intact in the flames, he would believe in their God. And Who could save them in front of everyone, could also crown them in secret. But if He had glorified them in secret, He would not have saved the king, who was so cruel. The salvation of their body, thus, served to save his soul. Those, glorifying God, escaped the material fire; this one, having believed in God, escaped the fiery hell. More, therefore, was given to the king than to the youths. Antiochus, who tortured the Maccabees, was not worthy of such mercy. Therefore, while they were dying from fire and torture, he rejoiced. But “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled” (Luke 18:14). 3. Who rescued the chaste Susanna, a faithful wife, from the false testimony of the elders, He also cleared the Virgin Mary from the false suspicion of His betrothed. She turned out to be not idle, although she did not have a husband. Her womb was not idle, and her virgin chastity remained untouched. She conceived the head of faith by faith, and received God into Her body, Who did not allow this body to be desecrated. Her betrothed, as a person, became suspicious. He, on the one hand, knew that it was not from him; on the other hand, he suspected adultery and was already admonished by an angel. Why was he worthy to receive admonition from an angel? Because the suspicion in him was not malicious, not that crafty suspicion that the apostle speaks of (1 Tim. 6:4). Crafty suspicions are characteristic of slanderers, benevolent suspicions are characteristic of leaders. It is permissible for anyone to have bad suspicions about a son, but it is indecent to slander a son, and although they sometimes suspect bad things, they still want to find good things. He who has a benevolent suspicion wants it not to be justified, and is very happy when his suspicion turns out to be false. Such was Joseph in relation to Mary, with whom he had no physical connection, although spiritually (by faith) he was united with Her. Thus a false suspicion arose regarding the Virgin Mary. But just as Susanna, in the person of Daniel, was protected by the Holy Spirit, so the Virgin Mary was protected by an angel who said to Joseph: “Do not be afraid to accept Mary your wife, for that which is born in Her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). Suspicion was lifted because an intercession was found. 4. So, if a little earlier the spouses could rejoice for Susanna, then let the virgins also rejoice now for Mary. Let both of them maintain chastity, the former – marital chastity, the latter – virgin chastity: both have value in the eyes of God, although virgin chastity is greater than marital chastity. However, both are pleasing to God, because they are a gift from God. Both achieve eternal life, but they will not receive the same honor, not the same dignity, not the same reward. After all, it will be exactly the same in eternal life and in the kingdom of heaven, as it happens, for example, in heaven. The stars are shining in the sky - so in the kingdom of heaven there will be only worthy believers. Life will be equally eternal for everyone. One will not live there more, another less, when we all live endlessly. The denarius that the workers in the vineyard will receive - both those who came early to the vineyard and those who came late (Matthew 20:9-10) - means the reward of eternal life, which will be the same for everyone. But look at the sky, remember the words of the apostle: “There are,” he says, “heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the glory of those in heaven is one, and that of the earth is another. There is another glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another of the stars; and star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead" (1 Cor. 15:40-42). So, brothers, let everyone strive in this age, according to the abilities that they have received, in order to inherit bliss in the future age. In marriage you expect less bliss, a lower reward, but do not despair of the eternal kingdom. However, the pleasures of marriage should, if possible, be reduced for you. Shouldn’t the fact that you are married make you aware that you are a stranger in this world, shouldn’t you remember about death and the fact that you will have to leave the bed of pleasure? Be attentive and see where you are heading - whether to the disasters of torment or to the bliss of eternity. Be careful and keep what you have received; bear your burden, for it is easy if you love it, and heavy if you hate it. Because it is not in vain that the Lord speaks and says only to those who are truly self-controlled: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30), - easy for the one who loves, heavy for the one who rejects. Have you put the yoke of the Lord on your neck? It is easy if you accept it willingly, and hard if you lay it down reluctantly. And wasn’t Susanna tempted in her chastity because she was married? Is it really only those who are married who are not tested in this regard? Susanna had a husband, but she was tempted and struggled in her temptation. “I am cramped everywhere,” she says (Dan. 13:22). She was afraid of dying as a result of false testimony, but at the same time she was afraid of receiving real spiritual death from God. As a result of false testimony, she would have lost this temporary life, and by the judgment of God she would have been subjected to eternal punishment. She weighs her situation and struggles. Scared at first and thinking about it; ponders and fights, fights and wins. Thus, she taught married women to resist temptation, taught them to fight, taught them to suffer and pray. 5. But if the Holy Scripture presents such evidence about women, then it has not forgotten about husbands and it finds in them an example to follow. We saw Susanna being tempted by husbands who encroached on her honor, we saw her struggling. This reading about Susanna was like a spectacle for our soul; We saw a fighter with a chaste spirit, a heroine entering the battle. Let us celebrate together with the winner the victory over the vanquished. Here pious wives have an example that they can imitate. But let them consider themselves obligated to God for what they preserve, to the One who sees what the spouse may not notice. The husband is often absent, but God is always watching. And if sometimes the husband, since he is a man, suspects what is false, then let the wife pray for her husband who suspects what is false. Let him pray that he will be freed from suspicion. A husband's false suspicion does not close the eyes of God. Her conscience is open before the Creator. For temporary suffering He rewards eternal bliss. But let her pray for her husband and try to have not only a good life, but also a good reputation. By a good life, innocence is freed from condemnation, and good fame saves others from error and sin, from an erroneous verdict, similar to how the judges who condemned Susanna made a mistake; and Daniel, or better, through Daniel, the Lord delivered those judges rather than Susanna from sinful death. He saved her, but from temporary torment. He delivered them so that, as a result of a bad trial and condemnation, they would not be subjected to eternal punishment from That Judge, Whom no one can deceive, and from Whom no one can hide. 6. I have already said about husbands that they are not left without an example. Men who are chaste, men who fear God, men who are content with their wives, men who do not defile what you do not want to be desecrated, men who observe the fidelity that you demand from others, expect from me what your wives expected when they read about Susanna. The Divine Scripture has not left you without an example. They, the wives, heard about Susanna and rejoiced at her victory. Look at Joseph, not the same Joseph to whom the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Christ, was betrothed, because he too was tempted by suspicion and was corrected after that by an angel. Scripture also testifies about another Joseph, about whom a shameless wife wanted to seduce. She fell in love with him, the beautiful, not with a pure, but a corrupted desire, unable to see the inner, spiritual beauty. I fell in love with the beauty of the body, but not the purity of the spirit. She fell in love with a stranger, her husband’s slave, but did not love him who remained faithful to his master. Do you think she loved him or rather herself? I think neither him nor myself. If she loved him, why did she want to destroy him? If I loved myself, why would I want to die? Thus, she did not love either him or herself. She burned with the poison of lust, and not with the fire of love. But he could see what she couldn't. He was even more beautiful in soul than in body, more beautiful in the beauty of his heart than in the outer beauty of his body. Where the eyes of that woman could not penetrate, there he himself enjoyed his own beauty. Treasuring the inner beauty of chastity, how could he allow it to be desecrated, dishonored by the dirty inclinations of that woman? She loved, but he loved too; and what he loved was higher than what she loved, because he saw what she did not see. 7. If you want to know what the spiritual beauty of chastity is, if you have some eye ability to discern it, I will explain this to you a little: you love that beauty in your wife. Don’t try to mock in someone else’s wife what you love in your own. But what exactly do you love in your wife? Of course, chastity. You don’t tolerate it in someone else’s wife and love it in yours?! You cannot tolerate chastity in someone else’s life when you want to destroy her purity. But is it not that you want to destroy in someone else’s wife what you value in your own? How can you demand purity when you are a chastity killer? Protect in another what you protect in yours. Love chastity more than the body. But perhaps you imagine that in your wife you value her body more than the purity of her soul - this is a low excuse. But even here I do not leave you without an example, since I think that you value chastity more in your wife than the beauty of her body. But in order to show you that you certainly value the purity of the soul more than the body, here I point you to your daughter, in whom you respect chastity more than the beauty of the body. Who among the people does not want their daughters to be chaste? Who does not rejoice in the chastity of his daughters? Do you really love the body here too? But do you really desire a beautiful body where you are horrified by criminal incest? So I proved to you that you value spiritual purity. If so, then why have you annoyed yourself that you don’t love spiritual purity in yourself? After all, you benefit from it. So, love in yourself what you love in your daughter, love the same in someone else’s wife, because your daughter will one day be someone else’s wife. Love purity in yourself too. If you love someone else's wife, you will not immediately have her. If you love chastity, you will immediately master it. So, love chastity in order to achieve bliss. 8. But perhaps you will be subjected to this temptation: a shameless woman will fall in love with you, catch you somewhere alone and try to force an embrace from you. If you don’t agree, he will threaten you with punishment as a result of slander. This is what the false witnesses did to Susanna. His master's wife did the same to Joseph. But look at the One to whom Susanna and Joseph looked. Is it really because there is not a single witness and God is not there? It was precisely his gaze that Joseph did not want to offend, the gaze of His Lord who was with him. He did not want to agree to an illicit marriage with a shameless woman, he drove away other people's lust, and preserved his chastity. She did, however, what she threatened, she slandered her husband, and he believed her, to such an extent is the Lord patient. Joseph is imprisoned, kept as a criminal, although he has not sinned before the Lord. But even there the Lord was with him, because he was not guilty. The Lord helped Joseph, who was suffering. And that he did not immediately help, he did it in order to glorify him more, and worthily glorified the one whom he tested with patience. True, righteous Joseph had to endure something cruel and offensive for his chastity. But if he loved a shameless woman, he would, of course, be ready to endure bitterness for her; and she would not have appreciated his love for her if he were not ready to suffer for her, and would not reciprocate her love, or, better said, not love, but evil lust. She would be even more inflamed for him when she saw that he was inflamed with such love for her that he would not refuse to endure any kind of suffering for it. If this is so for a shameless woman, then how much more should one have been ready to suffer for chastity? Therefore, it is good that the Lord did not rush here with His help, with the goal of encouraging man, so that he himself would reach the consciousness of true glory. Nothing is hidden from God. 9. So, I want to convince your love of this, brethren, so that first of all, over the lusts of the flesh and the joys of this age, the vanity, inconstancy and delights of this life, you prefer beauty, sweetness and pleasure to wisdom, beauty to modesty and purity. These are treasures stored in the heavenly treasury. These are precious bright diamonds, shining before the eyes of God, and you will see them if your eyes are capable of it. Prefer them to perverse and illicit pleasures. And if the trial reaches such a measure that you have to suffer, my brethren, then who will not suffer for his treasures? Who will not suffer for his field and even for one inch of his land? If you are ready to suffer for these things, which you cannot even dispose of, which we are often deprived of during our lifetime, and which after our death pass to our enemies - if for these goods (if we can call something that does not make anyone blessed) people calmly endure various adversities, then why not suffer for the treasures of heaven, for those treasures that no misfortunes can deprive us of? A righteous person who has lost his property becomes both poor and rich. 10. Righteous Job abounded in such wealth. Everything suddenly perished for him; there was nothing left in the house that it was rich in before. Suddenly he became a beggar, covered in dust, covered from head to toe with worms. What is greater than this misfortune? But what is greater than Job’s inner bliss? He lost everything that God had given him, but he had Himself, God who gave everything. “Naked,” he said, “I came from my mother’s womb, and naked will I return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away... blessed be the name of the Lord!” ( Job 1:21 ). Surely he was poor? Of course, he had nothing. And if he had nothing, then about what treasure were these precious praises offered to God? After everything had already been taken away, He left him another wife - a temptress, left Eve. But it was not Adam. And what was he like then? How did you respond to your wife’s slander? “You speak,” he said to her, “like one of the madmen: will we really accept good from God, but not accept evil?” ( Job 2:10 ). O husband, rotting and unharmed! Oh, fetid and beautiful! Oh, ulcerated and healthy! Oh, he who sits in ashes and reigns in heaven! If we love him, we will imitate him, and in order to imitate, we will endure. And if we begin to weaken in patience, we will pray for help. The one who allowed the struggle will help the struggling one. God does not demand a fight from you like the crowd does from a gladiator: they scream, but do not know how to help; not as a lover of spectacles expects an athlete - he prepares a wreath of flowers, but does not know how to support the strength of the athlete when he weakens, he does not know, because he is a man, not God. And perhaps he himself, while he watches, suffers more than the one who fights. God helps His servants when they call on Him. Here is the voice of His ascetic in the psalm: “When I said: “My foot falters,” Thy mercy, O Lord, supported me” (Ps. 93:18). So, let's not be lazy, my brothers - let's ask, seek, knock. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:8). You might be interested in: