Homily 2 for the Week of Orthodoxy

The terrible judgment that you will soon hear, listeners, refers, by the way, to “those who have taken away all the holy sacraments contained in the Church of Christ.” By the grace of God, all of us who belong to the Orthodox Church firmly maintain the holy sacraments; We don’t dare even think that we can sweep them away. But there are quite a few around us who are not afraid to renounce such a mystery as the mystery of the Holy Eucharist; they are not even afraid to sometimes utter terrible blasphemies against this terrible secret. There is no reason to hide the illnesses of some of us, brothers. There are enough among us who, although they will not sweep away the holy secret with their tongues, and yet do not participate in it for various pretexts. Let us come closer to the meaning of the church's judgment on those who remove secrets by reflecting on how we all need to partake of the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, and how unfounded are the excuses for which many do not partake of this sacrament. Who established the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? The Son of God Himself, the Lord Jesus. “Take, eat,” He said to the disciples, “this is My body, broken for you. Drink of it, all of you, this is My blood of the new testament.” (1 Cor. 11:24–25; Matt. 26:27–28). Do you hear, the Lord Himself commands: Drink from it, all of you. A decisive command, a command that applies to everyone without exception, a command from the Lord himself. What more? Let's listen to another witness about the same thing. “For I received from the Lord,” says the apostle, “and gave it unto you, as the Lord Jesus in the night, when he was betrayed, received bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which was broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same way I also took the cup at supper, saying: This cup is the new covenant in My blood. “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until it comes” (1 Cor. 11:23-26). What could be clearer than these words? The Apostle accurately repeats the will of the Lord: take, eat. The apostle conveys the will of the Lord in words that are completely clear and definite; For all who belong to the new covenant, he says, this supper is established: this cup is the new covenant in my blood; all who want to remember the Lord must participate in this supper: do this in remembrance of Me. The Apostle also added his own words about the meaning of the words of the Lord; until then, he says, this supper is to be celebrated, until the Lord comes to judgment, that is, until the end of the age: as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until it comes. Now asking: Is it necessary to do the will of the Lord? Without a doubt it is necessary; for woe to those who do not repent of the will of the Lord. Is it necessary to fulfill the will of the Lord, which extends to all times? Even more necessary; for in this case, woe to everyone, no matter who he is and no matter when he lives, if he despises this will. So, think about whether it is necessary to partake of the Lord’s Supper when it was established by the Lord himself, established for all times, established for everyone? And what is offered at the Lord's Supper? “The cup of blessing,” the apostle teaches, “is not the fellowship of the blood of Christ? The bread we break, is not the fellowship of the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 10:16)? So, at the Lord’s Table, the very body of the Lord is offered under the guise of bread, and the life-giving blood of the Lord under the guise of wine. Tell me, from what do they move away when they move away from the Lord’s Supper? What is neglected by neglecting the Lord's Supper. It's scary to think! What actions does the Eucharist accomplish in those who partake of it? What do those who retreat from it lose? “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood,” says the Lord, “abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:56). Here is the first act of the great mystery! Oh, wonderful and glorious mystery! He who partakes of the mystery of the Eucharist is united with the Lord himself. Oh, the wondrous, incomprehensible goodness of God! Brethren! Tell me what good—a higher one—could a person desire after this immeasurable good? The clay unites with the Creator! The sinner unites with the All-Holy! The poor, weak, half-dead - unites with the Life-Giving and Almighty! What more could a person wish for? And what can he not hope for from such mercy? And truly, listen to the words of the Lord: “This is My blood...,” He said, “for you and for many, which is shed for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28), that is, in this cup is My blood, the blood that is shed for the remission of sins; drink it, it forgives the sins of sinners, it sanctifies sinners. “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood will have eternal life” (John 6:54), says the Lord. So here comes more mystery action! She gives eternal life. Do you suffer in soul and body? she is a reviving medicine. Are you exhausted in the fight against passion? Come to the Holy Eucharist - it gives new strength. Who can count all the actions of a wonderful mystery, when it is the mystery of life? The tangible fruit of eating it is for the believer either light in the mind, or joy in the heart, or sweet peace in the soul, or a lively feeling of love for the Lord, or zeal for spiritual deeds. If the Holy Eucharist is the bread of life, bestowing both forgiveness of sins and spiritual strength: then what is a person left with when he deprives himself of this life-giving bread? With sins and passions. What a dangerous situation! But isn't this human fortune-telling? No, brethren; the work of our salvation is not based on fortune-telling, but on the faithful word of the Lord. “Unless you have eaten the flesh of the Son of man or drunk His blood, you have not life within you” (John 6:53). Who speaks these words? The Son of God Himself, our Lord Himself, whose every word to her and amen is true, immutable, like nothing else in the world. What do these words mean? They are very clear: whoever does not want to partake of the body and blood of the Lord, like a Jew, cannot be alive. The Christian was born in the water of baptism; the water of baptism, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, formed a new man in him, this is a spiritual baby. Imagine: if you didn’t give the baby food and drink, would he still be alive? No! The power of grace acceptable in baptism is, of course, stronger than the power of life imparted to the child at birth; it is once given and is not destroyed. But do you know what earthly life means for a Christian? Do you know how many temptations, how many illnesses, how many dangers the soul experiences even after birth in the water of baptism! To what exhaustion her sins and passions can bring her! Where is the reinforcement for her weak, where is the food for her hungry, where is the consolation for her stricken with sorrows? And how far can she go, exhausted by sins and passions? Have you ever seen a poor baby struggling with death, tormented by the pangs of separation of body from life? You see - he is not dead yet; but what a terrible life this is! You close your eyes so as not to see the terrible struggle between life and death. Make sure that this is an exact image of that soul that has been left without heavenly food for many years, or always. She is called alive, she has not yet died: but her situation is terrible! Spiritual death torments her. Spiritual life in her is undeveloped and remains in infancy; and passions and sins dried her up, tormented her, and brought her to complete disorder. The word of the Lord is true: if you do not bear the flesh of the Son of man, you do not drink His blood, you do not have life in you. How do people justify their avoidance of the sacrament of the Eucharist? “We believe, some say, that the Holy Eucharist is a great thing: but where is it now?” This means that now, as these people say, we have no church, no secret. Unhappy - they are at enmity both against the Church of Christ and against the terrible secret. The blinded ones do not see what a terrible fate awaits them - the rebels. They will face the same fate that befell the rebellious angels who were cast out of heaven for rebellion into Gehenna - the same fate that awaits all the enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18-19). No church? Who is speaking? Isn't he a rebel against the Lord himself? In any other form, although I would like to, I cannot imagine it. For the Lord told us: “His church will not prevail even with the gates of hell” (Matthew 16:18); it stands firm, since its head, the Lord, is invincible; it is “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). They say: we believe in the mystery. But where is the mystery in which they believe? The mystery of Christ must be on earth; it must be accomplished here, until will come, that is, until the end of the age: these are the words, this is the will of the Lord. Who can cancel the will of the Lord? Who can destroy the definition of Vyshnyago? Isn’t it just self-will, isn’t it just apostate enmity? “It will be more tolerable for Tire and Sidon on the day of judgment” (Matthew 11:22) than for people who know the will of the Lord and brazenly trample on it. To whom will they call for help on the day of judgment? To Christ? But they rejected Him, denying His body and blood; I don’t know you, He will tell them, just as you did not know Me. To the Church of Saints? But they cursed at her, drove her out of the world, ran from her as if from sin. Is it the blood of the Intercessor, which cleanses our sins and gives us life to the dead? They are not imprinted by it, they have never fed on it. Unhappy ones! No one and nothing will protect them, but everything will rise up against them - the Lord and His church, and His blood and His word! The blind people say: “The elders say that you can be saved without communion.” The elders say? “If we, or an angel... preaches the good news to you, then let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). Do you hear? Even if an angel preached the gospel contrary to the teaching of the Apostle, and you heard his teaching about the Eucharist: anathema! They say: we are following in the footsteps of the ascetics who were in the deserts without communion. In what way do they imitate the ascetics? They lived like angels, but what about them? They lived in the deserts according to a vow, but what about them? They considered it bliss when they could partake, but what about them? Does rejecting the Holy Eucharist out of persistence in error, as they do, and not accepting the Holy Eucharist out of deep humility and as a result of a vow mean the same thing? After that, will they not begin to assert that blasphemy against a shrine is the same as praise for a shrine? Brethren! The feeling of humility is sacred, it is necessary for everyone; it is the seal of a true Christian. Always have humility, especially when you approach a terrible secret. You approach the Lord, terrible in majesty, terrible in truth. Let it also be that the feeling of humility, the feeling of your unworthiness, for some time, will keep you, together with the tax collector, away from the sanctuary of God; will not allow you to boldly approach the holy mystery. But remember that true humility will not allow itself to replace the mystery of the Lord with its own invention - it refrains from the mystery for a while only in order to better fulfill the will of God regarding the mystery. It happens that Satan is transformed into a holy angel (2 Cor. 11:14). It happens that under the cover of humility only the cunning of sin is hidden. You need to trust yourself; you need to check your deeds, are they deeds of true humility? Humility shows itself to be submissive to power, recognizes itself as lower than everyone else, weeps over sins, strives in fasting and prayer, and fears God’s judgment. May God deliver everyone from the humility of hypocrites! But the secret meal was not established for angels, but for people, for weak people, weak people prone to sin until the very grave. Be firmly convinced that even if you were as pure as the holy angels are pure, then you should not consider yourself a worthy participant in the mystery. You have been washed with the water of baptism, you have purified yourself through tearful confession: this is your preparation for the mystery! Do you still feel like a sinner? Proceed to the meal established for the remission of sins; she will burn up the thorns of your sins. Are you walky and gloomy, does dryness weigh on your spirit? But, if you are like that even then, as you touch the source of life: what will happen to you when you deprive yourself of communication with eternal life? No, for the very reason that you feel the poverty of your soul, hasten to be enriched by the riches of Christ. Another says: my conscience convicts me of grave sins and keeps me from the Lord’s table with a terrible judgment. If so: there is no word, refrain from eating for a while; wash away your sins with repentance, cleanse yourself with tears of contrition. “He who eats and drinks is unworthy to judge himself by eating and drinking” (1 Cor. 11:29). But, refrain from a terrible secret only in order to prepare your soul for the secret by repentance, and not so that the thought of unworthiness covers up your carelessness about your soul; - not to create the will of passions in oblivion of eternity. Examples of salvation are shown for you. Hurry after the weeping harlot to the most pure feet of the Lord; hurry to collect as many tears as you can, as much fear as you can find in your soul, and kiss the feet of the Lord; touch the purifying fire of His flesh and blood. Are your sins serious? But say: Lord! healthy people do not require doctors, but sick people do; I am sick, the scabs of my sins are festering, there is no whole place in me from head to toe; heal me, cleanse me. Doctor of soul and body! May the coal of Your body cleanse my filth, and may your life-giving blood revive me, deadened by sin. But here are some more excuses from the sacred secret: “I am busy with housework and duty,” says another; when to take communion? No one will condemn zeal for the duties of the service. But isn’t it our duty for every servant to approach the Holy Eucharist? Do you have a lot of work to do? “God's God, and Caesar's God” (Matthew 22:21). A lot of work at work? But, if your work is more for honor than for service, moderate your hard work, and the heavenly food to which the church calls you will strengthen your strength for faithful service to your earthly fatherland. Remember also how much time was wasted, how much energy wasted on passions and emptiness: stop for at least a week to rest your soul. Are you busy with everyday worries? what are you saying? The Lord is waiting for you, and you cite concerns about the earth. Come to your senses. Isn't eternal life worth your concern? Are eternal needs less for you than earthly needs? Isn’t hunger, from which your soul may perish, terrible for you? Otherwise, what will you come there with? Brethren! Let us glorify the ineffable mercy of the Son of God towards us sinners; Let us be afraid to be despisers of His ineffable gift. Amen. You might be interested in: