Беседа 62

“When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and came into the borders of Judea, beyond the Jordanian side.” (Matthew 19:1) The malice and deceit of the Pharisees. – Indissolubility of marriage. – Christ teaches us to prefer virginity to marriage. – Cutting off members is a diabolical thing. – The need for grace-filled help for those who choose virginity. - Should be like children in spiritual properties. - The gentle one is stronger than the evil one. – Examples of David and Saul. – Passions cause harm to those possessed by them in real life. 1. Jesus Christ, having often left Judea because of the hatred of the inhabitants towards Him, now comes there again, since the time of His suffering was approaching. However, he does not yet enter Jerusalem itself, but visits only the borders of Judea. “Many people followed Him, and He healed them there” (Matthew 19:2). He does not engage exclusively in preaching alone, nor in working miracles alone, but alternately with one and the other, presenting various means of salvation to His constant followers, so that through signs they might gain trust in Himself as a teacher and faith in His preaching, and through teaching, increase the benefit of the signs. And He did this for the purpose of leading His listeners to the knowledge of God. Notice also that the disciples generally talk about the people who followed Jesus, without naming each of those who were healed by name. They do not say: so-and-so or that, but: “many,” to teach humility. Christ also benefited many others: the healing of the infirmities of the first provided an opportunity for the knowledge of God by the latter. Not the Pharisees. On the contrary, the latter become even more hardened by this and come to Him with temptation. Since they could not catch Jesus Christ in his deeds, they offer Him questions for resolution. They approached, it says, “to Him... and tempting Him, they said to Him: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason” (Matthew 19:3)? What madness! They wanted to block His mouth with their questions, although they had already seen evidence of His power! When the Pharisees and Jesus Christ talked a lot about the Sabbath (Matthew 12), when they said that He blasphemes (Matthew 9:3), has a demon (John 10:20), when they reproached His disciples on the occasion of their passing through the sown fields, when they talked about unwashed hands (Matthew 12:2), - everywhere, stopping their mouths and tying up the shameless tongue, He thus let them go. And yet they do not leave Him. Such is anger and such is envy - shameless and impudent; although you reflect it a thousand times, it will attack again the same number of times! But notice the anger in the question itself. They do not say to Him: You ordered not to leave your wife, because this law has already been spoken about; They did not remember these words, but deliberately moved away from them, and with insidious intent, wanting to catch Him more and make it necessary to contradict the law, they do not say: why did you establish this or that law? and as if no law had been spoken of, they ask: “is it permissible”? thinking that He had forgotten His words, and preparing, if He said that He should let go, to turn His own words against Him and say: why did You speak differently before? - and if he repeats his previous words, then oppose him to the Law of Moses. What does He answer them? He did not say: “Why do you tempt Me, you hypocrites” (Matthew 22:18)? Although he says so later, he didn’t say it here. Why? In order to show meekness along with His power. He is not in any case silent, lest they think that He does not know; He does not always reprove in order to teach us that we must endure everything with meekness. How does He answer them? “Have you not read that He who created at the beginning made them male and female? And he said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.” Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4–6). Marvel at the wisdom of the teacher! To the question: “is it permissible (or worthy)?” He did not immediately answer: it shouldn’t! so that they do not become indignant and make noise; but before a decisive answer, He first made it obvious, explaining that His command is the commandment of His Father, and that He established it, not contradicting Moses, but in complete agreement. Observe that He confirms His words not only by the fact that God created man and wife, but also by the commandment that He spoke after their creation; He did not say that God only created one man and one woman, but also that he ordered them - one and one - to unite with each other. And if God wanted people to leave a wife and take another, he would have created one man and many women. So, both by the image of creation and by the definition of the law, Jesus Christ showed that a husband and wife must be united forever, and never be separated. And look how he says: “He who created man and woman in the beginning created them,” that is, since they came from one root, they must unite into one body: “They will be,” he says, “two of one flesh.” Then, imagining how terrible it was to violate this command, and affirming the law, he did not say: therefore, do not dissolve, do not separate, but: “what God has joined together, let no man separate.” If you refer to Moses, then I point to the Lord of Moses, and, moreover, I affirm the antiquity of the institution. God “He who created at the beginning male and female created them.” And this law is the most ancient (although it is introduced, apparently, now only by Me), and was established with special care. Not only did God bring the husband to his wife, but he ordered him to leave both mother and father; and not only ordered him to come to his wife, but to cleave, showing indissolubility in his very words. But he was not satisfied with this either; He also demanded another connection, a very close one: “They will be,” he says, “two of one flesh.” 2. Having thus laid down the ancient law, established by deed and word, and having proved its authenticity to those who gave it, He further expounds it with authority, and strengthens it with the words: “So that they are no longer two, but one flesh.” Consequently, just as cutting the flesh is a criminal act, so separating from one’s wife is an unlawful act. And he didn’t stop there yet, but pointed to God in confirmation, saying: “What God has joined together, let no man separate.” With these words He shows that divorce is contrary to both nature and law: nature, since the same flesh is cut; law, since you are attempting to divide what God has united and did not order to be divided. What was to be done after this? Shouldn't we shut up and praise what was said? Don't you marvel at the wisdom? Aren't you amazed at this agreement with the Father? But the Pharisees do nothing of this, but again continue to argue and say: “How did Moses command to give a letter of divorce and divorce her” (Matthew 19:8)? Although it was not they who should have made such an objection to Him, but He to them, He does not attack them, He does not tell them that I am not to blame for this, but He allows this objection too. And if He had not agreed with the ancient law, He would not have entered into the dispute for Moses; would not be established on what was once established in the beginning; but would try to prove that His words agree with the ancient law. But Moses commanded many other things, for example, about food and the Sabbath. Why don’t they point out these instructions to Him, just as they do in the present case? Because they want to arm the people against Him. Among the Jews, divorce was common, and everyone took advantage of it. That is why, of all the commandments that were spoken about on the mountain, they now remembered only this one. But ineffable Wisdom defends this commandment too, and says: “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts” (Matthew 19:8), laid down such a law. The Savior does not allow Moses to be blamed either, since He himself gave him this law; but he frees him from condemnation, and turns everything against the Pharisees, as He does everywhere else. Thus, when they accused the disciples of plucking herbs, He showed that they were not alien to accusations; and when they called it a crime to eat with unwashed hands, He showed that they themselves were criminals. This is what He did when speaking about the Sabbath, this is what He did everywhere, and this is what He did here. Then, since His words were unbearable and very reproachful for them, He immediately turns His speech to the ancient law, saying the same thing that He said before: “But at first it was not so,” that is, in the beginning, by the very deed, God gave us the opposite law, so that they would not say: how is it known that Moses said this because of our hardness of heart? Christ again forces them to remain silent. In fact, if this law had been given earlier and had been useful, it would not have been given at the beginning, and God, who created man, would not have created him in this way (i.e., in the persons of only husband and wife), and Christ would not have said: “But I say to you: whoever divorces his wife for reasons other than adultery and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 19:9). After silencing them, He, as Lord, lays down the law, just as He did when He spoke about food and the Sabbath. Just as then, having refuted them in relation to the law on food, he began to tell the people that “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person” (Matthew 15:11), and likewise, disgracing them in relation to the law on the Sabbath, he said: “So you can do good on the Sabbath,” so it is here. But what happened there also happens here. Just as there, after the shame of the Jews, the disciples were embarrassed and, approaching Him with Peter, said: “Explain to us a parable” (Matthew 13:36), so here, embarrassed, they said: “If this is a man’s duty to his wife, then it is better not to marry” (Matthew 19:10). But now they understood what was said better than before. That is why they were silent then, and now, since the objection has been refuted, the question has been resolved and the law has become clearer, they question Him. They do not dare to openly contradict, but offer only what they have said seems important and difficult. “If this,” they say, “is a man’s duty to his wife, then it is better not to marry.” It seemed to them that it was too unbearable to have a wife full of all kinds of evil, and to constantly endure an untamed beast with them. 3. Mark showed that the disciples were truly embarrassed, saying that they asked Jesus about this in private. What do their words mean: “If such is the duty of a man to his wife”? This means: if a husband and wife were united in order to be one; if the husband is so obliged to this that every time he leaves his wife, he acts against the law, then it is easier to fight with the wishes of nature and with himself than with an evil wife. What did Christ say to this? He did not say: “Yes, indeed, it is easier,” and this was so that they would not think that this was a legal matter, but he said: “Not everyone can comprehend this word, but to those who are given it” (Matthew 19:11). By this, He exalts the object, represents it as great, and thus attracts and induces one to it. But pay attention to the contradiction here: He calls it great, but they call it light. In fact, both were needed. He had to call it great in order to make them more zealous, and they had to show in their words the ease of this, in order for this reason to prefer virginity and chastity. Since the conversation about virginity could seem very difficult to them, He, by the immutability of the marriage law, aroused in them the desire for virginity. Further, proving the possibility of a celibate life, he says: “There are eunuchs who were born like this from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who are castrated from people; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:12). Imperceptibly arousing in them with these words a desire to choose virginity, and convincing them of the possibility of this virtue, He seems to say this: imagine that you are like this by nature, or became like this through the violence of others: what would you do if you were deprived of pleasure and without receiving a reward for it? So, thank God that for the sake of reward and crowns you endure what others endure without meaning them. Moreover, this becomes even easier when you reinforce yourself with hope and the consciousness of virtue, and are not carried away by desires that greatly excite you. It is truly not so much cutting off a member as the power of the mind that can tame such waves and establish silence. So, to teach the disciples, Christ listed the generations of eunuchs. If He did not have this goal, then why would He list the other eunuchs? When He says: “they made themselves eunuchs,” he does not mean cutting off members—let that not happen! - but the destruction of evil thoughts, because the severed member is cursed, as Paul says: “Oh that those who trouble you were put away” (Gal. 5:12)! And quite fair. Such a one acts like murderers; promotes those who humiliate God's creation; he opens the mouth of the Manichaeans and transgresses the law, like those of the pagans who cut off their members. From time immemorial, cutting off members was the work of the devil and the wiles of Satan, in order to distort the creation of God through this, in order to harm man created by God, and so that many, attributing everything not to freedom, but to the members themselves, would fearlessly sin, recognizing themselves as if innocent; cutting off members was thus invented in order to cause serious harm to a person: both by cutting off members and by placing obstacles in the will to do good. All this was invented by the devil, who, wanting to incite people to accept this error, introduced another false teaching - about fate and necessity, and thus tried in every possible way to destroy the freedom given to us by God, assuring that evil is a consequence of physical nature, and through this dispelling many other false teachings, albeit secretly. Such are the arrows of the devil! Therefore, I pray, flee from such a crime. To what has been said, it should be added that by cutting off our members, our desires are not only not tamed, but are even more irritated, since the seed that is in us has other sources and is aroused in a different way. Some say that desire comes from the brain, others from the loins; but I say that it comes from no other source than from a corrupted will and inattention to thoughts. If the will is chaste, then there will be no harm from natural movements. So, having spoken about eunuchs, both about those who amass themselves in vain, not being chaste in their thoughts, and about those who for the sake of the kingdom of heaven preserve virginity, Christ adds: “he who is able to contain, let him contain.” And thus, by His inexpressible meekness, showing how important the observance of virginity is, and not enclosing it in the necessary precepts of the law, He inflames their love for it even more. And by this He showed the perfect possibility of virtue, in order to arouse the desire for it in the will all the more powerfully. 4. But if this depends on the will, then someone will ask: why did He first say: “Not everyone can receive this word, but to whom is it given?” So that, on the one hand, you know how great the feat is, on the other hand, you don’t imagine it necessary for yourself. Given to those who want it. And He spoke in this way in order to show how great the need for divine help is for the one who embarks on this feat - help that anyone who wants it will undoubtedly receive. The Savior usually uses this expression when talking about something important, as, for example, he says: “It has been given to you to know mysteries” (Luke 8:10). And that this is true can be seen from the present place. In fact, if this virtue were only a gift from above, and the virgins themselves did not bring anything of themselves, then in vain He would have promised them the Kingdom of Heaven and distinguished them from other eunuchs. But pay attention to how some neglect this, while others benefit from it: the Jews withdrew without learning anything, and did not inquire in order to learn anything; the disciples benefited from this. “Then the children were brought to Him, so that He could lay His hands on them and pray; the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said: Let the little children come and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for to such is the Kingdom of Heaven. And he laid his hands on them and went from there” (Matthew 19:13–15). Why did the disciples not allow children? Out of respect for Jesus Christ. What is He? To teach them humility and destroy worldly pride, he takes the children, hugs them, and promises them the kingdom, which He spoke about before. Likewise, if we want to inherit heaven, we must try with all our might to acquire the virtue of humility. The goal of philosophy is to combine simplicity with wisdom. This is angelic life. The soul of a child is pure from all passions; the child does not remember the insults and runs up to those who offended them as if they were friends, as if nothing had happened; No matter how much a mother punishes her child, she always, however, looks for her and loves her more than anyone else. Present to it a queen in a diadem: it will not prefer her to her mother dressed in rags, but will even more desire to see the latter in rags than the queen in rich clothes. It distinguishes its own from someone else's not by poverty or wealth, but by love. The child does not require anything more than what is necessary, and as soon as he is satisfied with milk, he leaves the nipples. The child does not grieve, as we do, about the loss of money and the like; just as he does not rejoice like us about such fleeting things; a child is not partial to physical beauty. That is why Christ said: “Of such is the kingdom of heaven,” so that we would do by free will what children do by nature. Since the Pharisees were guided in carrying out their deeds by nothing other than cunning and pride, He, denouncing them and teaching His disciples, commands the latter to be simple everywhere - both at the highest and at the lowest degrees of dignity. Truly, nothing puffs up a person more than power and advantages. Meanwhile, the disciples of Christ were destined for great honors throughout the entire universe; Therefore, the Savior warns them, not allowing them to tolerate anything human and forbidding them to demand honors from the people, or to be proud before them. Although this seems unimportant, it is the cause of many evils. So the Pharisees, accustomed to pride in adolescence, subsequently plunged into the abyss of evil, demanding greetings, presiding, mediation. These vices plunged them into an insane love of glory, and the latter plunged them into wickedness. That is why they brought upon themselves a curse for tempting the Lord; the children, being pure from all these vices, received a blessing. Let us also become like children, and let our malice be like the malice of babies. It is impossible, impossible, I say, to see the sky otherwise; Every wicked and evil person must certainly fall into Gehenna. But even before Gehenna, here we will suffer extreme evil. “If you are violent,” says Scripture, “then you will endure alone,” but if you are kind, then you will be such for yourself and for your neighbor (Proverbs 9:12). Remember that it was like this before. Who was more evil than Saul, and who was simpler and more gentle than David? But which of them was stronger? Didn’t David have Saul in his hands twice, and didn’t he leave his life when he could have taken it? Did he not spare him when he had him in his power, and as if bound in nets and prison? Although others incited David, and he himself had reason to punish Saul for his countless crimes, he released him from him without harming him. Saul with his entire army pursued David, and the latter wandered with a small number of fugitives, deprived of all hope, and ran from place to place; Meanwhile, the fugitive defeated the king. And this is because David armed himself with simplicity, and Saul with malice. In fact, is it possible to imagine anyone more evil than Saul, who sought to kill the leader of his army, who happily fought all the wars, won victories, received trophies, endured hardships himself, and adorned him with victorious crowns? 5. Such is envy! She always plots intrigues against her good neighbors, and torments those who suffer from her and surrounds her with countless disasters. Pathetic Saul, until David left him, did not utter such pitiful words in tears: “It is very hard for me; The Philistines fight against me, but God has departed from me” (1 Samuel 28:15). Until David departed from him, he had not fallen in battle, but was in safety and glory, since the glory of the military leader passed to the king. David was not ambitious, did not seek to overthrow him from the throne, but did everything for him and vigilantly took care of him. This can be seen from what follows. Perhaps those who do not fully know the matter will attribute to the law of subordination that David fought for Saul. But after Saul expelled David from his kingdom, what already kept the latter within the limits of obedience, and forced him to refrain from war with the king? Wasn't everything, on the contrary, conducive to killing Saul? Did Saul plot against David several times? Wasn't he benefited by this? Didn't David have the right to accuse him? Was David's promised reign, and even his very life, in danger? Was not David forced to continually wander, run, and tremble for his fate while Saul lived and reigned? And yet, nothing could make David stain his sword with blood. Seeing Saul sleeping, in full power, alone, among his soldiers, touching his head, incited by many who said that such a favorable opportunity was God's decree, David, closing his mouth to those who instigated him, refrained from killing and released Saul alive and unharmed and, as if his bodyguard and shield-bearer, and not an enemy, accused the soldiers of betraying the king. What can compare with such a soul? What about such meekness? This can be judged from the above; but you can be even more convinced if you pay attention to what is happening now. When we see our anger, then we will better understand the virtue of the saints. Therefore, I beseech you, imitate their zeal for virtue. If you desire glory, and therefore plot intrigues against your neighbor, then you will fully acquire it when, despising this glory, you refrain from deceit. Just as for a money-loving person the acquisition of wealth is connected with loss, so for a glory-loving person the pursuit of fame is connected with disgrace. And if you want, we will consider both separately. Since we are not at all afraid of Gehenna and do not care at all about the kingdom of heaven, then at least let’s look at the consequences of both in real life. Tell me who is worthy of ridicule: is it not the one who seeks too much fame from people? Who is worthy of praise: is it not the one who completely disdains human praise? Consequently, if the love of empty glory is combined with reproach, and if the vain, pursuing glory cannot hide, then he will certainly be subject to reproach, and the pursuit of glory will become the cause of disgrace for him. And not only for this will he suffer dishonor, but also because he is forced to do many shameful things that are characteristic only of the lowest slave. In the same way, all those who are madly addicted to self-interest usually receive harm, mainly from their illness (they are subject to many deceptions: the slightest benefits cause great harm, as the proverb says). Likewise, for the voluptuous, his unbridled passion serves as an obstacle to pleasure. Wives treat voluptuous and effeminate husbands like slaves, and never want to treat them like husbands, but hit them on the cheeks, spit in their faces, deceive them in everything, mock them and order them to fulfill all their desires. In the same way, there is nothing more contemptible and dishonest than an arrogant, fame-loving person who thinks a lot about himself. People who are not accustomed to giving up their rights to others resist nothing so much as a person who is arrogant, arrogant and fame-hungry. Moreover, the proud, in order to satisfy his passion, putting on a disguise, slavishly grovels before his superiors, caresses and pleases them and bears slavery worse than any purchased slave. So, imagining all this, let us reject these passions, so as not to be punished here, and not to suffer forever there. Let us love virtue. Then here too, before the kingdom of heaven, we will acquire great blessings, and after death we will enjoy eternal blessings, of which we will all be worthy, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: