Слово 53. О том, какую честь имеет смиренномудрие и как высока степень его

I want to open my mouth, brethren, and speak about a lofty subject, about humility; but I am filled with fear, like one who knows that he intends to talk about God according to his own mind. Humility is the robe of the Divine. The Word made human was clothed in it and through it became part of us in our body. And everyone clothed in it truly became like Him who Descended from His height, who hid the virtue of His greatness and covered His glory with humility, so that the creation would not be overwhelmed by the vision of this. For the creature could not have looked at Him if He had not received part of it 335 and thus began to talk with it; I could not have heard a word from His lips face to face. That is why the children of Israel could not hear His voice when He spoke to them from the cloud, and they said to Moses: “Let God speak to you, and you must tell us His words, and “let not God speak to us, lest we die” (Ex. 20:19). And how could the creature openly accept the sight of Him? The vision of God is so terrible that the intercessor 336 said: “I am afraid and trembling” (Heb. 12:21); because on Mount Sinai this virtue of glory appeared; the mountain smoked and shook from the fear of the revelation that was on it, so that the animals that approached the lower parts of the mountain died; and the children of Israel, having purified themselves, according to the command of Moses, prepared and equipped themselves for three days to become worthy to hear the voice of God and see God's revelation; but when the time came, they could not accept 337 the vision of His light and the strength of the voice of His thunder. Now, when by His coming He poured out His grace on the world, He did not descend in cowardice, not in fire, not in a terrible and strong voice, but like rain on a fleece and like a drop quietly dripping onto the ground, and we saw Him talking to us in a different way, that is, when He hid His greatness, as it were, in a treasury under a veil of flesh (see. Heb.10:20) and among us he talked with us in it, having made it to Himself by His wave in the bosom of the Virgin and Mother of God Mary, so that we, seeing that He was talking with us, as one of our kind, would not be horrified when looking at Him. Therefore, everyone who has put on that robe 338 in which the Creator Himself was visible, having put on our body, has put on Christ Himself; because he, too, wished to be clothed, according to his inner man, in the likeness in which Christ was visible to His creation and lived with it, and in this likeness he is visible to his fellow servants, and with this he was adorned instead of the robe of honor and external glory. Therefore, the creature, verbal and dumb, looking at every person clothed in this likeness, worships him as a ruler, in honor of its Master, Whom it saw clothed in this same likeness and lived in it. For what creature will not reverence, looking at the humble one? However, until the glory of humility was revealed to everyone, this spectacle filled with holiness was neglected. Now his greatness has shone before the eyes of the world, and every person honors this likeness, wherever it is seen. In this way, creation was honored to receive the vision of its Creator and Creator. Therefore, it is not despised 339 by the enemies of truth, and even if the one who acquired it was poorer than any creature, yet the one who became engaged to it is adorned with it as with a crown and purple. A person who is humble and wise is never persecuted with hatred, hurt by words or despised. Because his Master loves him, he is loved by everyone. And he loves everyone, and everyone loves him. Everyone desires him and in every place, wherever he approaches, they look at him as an Angel of light and give him honor. If a wise man or a mentor begins to speak, they will fall silent, because they give up the place to speak to the humble one. Everyone's eyes are fixed on his lips, waiting to see what word will come out of them. And every person awaits his word as the word of God. His brief word is the same as the words of the sages in which they express their thoughts. His words are sweeter to the ears of the wise than honey and honey to the throat. Everyone accepts him as God, although he is uneducated in his word, humiliated and homely in appearance. Whoever speaks contemptuously of a humble man and does not recognize him as a man, opens his mouth as if against God. But while the humble is despised in his sight, he is honored in every creature. If the humble man approaches the destructive 340 beasts, and as soon as they turn their gaze on him, their ferocity is tamed; They approach him as if they were their master, bow their heads, lick his hands and feet, because they felt from him the fragrance that emanated from Adam before his crime, when the animals were gathered to Adam and he named them in paradise. This was taken from us; but Jesus renewed and gave us this again by His coming. This is how the fragrance of the human race is anointed. Does the humble one also approach the deadly reptiles - and as soon as the feeling of his hand approaches and touches their body, the causticity and cruelty of their deadly bitterness ceases, and with his own hands he crushes them like locusts. Does he approach people - and they listen to him as to the Lord. And what am I saying about people? Even the demons, with all their impudence and malice, with all the loftiness of their pride, approaching him, become like dust; all their malice loses its power, their intrigues are destroyed, their wiles remain ineffective. Now, since we have shown the greatness of the honor of humility from God and the power hidden in it, we will now show what humility itself is and when a person is worthy to accept it in the perfection that it achieves. Let us also make a distinction between someone who is apparently humble in wisdom and someone who has been granted true humility. Humility is a certain mysterious power, which, after completing the entire Divine life, perfect saints will receive. And not otherwise than only to those who are perfect in virtue, this power is given by the power of grace, since they can receive by nature by the definition of God, because this virtue contains everything. Therefore, not every person, no matter who he is, can be considered humble in wisdom, but only those who have been worthy of this rank we have spoken of. Not everyone who is by nature modest and silent, or prudent, or meek, has already reached the degree of humility. But the truly humble-wise is the one who has in his secret something worthy of pride, but is not proud and in his thoughts regards it as dust. And the one who humbles himself when remembering his falls and misdeeds and remembers them until his heart is contrite and his mind, when remembering them, descends from the heights of proud thoughts - although this is commendable - we will not call him humble, because he still has a proud thought and has not acquired humility, but only manages to bring it closer to himself. And although, as I said, this is commendable, humility does not yet belong to him; He only desires humility, but he has no humility. The one who is completely humble is the one who does not need to invent ways of being humble with his wisdom, but in all this, completely and naturally, has humility without labor; and although he has accepted into himself a certain great gift that exceeds all creation and nature, he looks at himself as a sinner, at a person who means nothing and is despicable in his own eyes; and although he entered into the secrets of all spiritual beings and became completely perfect in the wisdom of all creation, he recognizes himself as meaningless. And this one, not subtly, but without coercion, is like that in his heart. Is it possible for a person to become like this and by nature to change himself like this, or not? So, do not doubt that the power of the sacraments received by a person accomplishes this in him, in every virtue, without his labors. This is the power that the blessed apostles received in the form of fire. It was for her that the Savior commanded them “not to depart from Jerusalem” until they receive strength from above (Acts 1:4). This Jerusalem is virtue, strength is humility, and the power from above is the Comforter, that is, the Spirit of consolation. This is what is said about him in the Divine Scripture, that mysteries are revealed to the humble. It is this Spirit of revelations, revealing mysteries, that the humble of wisdom are privileged to receive within themselves. This is why it is said by some saints that humility perfects the soul with Divine contemplations. So, let a person not dare to think in his soul that he himself came to the measure of humility, and for the sake of one thought of tenderness that arose in him at some time, or for the small tears that flowed from him, or for one good quality that he has by nature or which he mastered with effort - he acquired that which constitutes the fullness of all secrets, that serves as the repository of all virtues, and all this, I say, I acquired it through small deeds, and not through this gift. On the contrary, if a person has conquered all opposing spirits, and there is not a single deed of any virtue left that he has not clearly accomplished and acquired, if he has defeated and conquered all the strongholds of his opponents, and after that he has felt in himself in spirit that he has accepted this gift, when, according to the word of the Apostle, “the Spirit obeys the spirit” (Rom. 8:16), then this is the perfection of humility. Blessed is he who has acquired it; because every hour he kisses and embraces the bosom of Jesus. If a person asks: “What should I do? How to purchase? What is the way to become worthy to accept humility? So, I force myself and, as soon as I think that I have acquired it, I see that thoughts contrary to it are circulating in my mind, and therefore I now fall into despair.” To this questioner the following answer will be given: “It is sufficient for a disciple” to become like his teacher, a servant like his master (Matthew 10:25). Look how He who commanded it and bestows this gift acquired humility, and imitate it, and you will find it. He said: “The prince of this world is coming, and in Me he will have nothing” (John 14:30). Do you see how, with the perfection of all virtues, one can acquire humility? Let us be jealous of Him who gave the commandment. He says: “foxes have plagues, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). He says this, who of all who are perfect, sanctified, and made complete in every generation has glory, together with the Father who sent Him, and with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: