Слово пятое в Великий Пяток

“There is a custom... that I will release one thing to you at Passover: do you want, (yes) I will release to you the King of the Jews? You cried out, saying: not this one, but Barabbas. But Barabbas is a thief” (John 18:39–40). Here, finally, in the midst of the lawless trial of Jesus, is the voice of the people about Him - that voice, in favor of which there are now so many false and insane exclamations in different countries! Here, finally, is the verdict over Jesus of the so-called free public assembly - that verdict, with the imaginary impartiality of which entire kingdoms and peoples are so pathetically seduced! – And Pilate, like today’s sages, was confident in the superiority of virtue over vice, which is why he considered it completely sufficient to place only the innocent Jesus before the people’s assembly along with Barabbas, in order to save Him from execution on the cross; but what happened? Instead of the voice of God, which is sometimes used to call the voice of the people, from the lips of the Jews a terrible voice of the spirit of malice was heard: “Not this one, but Barabbas”!.. Stop it, unfortunate voters! What did the prophet of Galilee do to you that you condemn Him so mercilessly to death? Was it not He who opened the eyes of your blind, healed your lepers, cast out demons, raised the dead? Didn't He teach each and everyone the ways of the eternal life? On the other hand, what did Barabbas deserve your love and preference over Jesus? Wasn’t it because of him that the hailstones and peaceful scales trembled for so long? Is it not him who is still cursed for robbery and murder by wives deprived of spouses, mothers deprived of children? Don’t you yourself, finally, pray daily both in the church and in your homes for the coming of the Messiah, Who now stands before you, awaiting your verdict? No one can say anything to the contrary; and yet everyone is crying out: not this one, but Barabbas! Why? Because the divine face and holy teaching of Jesus do not correspond to the passions and popular prejudices of the Jews; because He does not satisfy and does not show a desire to satisfy those dreamy expectations that everyone has created in his mind regarding the person and actions of the Messiah. There is no doubt that the unfortunate Jewish voters in this case followed not even their own, albeit erroneous, opinion, but someone else’s instigation; There is no doubt that the Pharisees and scribes have now instilled in them many very false concepts about the face and actions of Jesus: that He is “a friend of the tax collector and the sinner”; that He does not keep the Sabbath (John 9:16); what if he casts out demons, only about Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24); that even if he were innocent, then “it is not ... that one man will die for the people, and not the whole tongue will perish” (John 11:50) - from the vengeance of the formidable Romans, if He is recognized as the Messiah and King of the Jews. But, my brethren, is the best result of all this the lawless sentence which the Jewish people now pronounced upon Jesus? Does this unfortunate public blindness inspire less disgust and horror? – If the Son of God, the Savior of men, handed over to the judgment of popular opinion, could not find preference for himself over Barabbas and was condemned to death: then what innocence and what virtue can be sure that the voice of a blinded people will not sacrifice them, if not to their own, then to alien passions and whims? So, you see, when and where the blindness of the opinions and judgments of the people appeared in full force, to which the false wisdom now imagined to subordinate the improvement of human societies! The question of this was resolved at Golgotha, during the trial of the Savior of the world. – And what do we see among those peoples who in recent days, jealous of Pilate’s example, had the madness to surrender their public good to the opinion and judgment of one and all? How many wise and virtuous people have already been exchanged for Barabbas and robbers! But the Jews, with all their blindness, still showed themselves to be more intelligent than the sages of the present century: they only asked for Barabbas’ freedom, but did not put him at the head and leader above them. And in our unfortunate times, the Barabbas come straight from prison to sit on the lyphostroton, and with hands not washed from blood they brazenly take the rod of popular government!.. Let us thank the Lord, my brothers, for the fact that we are far from these crazy vacillations of a perverse mind, far both in place, and even more so in the spirit that prevails in our blessed Fatherland. Meanwhile, having now gathered at the foot of our Crucified Savior, Who came to “pacify with His Cross” all things (Col. 1:20), let us think about what a Christian, under present circumstances, should do, as if it were pleasing to God and therefore beneficial to the soul, and what should be discarded, as being repugnant to God and therefore harmful to the soul. What worries and troubles the unfortunate kingdoms and peoples today? The idea of ​​how best to organize human society, who should entrust power and strength in it: one or all and everyone? First of all, let us note, my brothers, that this very question in the eyes of a true Christian is already unbelief and blasphemy. As if the Providence of God, without whose will not a single hair falls from our heads, could leave the fate of entire kingdoms to the mercy of chance, and did not show its sovereign will on how and from whom they should be governed? Isn’t it said with all clarity in the word of God that “the Most High Himself owns the kingdom of man, and to Him He desires and will give it”? (Dan. 4:14). Doesn’t God Himself say through the mouth of the Wise One: “By me kings reign, and the mighty write righteousness” (Prov. 8:15)? Didn’t He Himself, therefore, forbid any disobedience to the power that holds it, saying: “there is no... authority except from God... Moreover, he who resists the authority of God resists the commandment”? (Rom. 13:1–2). After this, why should we be perplexed and question what has been decided and approved by God Himself? But let us imagine for a moment that the lot of kingdoms and the way of governing nations is given to the will of the people themselves: what example is best to follow in choosing it, if not the example of God Himself? For the kingdoms of men obviously cannot have an institution better than the one instituted by the Kingdom of God. But it was established in such a way that not only strict order and subordination, but also autocracy are visible everywhere in it. To be completely convinced of this, let us walk with our thoughts through the immeasurable Kingdom of God and, first of all, we will ascend, albeit unworthy, to heaven. Do you see the countless hosts of Cherubim and Seraphim, the immeasurable faces of Archangels and Angels? All are bright, all are pure, all are powerful, all are blissful: but all maintain an unchangeable order and subordination. The lower ones receive illumination from the higher ones, the higher ones - from the highest ones, these - from the first and oldest; and all are united forever under one head - the Only Begotten Son of God, Who is the ruler of the Cherubim and Seraphim, the chief leader of the Archangels and Angels. Isn’t a similar order and order seen in the sky we see? In the middle is the sun, like the head and king; around him, according to immutable laws, the planets revolve; behind them flow satellites, or moons. The comets themselves, in their peculiar race, maintain their dependence on the sun: they return to it alone and leave it from it alone, as if having received a new purpose. If this order is violated - this strict subordination, even for one minute, and our whole world will shake at its very foundations. Let's come down from heaven to earth and see what's on it. Here, after the fall of the ruler of the earth, our ill-fated ancestor, there is no longer primitive perfection and harmony; and yet, everywhere there is dependence and subordination of the lower to the higher, everywhere the law of unity. There is not a single division, greater or lesser, among earthly creatures that does not represent some kind of hierarchy, which is why they are not called headless societies, but kingdoms, in which beings endowed with the most excellent qualities are even called kings. Let us look at the man himself: there are many members in his body, but the head rules them all, and it is one. There are many abilities in his soul, but the mind reigns over all, and it is one. Anarchy and equality reign among wild animals on earth: but not one of them can meet another living creature without causing or suffering death, at least harm and fear. Let us, finally, in thought, go down, in the light of the word of God, even into hell (may the Lord grant that we go there with one thought, and precisely so as not to ever go there in reality!). Where is there more rebellion and anarchy than in hell? For why did hell and Gehenna occur, if not as a result of the rebellion of Angels in heaven against the Almighty? But the spirits of evil also realized that, with perfect equality and anarchy, no society could exist: and those who in heaven did not want to obey the almighty Creator and Benefactor, in hell must servile before the commands of the all-destroying Satan!.. Do you see now how the whole world, visible and invisible, is held together? He maintains himself by obedience and subordination. Do you see, first of all, what is the main law that rules in the Kingdom of God? The law of order and autocracy. After this, how can one think and assert that human kingdoms can exist differently than how the Kingdom of God exists? Moreover, when the statute of the kingdoms of the earth was spoken by the Lord of heaven and earth himself? Let us now look at the world of God from the other side. It is obvious that he is not the same as he came from the hands of the Creator, that evil has crept into him, harming his perfection and the bliss of creatures. Since this evil could not come from God, where did it come from? From abuse of that very freedom that is now so unreasonably placed at the forefront. The Archangel rebelled against God in heaven, and rejected with himself, as the Seer of Mysteries puts it, “a third of the stars” (Rev. 12:4), that is, the Angels. Primordial man rebelled in Eden against the commandment of God, and, expelled from the paradise of sweetness, spread sin and curse along with him across the face of the earth. This is where the evil in the world comes from - from sedition and rebellion! To be even more convinced of the truth of everything we affirm, look, my brothers, finally at the image of the Divine Sufferer, now before our eyes! Why did the Son of God come down from heaven, endure such terrible suffering and die on the Cross? In order to reconcile heaven with earth, satisfy eternal justice for our sins, return to us the opportunity to again “be a child of God” (John 1:12) and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven; so that together with us we can restore everything that has fallen and rebelled through us, and unite, as St. Paul puts it, under one head (Eph. 1:10). This means that the Son of God became incarnate and suffered precisely in order to use His Cross to blot out the consequences of our Edenic rebellion, which weigh so terribly on us and the whole world. If our ill-fated ancestors, seduced by the destructive advice of the destroyer serpent, had not dreamed of being like God and had not boldly rebelled against the commandment of their Creator and Benefactor, then there would have been no sin and curse, no disease and death on earth; and therefore there would be no need for this terrible sacrifice of universal atonement. Then the Son of God would appear among us, as he appears in the world of angels, surrounded by greatness and glory; and now you see what His head is crowned with - thorns! See what his hand and nose are decorated with - nail sores! See what His heart is filled with - a copy! Remember all this, Christian, and, being like your Savior, who, being the only begotten Son of God, “not by admiration,” as the apostle says, “was not equal to God, but made himself humble, received the form of a servant... humbled himself, being obedient even to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:6-8), you too ascend to both spiritual and spiritual heights. material, both private and public, through not exaltation and pride, but faith, humility, devotion and love for everything that is given to you for guidance from above and placed over you by God Himself. Amen. You might be interested in: