Беседа 86

John 20:10–11. So the disciples returned to themselves again. And Mary stood at the tomb and cried. 1. The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 2. Mary announces him to the apostles. – Why did Jesus Christ appear to his disciples in the evening? – 3. The grace of the Holy Spirit is inexhaustible. – 4. We must try in every possible way to have the Holy Spirit within us and preserve His grace. – The greatness of the dignity and office of priests: one must honor and respect them, and help them. “To offend them is to harm yourself.” 1. The female sex is somehow especially sensitive and very prone to compassion. I say this so that you won’t find it surprising why Mary wept bitterly at the tomb, but Peter did not discover anything like that. The disciples, says the evangelist, “returned to themselves,” and Mary “stood... and wept.” She, by her very nature, was easily moved, and besides, she did not yet clearly know the doctrine of the resurrection; on the contrary, the disciples, when they saw the swaddling clothes, believed and went home in amazement. Why didn’t they go straight to Galilee, as they were commanded before suffering? Perhaps they were expecting others (disciples); on the other hand, they were still in extreme amazement. So they went home, and Mary stood at the tomb. Truly great consolation, as I have already said, is given to us by the very sight of the coffin. Do you therefore see how, for greater consolation, she looks into the tomb and wants to see the place “where the body of Jesus lay” (John 20:12)? That is why she received no small reward for such great zeal. What the disciples did not see, the wife was the first to see, namely, angels in white robes, sitting - one at the feet, and the other at the head; their very clothes already showed great joy and joy. Since the wife’s mind was not so elevated as to come from the shrouds of the grave to faith in the resurrection, then something more happens: she sees angels sitting in bright clothes, so that through this she can rise from grief and be comforted. However, the angels do not tell her anything about the resurrection: she is raised to this dogma little by little. She sees faces that are brighter than usual; sees shiny clothes; hears a voice of participation, as the angels say to her: “wife! Why are you crying? (John 20:13). Through all this, as through an open door, she was little by little led to the word about the resurrection. And the very image of the angels sitting disposed her to question: it was clear from it that they knew about what had happened, and that is why they were not sitting together, but separately from each other. But since it was incredible that she herself would dare to ask directly, they, both by asking and by the way they were sitting, disposed her to talk. What is she? She says with ardor and love: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him” (John 20:13). What are you saying? So you still don’t know anything about the resurrection, but still imagine that the body of Christ has been transferred? Do you see how she still did not understand this lofty dogma? “Having said this, she turned back” (John 20:14). What is the sequence here? Mary enters into a conversation with the angels and, having not yet heard anything from them, turns back. It seems to me that while she was speaking, Christ, by his sudden appearance behind her, amazed the angels, and they, seeing the Lord, immediately discovered with their appearance, gaze, and movement that they had seen the Lord; and this made the wife look back and turn back. Thus Christ appeared to the angels; and to Mary - not in a way that would not strike her with amazement at first sight, but in a more humble and ordinary form. This is already evident from the fact that she mistook Him for a gardener. A woman with such degraded concepts obviously had to be raised to higher concepts not suddenly, but gradually. That’s why Christ asks her: “wife! Why are you crying? Who are you looking for? (John 20:15). By this He showed that He knew what she wanted to ask, and disposed her to answer. This is how Mary understood this, and therefore does not pronounce the name of Jesus, but, believing that the questioner already knows about whom she is inquiring, she says: “If you brought Him up, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him” (John 20:15). Again he talks about position, taking and transferring, talking about Him as if he were dead. The meaning of her words is this: if you, fearing the Jews, took Him from here, then tell me, and I will take Him. Great is the zeal, great is the love of the wife; but there is still nothing lofty about her. That is why, finally, Christ reveals to her the lofty secret, not by His appearance, but by His voice. Just as on those occasions when He was among the Jews, sometimes they recognized Him and sometimes they did not recognize Him, so while He spoke, He was recognized only when He wanted. So, when He said to the Jews: “Who are you looking for?” - they did not recognize Him either by appearance or by voice, as long as He wanted. The same thing happened here. Christ now spoke only the name of Mary, reproaching her and reproaching her for thinking so about Him while He was alive. But how does she respond, “turning,” while Christ was talking to her? It seems to me that she, having said: “Where did you lay Him,” turned to the angels with the intention of asking them why they were amazed, and that Christ, calling her by name, again made her turn from the angels in His direction and made Himself recognizable by her voice. Indeed, she recognized Him when he called her, saying: “Mary” (John 20:16), and that means she recognized Him not by appearance, but by voice. Perhaps someone will ask: how is it known that the angels were amazed and that therefore Mary turned back? But in this case, it will also be necessary to ask: how is it known that Mary touched Christ and fell at His feet? And just as this latter is revealed from the words: “touch me not” (John 20:17), so the first is evident from what is said “turned.” But why did Christ say: “touch me not”? Some say that Mary asked Him for spiritual grace, because she heard that He said to the disciples: “When I go” to the Father, “I will ask Him, and He will give you another Comforter” (John 14:3, 16). 2. But how could she, who was not with the disciples then, hear these words? On the other hand, according to her concepts, she was far from such a desire. And how could she ask for this when He had not yet gone to the Father? What does this mean? It seems to me that even now she wanted to treat Him as before, and for joy she did not imagine anything great, although He had become much more perfect in the flesh. Therefore, Christ, in order to deviate her from such an opinion and instill in her not to speak to him without any caution (because, as can be seen, He no longer treated the disciples in the same way), he elevates her thoughts and through this teaches her to treat Him more reverently. If He had said: Do not approach Me as before; Now the circumstances have changed, and I will no longer treat you as before - then this would be unpleasant and would sound like boasting and vanity. But the words: “for I have not yet ascended to My Father” were not painful and, meanwhile, expressed the same thing. Having said: “For I have not yet ascended to My Father,” Christ makes it clear that He hastens and strives there. And whoever is ready to go to heaven and will no longer deal with people should no longer be looked at with the same thoughts as they were looked at before. That such an explanation is correct is evident from the following words: “Go to my brothers and say to them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God” (John 20:17). But He did not intend to do this immediately, but after forty days: why does He say this? In order to exalt the thoughts of Mary and assure her that He is ascending to heaven. And the words: “to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” - refer to the incarnation, since the ascension is characteristic only of the flesh. Christ expresses himself this way because he speaks to a wife who did not imagine anything great. Does this mean that God is His Father in another sense and ours in another? That's right. If God is not in the same sense the God of the righteous and the God of other people, then much less the Son and ours. And since Christ said: “tell the brothers,” so that on the basis of these words they would not assume any equality (between Him and the disciples) - He also shows the difference: He himself will sit on the throne of the Father, and they will stand before this throne. Consequently, although Christ, by His human nature, became our brother, yet in glory He is very different from us, so different that it is impossible to express. Meanwhile, Mary leaves to announce this to the disciples (John 20:18). That's how good diligence and consistency are! But why do not the disciples now grieve that Christ intends to depart from them, and do not say what they said before? Then they mourned because He was going to death; and now that He had risen, why should they be sad? Mary told them both about her vision and about words that could comfort them. But it could easily happen that the disciples, hearing this, either would not believe his wife, or, having believed, would grieve that Christ did not honor them with his appearance, although he promised to appear to them in Galilee. Therefore, so that they would not be disturbed by such thoughts, Christ did not allow one day to pass, but, having aroused in them a desire to see Him, both by what they already knew about His resurrection and by the story of His wife, on the same day, after evening had come, when they were burning with the desire to see Him and were overcome with fear, which made their desire even more intense, He appeared before them, and in a miraculous way. Why did He appear in the evening? Because especially at this time, in all likelihood, they were in the greatest fear. But here’s what’s amazing: how did they not consider Him to be a ghost when He entered through the closed doors and suddenly? This is, without a doubt, because Mary had already managed to create strong faith in them, and moreover, He appeared to them in a bright and meek form. During the day He did not appear so that the disciples could all gather together, since they were in great fear. Therefore, He did not even knock on the door, but suddenly stood in the middle of them, showed them his ribs and hands, and at the same time calmed their worried thoughts with his voice, saying: “Peace be with you” (John 20:19), i.e., do not be embarrassed. By this He reminded them of the words spoken before suffering: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27), and also: “In Me have peace; in peace you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). “The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20). Do you see how His words were justified in practice? What He said before suffering: “I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22), he now fulfilled in his very deed. Yet this brought the disciples to perfect faith. And since they had an irreconcilable battle with the Jews, He often repeats: “Peace be with you,” thus offering consolation equivalent to the battle. 3. This is the first word Christ said after his resurrection. That is why Paul says everywhere: “Grace to you and peace.” The Lord preaches joy to women, since the female sex was in sorrow and was condemned to sorrow by the first curse. Thus, quite appropriately, He preaches peace to husbands because of warfare, and joy to wives because of sorrow. Having destroyed everything that was a cause for sorrow, Christ further speaks of the beneficial consequences of the cross. Peace was the result. This means that all obstacles have now been removed, Christ has won a brilliant victory, and everything has been brought to the desired end. Therefore, He finally says: “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you” (John 20:21). There will be no difficulty for you, both because of the events that have already taken place and because of the dignity of my face, since I am sending you. By this He elevates the souls of the disciples and shows that their words will be completely reliable, since they will take upon themselves His work. And now He no longer begs the Father, but with His own authority gives strength to the disciples. “Having said this, he blew and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him” (John 20:22–23). Just as a king, sending rulers, gives them the power to both imprison and free them from prison, so Christ, sending his disciples, invests them with the same power. How did He first say: “If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you” (John 16:7), but now He gives the Spirit? Some say that Christ did not communicate the Spirit to the disciples, but only through a breath made them capable of receiving Him. After all, if Daniel, at the sight of the angel, came into “horror” (Dan. 8:17), then what would not the disciples have experienced if they had accepted this ineffable grace without being prepared for it in advance? That is why, they say, Christ did not say: you have received the Holy Spirit, but “receive the Holy Spirit.” But it will not be a mistake to say that even then the disciples received some spiritual power and grace, only not to raise the dead and perform miracles, but to forgive sins, since the gifts of the Spirit are different. That is why Christ added: “Whose sins you forgive, their sins will be forgiven,” showing what kind of grace-filled power is bestowed upon them. And subsequently, after forty days, they received the power of working miracles, which is why Christ says: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea” (Acts 1:8); and they became witnesses through miracles. Ineffable, truly, is the grace of the Spirit and His gifts are manifold! Christ communicates the gifts of the Spirit, so that you know that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one gift and one power. In fact, what is apparently attributed to the Father, the same thing turns out to belong to both the Son and the Holy Spirit. How is it said that no one comes to the Son, “except it be given to him from My Father” (John 6:65)? But this same thing, obviously, belongs to the Son: “I am,” He says, “the way...: no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). But look, this is also attributed to the Spirit: “no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). Likewise, the apostles are presented as gifts to the Church from the Father, from the Son, from the Holy Spirit. And the division of gifts, as we see, is acquired by both the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 4. Let us take every measure to ensure that we have the Spirit within us, and let us treat with all respect those who have been entrusted with the power to act with the gifts of grace. Truly, great is the dignity of priests! “Whose sins,” it is said, “forgive, his sins will be forgiven.” That is why Paul says: “Obey your leaders and be submissive” (Heb. 13:17), and: “Honor them above all with love” (1 Thess. 5:13). In fact, you only care about your own affairs, and if you arrange them well, you will not be responsible for other people. And the priest, even if he has arranged his own life well, if he does not take care of your life and all others entrusted to his care with due diligence, then he will go to hell with the wicked, and often, innocent in his deeds, he dies for your iniquities if he does not properly fulfill everything that concerns him. So, knowing what a great danger threatens the priests, show them great love. Paul also pointed out this when he said: “they are vigilantly watching over your souls,” and - not just, but “obliged to give an account” (Heb. 13:17). Therefore, they must be shown great respect. If you, together with others, begin to insult them, then your affairs will not be successful. As long as the helmsman is in good spirits, so long are those sailing on the ship safe; and since he is in grief due to insults and hostile actions on the part of his companions, he can no longer be vigilant as before, nor act with his usual skill, and reluctantly exposes them to countless disasters. Likewise, the priests, if they enjoy proper honor with you, will be able to arrange your affairs as they should; and if you sadden them, you will weaken their hands and make sure that they, together with you, will easily be carried away by the waves, even if they are very courageous. Think about what Christ said about the Jews: “The scribes and Pharisees sat in the seat of Moses; Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do” (Matthew 23:2-3). Now it cannot be said that the priests sat on the seat of Moses; no, they sat on the seat of Christ because they accepted Christ’s teaching. That is why Paul says: “we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, and it is as if God Himself exhorts through us” (2 Cor. 5:20). Do you not see how everyone submits to the worldly authorities? Although subordinates often surpass their superiors in the nobility of their family, in life, and in wisdom, however, out of respect for the one who appointed them, they do not think about any of this, but honor the determination of the king, whatever the person who received authority over them. Such is our fear when a man appoints a boss! But when God ordains, we despise the ordained one, and insult him, and persecute him with countless reproaches, and, while we are forbidden to judge our brothers, we sharpen our tongues against the priests. And what excuse can we find for ourselves when we do not see the log in our own eye, but with malicious diligence we notice the mote in another? Don’t you know that when you judge others in this way, you are preparing the most severe condemnation for yourself? I say this not because I approve of those who unworthily serve in the priesthood; no, I extremely regret them and cry; nevertheless, I affirm that even in this case, subordinates and especially the simplest people do not have the right to judge them. Let the life of a priest be the most vicious; but if you are attentive to yourself, you will not suffer any harm in what has been entrusted to him by God. If the Lord made a donkey speak and through a magician bestowed spiritual blessings; if, therefore, through the dumb mouth of a donkey, and through the unclean tongue of Balaam, He acted for the ungrateful Jews, then all the more for you, if you are grateful, He will do everything that is necessary on His part and send down the Holy Spirit, even if the priests were extremely vicious. After all, even a pure (priest) does not attract the Holy Spirit by his own purity; but grace accomplishes everything. “For all are yours,” it says, “whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas” (1 Cor. 3:21-22). Everything that is entrusted to the priest is the only gift of God; and, no matter how much human wisdom prospers, it will always be lower than that grace. I say this not so that we carelessly dispose of our lives, but so that you subordinates, seeing the negligence of one of the leaders, do not multiply evil for yourselves on this occasion. But what am I saying about priests? Neither an angel nor an archangel can have any effect on what is given from God: here everything is arranged by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the priest only constricts his tongue and stretches out his hand. And it would be unfair if, because of the depravity of another person, those who with faith approach the symbols of our salvation suffered harm. So, knowing all this, let us fear God and respect His priests, showing them all honor, so that for our good deeds and for respect for them we will receive a great reward from God, according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: