156. Слово в день обретения мощей Святителя Алексия

(Printed in the 1844 and 1848 collections) 606 Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing yourself, in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, singing in grace in your hearts to the Lord. ( Col. 3:16 ). If you need experience and an example of what success in spiritual life can be achieved by simple teaching in psalms, and chants, and spiritual songs, according to the leadership of the Church of Christ: then for this we can point to many glorified Saints in the Church, and among them the now glorified Lamp of the Russian Church. For what means did he have for his instruction? Schools? They did not flourish in his time: and he did not seek education in the school, but in the monastery of monastics. From teaching in psalms and chants and spiritual songs, according to the rite of the church, a spiritual light shone in him, which, growing, lifted him to the high candlestick, illuminated the church with his wisdom and holiness, and still illuminates him with miraculous grace. What a simple way - by practicing the word of psalmody, to reach a pure spiritual state, to the salvation of the soul, to the glory of the children of God! and, moreover, the path is certainly the right one: because the Apostle Paul showed it; because Saint Alexy passed through it. And if so: then it is worthy of surprise, and regret, and careful reflection that many walk this path for a long time, and do not achieve far; - they practice for a long time in church and home worship, but even after such an abundant sowing of spiritual seed in their feelings and thoughts, not only a hundredfold, less than a hundredfold spiritual fruit is not visible in them. According to the structure and order of the Church of Christ, we are all disciples of the word of Christ: do our successes correspond to the goal and continuation of our teaching? – So that you can test yourself in this, we repeat one of the initial lessons of your teaching. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing yourself, in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Under the name “the word of Christ,” in the instruction of the Apostle, according to the guidance of his other sayings, one should understand, firstly, “the beginnings of the word of Christ” (Heb. 6:1), or the original Christian teaching, about repentance from the dead, that is, sinful deeds, about faith in God, about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment; secondly, “the word of the cross” (1 Cor. 1:18), or the teaching about the salvation of a sinner through the suffering on the cross and death of the God-man Jesus Christ; thirdly, “the hidden wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 2:7), the revelation of the sublime mysteries of the Divine by the Holy Spirit, “testing by the spirit of the depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10), much about which those who know for the most part do not dare and cannot speak, and about which we who do not know would in vain strive to produce dumb speeches. The great and immense word of Christ! And what does the Apostle require from his disciples in relation to this word? “Let the Word of Christ,” he says, “dwell in you.” This is not like listening to this word from time to time from the mouth of another, or pronouncing it with your own lips, or being able to sometimes recall it to memory. It is required that it “inhabits” us, and consequently lives in us. - How? - So that other thoughts in the mind, other desires in the heart are accepted as guests, admitted as strangers, for a while, according to need; and the word of Christ was a constant thought in the mind, the dominant desire in the heart, and the soul in all activities. The generous mentor adds: “Let him dwell in you richly, in all wisdom”: that is, it is necessary that you do not remain with the meager childhood beginnings of the teaching of Christ, but gradually acquire new, more abundant successes in it; so that no wisdom, even hidden in secret, is considered alien to you and does not belong to you, but with humility your mind is adjusted to Divine contemplation, and your heart to heavenly sensations. But how to do all this? – A skillful mentor for a great task offers a rather simple method, or, so that we can understand it more separately, contains two in one method. The Apostle suggests, firstly, to exercise the mind through psalmody: “samekh often and admonishing oneself, in psalms and singing and spiritual songs.” What a convenient way of spiritual education! They do not send you to schools for long and difficult lessons, for which many would not have enough time or ability; You are not forced to look far for excellent mentors if you do not have such in mind: you are offered a kind of self-education and mutual education in Christianity. Practice, they tell you, in psalms and spiritual songs; this is not so much work as spiritual entertainment; just do this not simply and without attention, but at the same time teach and admonish yourself and each other. When you hear or pronounce the words of a psalm, or other spiritual hymn, or church reading: gather your thinking power in them, deepen your attention, notice what truth is contained in them, or what secret is revealed, or what rule of life is taught. If not in sheaves, like the rich, then, at least in the likeness of the poor, in small classes and grains, gather the seed of life in the great field of the church: in this way you will gather enough to sow your small spiritual field. If you come across something that is not clear to you; and if, moreover, it is not curiosity that prompts you to seek understanding: turn to another attentive and experienced one, and especially to a mentor appointed by the church, so that one from another may receive instruction in what has been revealed to whom. Will it happen that your neighbor, just like you, does not understand: turn again to the same psalms, and they will give you help against this difficulty, teaching you to cry out in prayer to God: “Open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders of your law” (Ps. 119:18). Quiet prayer, like silent Mary, at the feet of Christ, is incomparably more learned than an amateur, fussy mind, like Martha, speaking about many things, with its wisdom and external aids of knowledge. See how Archangel Gabriel teaches Daniel the revelation of the mysteries, and together explains the way in which the Prophet achieved this high knowledge. “While I was still speaking in prayer,” the Prophet says about himself, “and behold the man Gabriel, soaring, brought me to understanding, and said: Daniel, now I have expired to give you understanding. At the beginning of your prayer the word came forth, and I came to tell you that you are a man of desires” (Dan.9:21-23). Wonderful Divine School! Disciple on earth; teacher in heaven: before the student has time to express the desire for heavenly instruction, the lightning of revelation flashes in heaven, and the word of the Divine descends to earth in the mouth of a heavenly messenger. You must receive knowledge: says the Archangel to the Prophet; because you are a man who prays: “like you are a man of desires.” Let the one who hears this not think: this example does not concern me; for I am not a Prophet. What does it matter if you are not a Prophet? From this we can only conclude that it is probably not the Archangel who will be sent to you, and it is not the revelation of destinies that will be taught to you; but at least one of the lesser Angels, nevertheless, in the words of the Church, a “faithful mentor,” can enlighten you about what you need to understand for your salvation: just give him access to you through your prayer: “as you are a man of your desires.” Secondly, the Apostle suggests feeding the heart with psalmody: “singing in grace in your hearts to the Lord.” If it is necessary, as has already been somewhat explained, for the word of Christ to live in a Christian, then, without a doubt, it would not be enough to try to form the mind with it, without special care for the heart. What is usually called enlightenment in the world is nothing more than a lunar flicker of light and life, and not the full light and life of the spirit. The true beginning of spiritual life, like the sun, sheds a warm light, shining in the mind with truth, and warming the heart with love for good. Even predominantly, spiritual life is revealed in the heart, at least its closest degree, to which we ascend from the carnal life of fallen Adam. This is how the ancient royal sage teaches: “Guard your heart with all care: from these come life” (Prov. 4:23). “The Lord opens the heart,” so that a person “attends” (Acts 16:14) the word of Christ, and it dwells in him. “The love of God is poured out into hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us” (Rom. 5:5). “God sends the Spirit of his Son into the hearts, crying to Abba the Father” (Gal.4:6). The Apostle teaches us to correspond with such grace-filled actions of the Divine on the human heart with a mutual heartfelt action, and to dispose ourselves to accept them when he exhorts “to sing in grace to the Lord in our hearts.” When performing a sacred chant, or participating in it, be careful not to participate in it with your lips alone; because the Lord complains with anger about those people who “draw their lips close to him” only, and whose “heart is far away” (Is. 29:13) from Him; - also not by hearing alone, although it was not without understanding; because “the word of hearing does not profit unless it is mixed with the faith of those who hear” (Heb. 4:2). But stir up your heart so that it responds from within to the external psalm, in spiritual consonance; so that, with cries of repentance, it would be lamented and touched, before the words of faith and mysteries, it would be in awe and humbled, with the voices of praise, it would admire the sky, when love for God and hope for him are sung, it would have fun and rejoice, with spiritual songs, depicting a spiritual, God-pleasing life, with all its desires it would cry out to this longed-for life; finally, so that even when the singing ceases on the lips, it still resonates in the heart and is renewed by the recollection and repetition of grace-filled sensations. If anyone finds it perplexing that the Apostle commands us to sing in our hearts “in grace,” which does not depend on us; and therefore, it seems, it is not subject to the commandment: then, to answer this, we can point to singers worthy of imitation, “having the harp of God, standing on a sea of ​​glass mixed with fire” (Rev. 15:2). Grace is like this sea: it is so limitless; so water-fiery; for it waters a thirsty heart and ignites a cold one. You may not yet be standing on this sea, but on the earth, because you are tied to the earth by thoughts, desires, and passions: but take a step and stand on the sea of ​​glass, clean and bright; reject earthly attachments, desires, thoughts, and you will find yourself in grace; and then you will know how conveniently the Apostolic commandment is fulfilled, “to sing in your hearts in grace.” This, beloved fellow disciples, is the Apostolic lesson about instilling the word of Christ in us. Is it necessary to remind us what has been done to the Church to further facilitate our spiritual teaching? Psalms, chants, spiritual songs, edifying readings, selected from the sacred books, supplemented by pure outpourings of the Spirit through the mouths of the God-bearing Fathers, arranged by day and hour; the heavenly school, together with the sanctuary, is open to everyone. Well? Are we teaching ourselves enough? Are we sufficiently admonishing each other? What are our spiritual successes in teaching and in life? Three times a day we hear in church the symbol of the holy faith: but what essentially is the saving truth of faith, how little others know! Years are spent among psalms and spiritual songs: but the words of Christ, who has taken possession of himself, are not revealed; “Spiritual fruit,” which “is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, faith, meekness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23), does not bear fruit in maturity and abundance. Every day in the church they hear the stirring voice: “Woe is our hearts”: but they do not strive to lift up their hearts, without care they leave them down, filled with vanity, white, hardened, petrified. What will happen next? - according to the prevailing habit and numerous examples, probably everyone too. What finally? “This educational time, this educational life will end, not as in external schools at a certain time, but completely unexpectedly, and we will be called upon to be tested openly before the whole world, at the Last Judgment of God. How then can we excuse our spiritual lack of success? I know the apologies invented for this occasion. Not everyone, they say, can be teachers and theologians; Not everyone can be a Saint. It is true that not everyone is destined for the gift and duty of teaching, and that the Apostle does not desire “many teachers” (James 3:1); and the Church has not honored many with the name of Theologians. However, no one in Christianity is allowed to be anything other than a scientist and remain ignorant. Did not the Lord Himself call Himself a teacher and His followers disciples? Before Christians began to be called Christians, they were all called disciples. Are these really idle names that mean nothing? And why did the Lord send the Apostles into the world? - first of all, teach all nations: “Go and teach all languages” (Matthew 28:19). If you do not want to teach and admonish yourself in Christianity, then you are not a disciple or follower of Christ: the Apostles were not sent for you; you are not what all Christians have been since the very beginning of Christianity; I don’t know what you are and what will happen to you. As for those who want to base their hope of salvation on this, of course not holy, dogma: not everyone can be saints; It is enough to say one holy word against them: “Have peace,” writes the Apostle, “with everyone, and holiness except for them, that is, without peace and holiness, no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). The sentence pronounced by the world against itself will come true, that not everyone can be saints: but what will happen to those who do not strive through repentance, faith, spiritual teaching, reverent living to be cleansed, enlightened, and, sooner or later, “to have something holy”? The apostle has already decided their fate: “they will not see the Lord.” Brethren! May our negligence and inattention not separate us from the Lord. Let us stop thinking, if anyone has thought until now, that we can please Him by performing only certain duties, only outwardly, and how it will happen. “The God of understanding is the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:3). “God looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). And so it is absolutely necessary to internally prepare and arrange our mind and our heart for the kingdom of God. Let us use for this the means that the Church so generously gives us, constantly teaching and admonishing us, if only we wish to learn and be admonished. Let us take into our active guidance the Apostolic word, once written for the Christians of Colossians, but certainly not bypassing each of us and spoken by the Holy Spirit: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing yourself, in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, singing in grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Amen. In the index on Thursday. O. L. D. P. is listed as pronounced in 1841. 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