Беседа на Святую Пасху 38 . Святого Иоанна Златоустого, архиепископа Константинопольского

We have laid aside the burden of fasting, but let us not put aside the fruits of fasting: for it is possible to lay aside the burden of fasting and reap the fruits of fasting. The labor of exploits has passed, but zeal for good deeds should not pass; The fast has passed, but let piety remain - or better said, the fast has not passed either. The physical fast has passed, but the spiritual fast has not passed; this post is better than that, and that one is established for this purpose. It is possible to not fast while fasting; You can fast without fasting. How can you not fast while fasting? This happens when someone abstains from food, and does not abstain from sins. How can you fast without fasting? This happens when someone eats food but does not touch sin. This fast is not only better, but also easier: during this fast, use everything, but just refrain from sin. Do you see how this post is convenient for everyone? With him, one cannot refer to bodily weakness: this is a pure matter of the soul. You can be drunk without drinking wine, but you can also drink wine and be sober. Intoxication is nothing more than an unnatural frenzy of thoughts, a perversion of reason, a lack of reasoning, an impoverishment of prudence; and this comes not only from intoxication with wine, but also from intoxication with anger and obscene lust. Listen to what (Apostle) Paul says: do not get drunk with wine, for in it there is fornication (Eph. 5:18). Drunkenness, taking possession of the minds of drunkards, like dissolute youths, and captivating their minds, forces them to spend their entire stock of thoughts imprudently and without any caution. A drunk person does not know what to say and what to remain silent about - he does not know how to manage the wealth of thoughts, he does not know how to save one thing and spend another, but he spends and spews everything out. Drunkenness is a voluntary frenzy, a debasement of thoughts; drunkenness is a misfortune worthy of laughter, a disease worthy of ridicule, arbitrary insanity; it is worse than insanity. We all pity the demoniac, but we turn away from this one (the drunken one); We sympathize with him, but with this we are angry and indignant. Why? - because this one’s illness is from misfortune, and this one’s is from carelessness, this one is from the malicious intent of enemies, and this one is from a bad mood of thoughts. A drunken man is unpleasant to friends, ridiculous to enemies, despised by servants, disgusting to his wife, unbearable to everyone, more disgusting than the most dumb. Dumb animals drink as long as they feel thirsty and limit their desire to needs, but this one, due to his intemperance, extends his desire beyond need and becomes more reckless than dumb animals. A drunk is more pitiful than a dead man. He lies without feelings and does neither good nor evil; but this one is capable of doing evil and, confining the soul in his body, as in a coffin, carries a dead body. Do you want me to tell you something more important and terrible than all this? A drunken person cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Who says this? - (Apostle) Paul. Do not flatter yourself: neither harlots, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor covetous people, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor molesters, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9,10). Have you heard into what company the Apostle placed him? Together with debauchees, with fornicators, with idolaters, with adulterers, with blasphemers, with covetous people, with robbers. Truly, beloved, drunkenness is a serious and very harmful thing. Do not get drunk with wine... but be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). This is wonderful intoxication: saturate your soul with the Spirit, so as not to saturate it with drunkenness; Fill your mind and your thoughts with this in advance, so that shameless passion does not find a place in them. Therefore, it is not said: “partake of the Spirit,” but: be filled with the Spirit. Fill your soul to the top with the Spirit, like a cup, so that the devil can no longer put anything into it: for you must not just partake of the Spirit, but be filled with the Spirit, psalms, songs and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19). We have a wonderful cup for intoxication, which produces abstinence, not relaxation. Which one? A spiritual cup, a saving cup, a pure cup of the Blood of the Lord. It does not exhaust one’s strength, but stimulates one’s strength; it serves as an object of reverence for Angels, an object of horror for demons, an object of veneration for people, an object of love for the Lord. Let us revel in this rapture, and let us abstain from it, so as not to disgrace the real holiday... Let us celebrate this greatest and brightest holiday, on which the Lord rose, let us celebrate it lightly and together piously. The Lord rose and resurrected the universe along with Him - He rose again, breaking the bonds of death. Do you see what the resurrection does? We died a double death, and therefore we expect a double resurrection. Christ died one death; That is why He was resurrected by one resurrection. How is this? – I’ll tell you. Adam died both in body and soul, he died both in sin and in nature: if you take one day from the tree, you will die (Gen. 2:17). However, he did not die by nature that same day, but died by sin; this is the death of the soul, and this is the death of the body. However, when you hear about the death of the soul, do not think that the soul is dying: it is immortal; and the death of the soul is sin and eternal punishment. Therefore, Christ says: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; fear rather than him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28); and what is lost exists, but is only invisible to the one who has lost it. Our death (as I said) is twofold, therefore the resurrection must be twofold. But Christ has one death: for Christ did not sin; but this one death was for us, because the Lord was not subject to death (since He was not involved in sin, therefore, in death). Therefore, He was resurrected by resurrection only from death alone; and we, who died a double death, are resurrected by a double resurrection. We are the only ones who have risen from sin so far: for we were buried with Him in baptism, and rose up with Him through baptism. This is one resurrection, the remission of sins; and the second resurrection is the resurrection of the body. He gave you more, expect less: the first resurrection is much more important than the last: for it is much more important to get rid of sins than to see the body resurrected. The body perished because it sinned; therefore, if sin is the beginning of the fall, then the beginning of the uprising is liberation from sin. We have already risen through a greater resurrection, having been delivered from the heavy death of sin and having taken off our old clothes: let us not despair of receiving less. We once arose by (one) resurrection, when we were baptized... Observe, O man, this great gift (of baptism). You are not allowed to live indifferently (at random). Assign a law to yourself with all precision: for life is a feat and a struggle; but if you strive, you will abstain from everything (1 Cor. 9:25). Shall I tell you what is the best and most reliable way to perfection in virtue? Let us protect the soul from what seems indifferent, but gives rise to sins (for some actions are sins, while others are not sins, but are the cause of sins). For example, laughter, by its nature, is not a sin, but it becomes a sin if it extends beyond measure, since from laughter comes wit, from wit - shaming, from shaming - shameful deeds, and from shameful deeds - punishment and torment. Therefore, first pluck out the root in order to destroy all the disease. If we are wary of the indifferent, we will never allow ourselves the forbidden. Thus, for many it seems indifferent to look at women; but from this voluptuous lust is born, from lust - adultery, and after adultery again - punishment and torment. So luxury seems to be a completely blameless thing, but from here comes countless evils. So, in everything we will destroy the beginning of sins... So that you know the superiority of grace, the greatness of the spiritual power that you received in baptism, the Lord allows the enemy (the devil) to enter into a fight with you, giving you many opportunities to receive crowns... The grace (of baptism) is great, but it will be even greater if we want. And Paul (the apostle) was great when he was baptized, but he became even greater later when he preached, when he shamed the Jews; then he was caught up into paradise and ascended to the third heaven. Thus, we too can, if we wish, grow, increase the grace given to us in baptism; and it increases through good deeds, becomes brighter through them and gives us the clearest light. If this comes true, then with great boldness we will enter the bridal chamber together with the Bridegroom and begin to enjoy the blessings (prepared for those who love Him), of which may we all be worthy by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory and worship forever and ever. Amen. 39. The title of this conversation says: a conversation against drunkards and about the resurrection, spoken on the holy and great Sunday of Easter. Oper. S. Chrysost. Edit. Montfauc., vol. II, pag. 517. In short. See 76 words of St. Zlat. for different occasions - hands-on IX century, Moscow. Synod, bib. (128 – CXXIX), l. l. 8–12; Wed Words and conversations of St. Zlat, for different occasions, ed. St. Petersburg Spirit. Academician 1865, vol. II, pp. 149–167; Full Collected, created, holy. Zlat., ed. 1896, vol.II, pp. 474–484: Resurrection. Read XX (1856–57), pp. 1–4. You might be interested in: