Беседа V

“And God said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one, and let the dry land appear” (Gen. 1:9). 1. Today we will offer your love a meal from the words of blessed Moses and carefully consider what the Lord created on the third day. If those who are digging up gold-bearing soil, when they see where there are veins with particles of gold, do not stop this activity until, by lifting (the earth) and descending into the very depths, they get out more gold from there; then all the more so for us, who are not looking for gold, but hoping to find an unspeakable treasure, we need to search for it every day, so that, having thus received great spiritual wealth, we can return home with it. There, sensual wealth often exposes its owners to dangers, and even before the dangers, having given them little pleasure, it suddenly flies away from them, because either deceivers, thieves and robbers attack, or guard servants kidnap it and run away. But nothing like that can happen here: this spiritual treasure cannot be stolen, and when it is placed in the storerooms of our mind, it is inaccessible to any intrigues, unless we, through our carelessness, allow someone who really wants to steal it from us. Our enemy, the evil devil, when he sees the collected spiritual wealth, becomes furious, gnashes his teeth and vigilantly tries to find a convenient time and steal something from what is hidden inside us. And no time is as inconvenient for him as when we are careless; Therefore, we must constantly watch and block his access to us. If he sees that we are vigilant and observe great caution, and after one or two attacks he notices that it is in vain that he is strengthening himself, then he finally retreats in shame, knowing that he will not have any success, because we are very careful. So, knowing that we must spend our entire real life in war, we will arm ourselves as if the enemy were standing in front of us and was constantly watching to see if we had dozed off a little and opened up the possibility of attack for him. Do you not see that those who have a lot of money, when they expect an attack from enemies, take great care to preserve it? Others hide them behind doors and locks and protect them in every possible way; others are even buried in the ground so that no one can find them. In the same way, we should, having collected the wealth of virtue, guard it with great care and not put it out in front of everyone, but hide it in the most reliable repository of the mind and block all the entrances to anyone trying to steal it, so that, keeping this wealth intact, we can, when life changes here, have some reserves for this path. Those living on a foreign side, when they want to return to their homeland, for a long time try to gradually collect as much supplies as would be enough for them for the whole journey, so as not to be exposed to hunger. In the same way, we, who live here, as if in a foreign land (we are all, indeed, strangers and strangers), need to take care here and prepare for ourselves spiritual reserves consisting of virtue, so that when the Lord commands us to return to our fatherland, we will be ready, and take part of these reserves with us, and send the other ahead. The property of these reserves is this: whatever we prepare for ourselves by doing good deeds, he will warn us there, open the doors of boldness before the Lord and open the entrance, so that we will enter completely fearlessly and find great favor from the Judge. 2. And so that you know, beloved, that this is exactly so, just think that the one who gives generous alms lives here with a good conscience, and when he moves from here, he finds great mercy from the Judge and hears, along with others, these blessed words: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for you were hungry, and give me food” ( Matthew 25:34–35). Everyone will receive the same reward for other virtues; This will happen for confession of sins and for fervent prayers. If in this life we ​​manage to wash away our sins through confession and receive forgiveness from the Lord, then we will go there clean from sins and find ourselves with great boldness. But it is impossible to find any consolation in the next world for someone who has not washed away his sins in this life, because “in hell,” it is said, “who will confess to You” (Ps. 6:6)? And rightly so: life here is a time of exploits, labors and struggles, and that life is a time of crowns, rewards and rewards. Let us strive while we are still on the list 27 so that at the time when you should receive a crown and a reward for your labors, you will not be among those condemned, but those who will boldly receive a crown on their heads. I said this to your love not for nothing and not in vain, but because I want to remind you every day of good deeds, so that, becoming better and more perfect and shining with a virtuous life, you become immaculate and pure, children of God, immaculate and shine like lamps in the world, teaching the word of life to our praise on the day of Christ - so that by your very appearance you will benefit those who are with you, and so that those who entered into conversation with you received fellowship in your inherent spiritual fragrance and virtuous life. Just as the community of the evil harms those who have intercourse with them, according to the words of Blessed Paul: “evil conversations corrupt good customs” (1 Cor. 15:33), so the community of the good is very beneficial to those who draw close to them. Therefore, our humane Lord allowed the good to live together with the evil, so that these would benefit from the company of those and would not remain forever in sin, but, having their example constantly before our eyes, would derive edification from it. The power of virtue is such that even those who do not practice it greatly respect it and treat it with great praise. Vice is evenly and constantly condemned even by those who are devoted to it: it is so clear and obvious to everyone, and hardly anyone will ever boast about it, but - an amazing thing! - what they plan to actually accomplish, they often discredit with words and try to hide from the people. And by this God showed His love for the human race, that in each of us he placed an impartial judgment seat - conscience, which makes a strict distinction between good and evil; and this especially will deprive us of any justification that we fall into sins not out of ignorance, but out of mental carelessness and negligence about virtue. 3. Having this in mind every hour, let us diligently take care of our salvation, so that, while time passes, we do not imperceptibly cause ourselves the greatest harm. But that's enough for the introduction. Let us listen, if you like, to what this is, what the grace of the Spirit through the mouth of Moses wants to teach us even today. “And God said,” it is said, “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one, and let the dry land appear: and so it was” (Gen. 1:9). Look, beloved, what wonderful order and consistency there is here. At first (Moses) said that “the earth was invisible and unsettled” because it was covered with darkness and waters; then (proved that God) on the second day, having commanded there to be a firmament, he made a division between the waters, and called the firmament heaven; and now he again teaches us the teaching that on the third day (God) commanded that the water under the sky or firmament, uniting into “one gathering,” opened a (free) place, and dry land appeared: “and so it was.” Since until now everything was filled with water, God commands this multitude of water to gather in one place, so that the dry land will thus open up. Notice how He little by little shows us the improvement and beauty of the earth. “And it will be,” it is said, “taco.” How? Just as the Lord commanded. He only said - and execution followed. This is what is characteristic of God - to dispose of creatures according to his will. “And the waters under the heaven were gathered together,” it is said, “and the dry land appeared” (Gen. 1:9-10). As in relation to the light, God, when there was darkness everywhere, commanded the light to appear and made a division between light and darkness, and appointed the former for the day, and the latter for the night; and just as again in relation to the waters, when He made the firmament, He commanded some (waters) to occupy a place above, and others to be below the firmament, so now He commands these very waters, which are under the firmament, to gather in one place so that the dry land will open up, and then to give it its name, as was the case with light and darkness. “The waters were gathered together,” it is said, “and the dry land appeared. And he called God dry the earth” (Gen. 1:9–10). Do you see, beloved, how God exposed the invisible and unsettled earth, hiding under the waters, as if under some kind of cover, so to speak, and now showed us its face, calling it by its own name? “And the gathering of 28 waters,” it is said, “called the sea” (Gen. 1:10). So the waters got their name. Just as an excellent artist, when he intends to arrange a vessel according to the rules of his art, does not give it a name until he has completely finished it, so the humane-loving Lord does not give names to the elements until He puts each of them in its place by His command. Then, when the earth received its name and came into its proper form, the waters gathered together received their name. “They call it,” he says, “the gathering of the waters of the sea,” and he added again: “and God saw that it was good.” Since weak human nature was not able to adequately praise the creation of God, Divine Scripture shows us in advance how they are praised by the Creator himself. 4. When you know that creatures turned out to be beautiful before the Creator himself, you will be all the more amazed at them, but you will not be able to add anything to their praise and glorification. You have such a Lord, who does such things that they cannot accept praise from us. And truly, how can human nature worthily praise or glorify the works of God? See from what follows the ineffable wisdom of the great Artist-God. Just as He revealed to us the face of the earth, He already gives it the proper splendor by His command, decorating its face with various seeds. “And God said,” it is said, “Let the earth bring forth the old herb that sows seed according to its kind and likeness, and the fruitful tree that produces fruit, having its seed in it,” according to its likeness 29, “according to its kind on the earth. And so it came to pass” (Gen. 1:11). What does it mean: “And so be it?” Commanded, i.e. Lord, the earth immediately felt the pains of birth and prepared to sprout seeds. “And the land brought forth,” it is said, “the former grass, yielding seed according to its kind and likeness, and a fruit tree producing fruit, and its seed was in it, according to its kind on the earth” (Gen. 1:12). Think here, beloved, how the earth produced everything only according to the word of the Lord. There was not yet a human worker, no plow, no working oxen, no other care for it, but only (the earth) heard the command - and immediately fulfilled its duty. From this we understand that even now it is not the diligence of farmers, not labor or generally exhausting work in cultivating the land that brings us fruit, but above all this the word of God spoken to it at the beginning. On the other hand, subsequently correcting the foolishness of people, the Divine Scripture sets out to us in detail everything in order, as it happened, in order to eliminate the empty rumors of those who, for their own reasons, claim that only the action of the sun is required for the ripeness of fruits. There are those who dare to attribute this even to some stars. Therefore, the Holy Spirit teaches us that before the creation of these elements, the earth, obeying His word and command, produces all kinds of seeds, not needing any other assistance. For her, instead of everything, this one word of God was enough: “Let the earth produce the old herbs.” So, let us follow the guidance of Divine Scripture and will never listen to those who indiscriminately say whatever they please. Let people cultivate the land, let them use the assistance of animals and take great care, let there be goodness in the air and let all other circumstances be united; if there is no permission from the Master, everything is in vain and in vain, and from a lot of work and effort no success will follow, unless the hand of the Most High helps and gives maturity to what is sown. Who will not be amazed and surprised at the thought of how the word of the Lord: “Let the earth bring forth the former herbs,” descending into the very gorges of the earth, adorned her face, as if with some wonderful mantle, with various flowers? And so, previously ugly and unsettled, she suddenly acquired such beauty that she could almost compete with the sky. Just as, after a little while, it can be adorned with a variety of stars, so it now adorned itself with such a variety of colors that it prompted the Creator himself to praise: “God saw, as it is said, that it was good” (Gen. 1:12). You see how (Moses), when creating each creature, represents the Creator praising it, so that later people, knowing this, ascend from the creatures to the Creator. If creatures are such that they exceed human nature and no one can adequately praise them, then what can we say about the Creator himself? “And I saw,” it is said, “God as good.” And there was evening, and there was morning, the third day” (Gen. 1:12–13). Do you see how (Moses) by frequent repetition of teaching wants to instill in our minds the meaning of what is said? It should be said: and it was the third day. But he speaks about each day in the same way as here: “And there was evening, and there was morning, the third day.” This is not without reason and not without purpose, but so that we do not disturb order and do not think that with the onset of evening the day already ends, but we would know that evening is the end of the world and the beginning of the night, and morning is the end of the night and the fullness of the day. This is precisely what Blessed Moses wants to instill in us with the words: “And there was evening, and there was morning, the third day.” And do not be surprised, beloved, that Divine Scripture repeats this many times. If even after such a repetition, the Jews, still seized with error and hardened in heart, try to argue and consider the evening the beginning of the coming day, seducing and deceiving themselves, continue to sit in the shadows when the truth has become so clear to everyone, and use a candle when the sun of truth spills its rays everywhere, then who could have brought out the stubbornness of the ungrateful if (Moses) had not proposed this teaching with such precision? 30 But let them expect retribution for their madness, and we, who are worthy to receive the rays of the sun of truth, will follow the teaching of the Divine Scripture and, guided by its rule 31, we will put sound dogmas in the treasury of our hearts, and with their observance we will combine great care for our salvation and we will avoid what is harmful to our mental health, abstaining from everything like deadly poisons. This harm is much more significant, and to the extent that the soul is better than the body. Those poisons cause bodily death, and those harmful to mental health cause us eternal death. What is so harmful to us? Many and varied, but most of all, passion for human glory and the inability to neglect it. This passion causes us a lot of evil, and if we have any spiritual wealth, it exhausts it and deprives us of the benefits that flow from it. What could be more disastrous than this infection, when it takes away from us even what we seem to possess? So, that Pharisee became worse than the tax collector, because he could not hold his tongue, but through it, like through some hole, he spilled all his wealth. Such is evil - vanity. 6. Tell me why and for what purpose do you seek praise from people? Don’t you know that this praise, just like a shadow or something even more insignificant, spreads through the air and disappears? Moreover, people are so fickle and changeable: the same people praise the same person today, and blame tomorrow. With Divine judgment this can never happen. Let us not be reckless, let us not deceive ourselves in vain and in vain. If we do something good, but we do it not only to fulfill the commandment of our Lord and to be known to Him alone, then we work in vain, depriving ourselves of the fruit of this good deed. He who does something good to receive fame from people, whether he receives it or not - and it often happens that with all his efforts he cannot receive it - whether he receives it or not, he already enjoys a sufficient reward here, but there he will not receive any reward for this deed. Why? Because he himself deprived himself of a reward from the Judge in advance, preferring the present over the future, human glory over the verdict of the righteous Judge. On the contrary, if we do something spiritual in order to please that unceasing eye, before which everything is naked and open, then our treasure remains inviolable, and the (future) reward is undoubted, and the good expectation of this in itself already gives you great consolation, and besides the fact that this reward is preserved for you in a safe depository, human glory may appear at the same time. After all, then we use it to a greater extent when we neglect it, when we do not look for it, when we do not chase after it. And why are you surprised that this happens among those who lead a spiritual life, when very many of those who love peace most of all abhor and despise those who seek glory from people; You will even find that such people are mocked by everyone for their vanity. What will be more pitiful than us if we, devoting ourselves to spiritual life, begin, like these people, to seek glory from people and not be content with praise from God? So Paul says: “His praise is not from men, but from God” (Rom. 2:29). Do you not see, beloved, just as in the horse races those driving the horses do not pay attention to the fact that all the people sitting there are scattering an abyss of praises, and do not feel pleasure from these praises, but look at only the king sitting in the middle, and, listening to his wave, despise the whole crowd, and then they only magnify themselves when he lays wreaths on them? Imitating them, do not value human glory and do not do virtue for the sake of it, but expect a verdict from the righteous Judge, and, heeding His beckoning, arrange your whole life in such a way that here you constantly nurture good hopes, and there enjoy the eternal blessings that may we all receive by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, power, honor, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen. Συστήματα, as in Lucian. and other sp., and not συστέματα, as in Alexander.sp. So Chrysostom: ἐν αὐτῷ καθ᾿ ὀμοιότητα, κατὰ γένος, contrary to Lucian. reading, where ἐν αὐτῷ κατὰ γενος – “in it, according to its kind” (Elizab. Bibl.), but similar to Alex. and Bodleian. sp.; to the Masorah The text reads only “lemino - according to its kind.” This denunciation of Chrysostom also falls on those interpreters who, when explaining the history of creation, begin, like the Jews, counting days or days from the evening. You might be interested in: