Беседа 38

“At that time, Jesus continued speaking and said: I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes; Hey, Father! for such was Your good pleasure." (Matthew 11:25–26) Exposition 11:25–30. The variety of means used by Christ to arouse faith in the Jews. – Humility makes a person worthy of revelation. - The Son is one in essence with the Father. – The impossibility of full knowledge of the Father and the Son. – Humility is the mother of all wisdom. – The yoke of vice is heavier than the yoke of virtue. - Confirmation of this truth by the example of people who loved poverty and the rich, kindly and angry. 1. Look how many means He uses to arouse faith in the Jews. He, firstly, encourages them to it by praising John; Having portrayed him as great and worthy of wonder, he also presents as reliable all that he used to attract his disciples to the knowledge of the Lord. Secondly, by the words that “The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away” (Matthew 11:12); This is how it is typical to speak to someone who compels and who excites. Thirdly, the assurance that all the predictions of the prophets were fulfilled; from here it became clear that the prophets foretold about Him. Fourthly, the assurance that everything had been accomplished that needed to be accomplished from Him, for which purpose He also offered them the parable of the children. Fifthly, by reproaching the unbelievers, striking them with fear and great threats. Sixthly, by giving thanks for those who believed; the word: “I praise You” here means: thank you. “I thank you,” He said, “that You hid this from the wise and prudent.” What then? Does He really rejoice over destruction and the fact that they did not know it? No way. But the best way of salvation is not to force those who despise the proposed teaching and do not want to accept it, so that if through the call they did not turn out to be better, but fell away and despised it, by their very rejection arouse in them a greater disposition towards the word. Through this, those who listened had to become more careful. The revelation of truths to some should produce joy in them; on the contrary, hiding them from others should produce in them not joy, but mourning. This is what He does when he cries over the hail. So, he rejoices not in anyone’s misfortune, but in the fact that infants have learned what was hidden from the wise and prudent. In the same way, Paul, when he said: “Thanks be to God, that ye, having formerly been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to that form of teaching” (Rom. 6:17), does not rejoice in the fact that they were slaves to sin, but in the fact that, being such, they were made worthy of such blessings. The Lord here calls the scribes and Pharisees wise, and says this in order to make His disciples more zealous and together to show these wise men how great the fishermen were awarded the benefits that they all lost. Calling them wise does not speak of true and praiseworthy wisdom, but of that which they attributed to their powers. That is why he does not say: he revealed it to the insane, but to infants, that is, unfeigned, simple, and shows that the Pharisees did not receive these benefits not only because they were not worthy of it, but also deprived them of justice itself. And with all this He teaches us to flee from pride and to be jealous of simplicity. That is why Paul, speaking about the same thing, writes in more detail like this: “If anyone among you thinks to be wise in this age, let him be foolish in order to be wise” (1 Cor. 3:18). This is how the grace of God is revealed! But why does He thank the Father when He himself did it? Just as He prays and intercedes for us before God, showing His great love for us in another place, so He does here, and this confession is filled with His great love. By this He also shows that (the Pharisees) not only fell away from Him, but also from the Father. So He himself fulfilled in advance what he said to his disciples: “Do not give what is holy to dogs” (Matthew 7:6). Further, He shows by the above words both His original will and the will of the Father; His own - when he thanks and rejoices over what has happened; the will of the Father - when he shows that the Father did this not because he was begged, but because he himself wanted it. “For such,” he says, “was Your good pleasure,” - that is, it pleased You. Why did he hide it from them? Listen to what Paul says to this: “Striving to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3). So, think what the disciples must have been like when they heard this, when they knew what the wise did not know, and they knew it by the revelation of God, while they were still babies. Luke narrates that Jesus rejoiced and said the words indicated at that very hour when the seventy disciples came and proclaimed that the demons were in subjection to them; and this very thing made them not only more zealous, but also disposed them to greater humility. Since they could conveniently fall into arrogance due to the fact that they cast out demons, He immediately disposes them to humility, pointing out that their victories over demons were not the result of their own diligence, but the action of revelation. 2. So also the scribes and the wise, who considered themselves wise, fell away because of their pride. So, if for this reason that which is revealed to infants is hidden from them, then you, he says, be afraid and remain infants, because just as the infantile state made you worthy of revelation, so the opposite state deprived them of the latter. The words: “thou hast hidden” do not mean that God is the cause of everything; but just as Paul, when he says: “God gave them over to a depraved mind” (Rom. 1:28), and blinded their thoughts, he does not say this in the sense that God performs such actions, but refers this to people who give the reason for this, in the same exact sense, and here Christ says: “thou hast hidden it.” Further, so that you do not think that when the Lord said: “I glorify You... that You hid these things... and revealed them to babes,” He Himself did not have the same power and could not do the same, He thanks so much, saying: “All things were handed over to Me by My Father” (Matthew 11:27). And to those who rejoice that the demons obey them, he says: Why are you surprised that the demons obey you? My whole essence is: “Everything is devoted to Me.” When you hear “betrayed,” do not assume anything human here. This expression should not lead you to think that the two Gods are unborn. And that He was born and is together the Lord of everything, this can be seen from many other places. Then He offers something even more important, and thereby directs your understanding: “And no one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son." It seems to those who do not know that these words do not depend on the previous ones, while they stand in close connection with them. Having said: “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father,” the Lord makes these words understandable, saying: why is there any wonder that I am the Lord of everything, when I have something more? I know the Father and am consubstantial with Him. And He secretly points to this last point, saying that He alone knows Him, because the words: “No one knows the Father except the Son” mean this. And notice when He says this to the apostles: then, when they received evidence of His power from the very works, when they not only saw Him working miracles, but they themselves could perform such miracles in His name. Further, since he said earlier - “he revealed it to babes” (meaning the Father), he shows that this is also His work. “No one knows the Father except the Son, and to whom does the Son want to reveal it.” It does not say: to whom he commands, or to whom he commands, but: “to whom the Son wants to reveal.” The Son, by revealing the Father, also reveals Himself. But this latter, as everyone knows, leaves, and the first offers more detail; and everywhere he does the same, when, for example, he says: “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). With these words He teaches something else, namely, He explains that He agrees and is of the same mind with the Father in everything. Not only do I, He says, not resist or antagonize Him, but it is impossible for anyone to come to Him except through Me. Since the Pharisees were especially tempted by the fact that He seemed to them to be an opponent of God, He refutes this idea with all measures, and tries no less about this than about signs, or even much more. When he says: “No one knows the Father except the Son,” he does not mean that everyone does not know Him, but that no one has such knowledge about the Father as the Son has about Him. The same can be said about the Son. Likewise, He does not mean here some unknown God, who did not reveal Himself to anyone, as Marcion claims, but in a hidden way shows the impossibility of complete knowledge of Him, because we do not know the Son as we should know. Paul shows the same thing when he says: “We know in part, and we prophesy in part” (1 Cor. 13:9). Then, having aroused in them a disposition toward Himself through His preaching and showing them His ineffable power, He calls them to Himself, saying: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Not one or the other come, but “come” all who are in worries, sorrows and sins; “Come” not so that I may subject you to torture, but so that I may forgive your sins; “come” not because I need glory from you, but because I need your salvation. I, he says, “will calm you down.” He did not say: I will only save; but, what is even more important, I will place you in complete safety. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29–30). Do not be afraid, He says, when you hear about the yoke: it is good. Do not be afraid when you hear about the burden: it is light. How did He say before: “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way” (Matthew 7:14)? When you indulge in carelessness, when you become despondent. If you fulfill what is commanded, the burden will be light; that is why He now called him such. And can we do this? If you are humble, meek, modest. Humility is the mother of all wisdom. That is why, just as in the initial presentation of His divine laws He began with humility, so here He does the same, and, moreover, promises great reward. You will not only be useful to others, He says, but first of all you will reassure yourself: “You will find,” he says, “peace for your souls.” Before the future reward, He gives you reward here, and offers you a reward, and thereby, as well as by presenting Himself as an example, He makes His word very acceptable. 3. What are you afraid of? He says. Will you, having loved humility, be humbled? Look at Me and learn from Me everything that I do: and then you will clearly know what a great blessing humility is. You see how by all means He encourages them to humility: then by their deeds - “learn from Me, for I am meek”; then by the benefit they promise - “you will find rest for your souls”; then with my generosity - “I will calm you”; then the relief of their yoke - “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” In a similar way, Paul convinces when he says: “For our momentary affliction produces eternal glory beyond measure” (2 Cor. 4:17). But what a light burden this is, you say, when the Lord says: “Whoever... does not hate his father and mother” (Luke 14:26), and “whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38), and whoever does not renounce all his possessions, “cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27), and when he commands hate your very soul? Let Paul teach you. “Who will separate us from the love” of Christ? - he says: “Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword” (Rom. 8:35)? And: “For... the sufferings of this present time are not worth anything in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Let those also teach you who, after receiving numerous wounds, returned from the Jewish Sanhedrin, “rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 5:41). If you are still afraid and shudder when you hear about the yoke and burden, then this fear is not due to the nature of the thing itself, but because of your laziness. If you have desire and determination, then everything will be convenient and easy for you. Therefore, Christ, showing that we ourselves must work, did not speak about one pleasant thing, keeping silent about the rest, and not about one hard thing either; but he put both of them on display. It was precisely when he spoke about the yoke that he called it good; Having mentioned the burden, he added that it is light, so that you do not run away from what seems heavy, and do not neglect what seems very light. If, after all this, virtue seems difficult to you, then know that vice is even more painful. Making this very clear, the Lord did not directly say: “Take My yoke,” but in advance: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened,” showing that sin is heavy, and its burden is not light and not bearable. He did not just say: “those who labor,” but: “those who are burdened.” The prophet said the same thing, describing the property of sin: “like a heavy burden weighed down on me” (Ps. 37:5). And Zechariah, depicting sin, calls it the talent of tin (Zechariah 5:7). Experience itself proves the same. Nothing burdens the soul more, nothing blinds the thought and bows down like the consciousness of sin; on the contrary, nothing opens up and lifts up the soul so much as the acquisition of truth and virtue. Look, can anything be more difficult than having nothing? Or turn your cheek? Not to beat the one who strikes and die a violent death? But if we are filled with wisdom, then all this is easy, convenient, and joyful. But in order to dispel your confusion, let us consider and carefully examine each of the difficulties just mentioned. Let's take the first one, if you like. Not having anything seems hard for many people. But tell me what is more difficult and painful: to take care of one womb, or to be burdened with countless worries? Should one dress with only clothes and not look for anything else, or, possessing great wealth, worry day and night about its protection, fear, tremble, be sick, and suffer in vain so that the moth does not eat away the property, or the slave does not kidnap it and leave? However, no matter how much I say, my words will not depict what actually happens. Therefore, I would like one of those who have reached the heights of wisdom to appear here before us, and then you would clearly understand what bliss the virtue of non-covetousness gives, and how not one of those who loved non-covetousness would want to become rich, even if countless cases presented themselves. But the rich, you say, will they ever decide to become poor and renounce their inherent worries? What's wrong with that? This is only a sign of their madness and serious illness, and not proof that the thing in itself is pleasant. 4. And that this is so, the rich themselves can testify to us, who daily complain with tears about their worries and consider their lives worthless. On the contrary, those who love poverty act differently: they are comforted, triumphant and boast of poverty more than those who are crowned with a diadem. In the same way, turning your cheek, if you are reasonable, is easier than hitting another, because abuse begins here and ends there. With a blow you ignite the fire in another, but with patience you extinguish your own flame. But everyone knows that it is better not to be burned by fire than to be burned. And if this happens in the reasoning of the body, then even more so in the soul. And what is easier: to struggle or to receive a crown? Fight or achieve honor? To be overwhelmed by the waves, or to enter the pier? That is why even death is better than life: that one delivers you from storms and dangers, but this one places you among them and exposes you to countless slander and needs, because of which you consider life not to be life. If you do not believe my words, listen to those who saw the faces of the martyrs during their exploits, how they, being scourged and scourged, rejoiced and had fun; they rejoiced even while lying on frying pans, and had more fun than those reclining on beds decorated with flowers. That is why Paul, before he had to leave here and end his life with a violent death, said: “I rejoice and rejoice with you all. In this very thing you also rejoice and rejoice with me” (Phil. 2:17–18). Do you see with what abundance of joy he calls the whole universe into the fellowship of his joy? This is how great a blessing he considered leaving here! That’s how desirable, kind and comforting he considered even the most terrible death! However, that the yoke of virtue is both sweet and easy, one must be convinced of this from many other things. Finally, if you wish, let us consider the severity of sin. To do this, let us introduce covetous people, innkeepers, shameless traders and moneylenders. Could anything be more burdensome than such trade? How much sadness, how many worries, how many insults, how many dangers, how many slander and hostility arise every day from such acquisitions! How much excitement and confusion! Just as one can never see the sea without waves, so one can never see such a soul without care, without sorrow, without fear, without embarrassment; the first are followed by others, they in turn are replaced by third ones - and before the last ones have time to subside, new ones rise up. Do you want to know the souls of the abusive and angry? What could be worse than that torment, those ulcers that they carry inside themselves, that furnace that always burns, and that flame that never goes out? Do you want to know those who are carnivorous and attached to real life? What could be more painful than this slavery? They lead the life of Cain, being in constant trembling and fear; and, upon the death of one of their relatives, they cry more about their own death than about them. Also, what is more restless and madder than the proud? “Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Kindness is the mother of all goodness. So, do not be afraid and do not run away from the yoke, which relieves you from all these evils; but submit to him with all readiness, and then you will clearly understand his sweetness. It will not burden your neck and is entrusted to you for the sake of decency alone, to teach you to walk the right path, to put you on the royal path, to deliver you from the rapids that are here and there, and thus to accustom you to easily travel the narrow path. So, if this yoke brings us such great benefits, such security, such joy, then let us wear it with all our souls, with all diligence, so that here we may find rest for our souls, and be worthy of future benefits, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: