Беседа 87

John 20:24–25. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not here with them when Jesus came. The other disciples said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he told them: if I don’t see... I won’t believe. etc. 1. Why did Jesus Christ appear to the ap. Thomas only eight days after the appearance to the other disciples. – Why did Jesus Christ keep the scars of his wounds on his body? – 2. Difference in characters app. Peter and John: the first was lively and ardent, the second more sublime and insightful. – 3 and 4. What a joy to see Jesus Christ in glory! – There is no need to spare anything just to achieve eternal bliss. – Contemplation of future benefits makes present life simple, pleasant and easy. The power of love. - Comparison of love. Paul to Jesus Christ with our love. – The vice of covetousness and ways to combat it. – Incorrect use of earthly goods. 1. Just as believing simply and indiscriminately is a matter of frivolity, so testing beyond measure and exploring more than necessary is a matter of an extremely stubborn mind. This is why Thomas is condemned. When the apostles told him: “we saw the Lord,” he did not believe it, not so much out of distrust in them, but because he considered this thing impossible, that is, the resurrection from the dead. He did not say: I do not believe you, but: “I will not put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” But why, while everyone was gathered, was he the only one missing? He probably did not return then from his former dispersion. And you, when you see this disciple as an unbeliever, think about the love of the Lord, who, even for the sake of one soul, shows himself in wounds, and comes for the salvation of one, although more stubborn than others. In fact, Thomas sought confirmation for himself through the most coarse feelings and did not even believe his eyes. He did not say: if I don’t see, but: if I don’t touch it to find out if it’s a ghost that I see. Without a doubt, the disciples who proclaimed it were already worthy of faith, as well as Himself who promised it; nevertheless, since Thomas was looking for more for himself, Christ did not refuse him this either. Why does He not appear to him immediately, but after eight days? So that Thomas, listening during this time to the convictions of the disciples and hearing the same thing, would be inflamed with a greater desire and become stronger in faith for the future. But how did he know that the ribs were also perforated? I heard this from students. Why did he believe this and not believe that? Because it was a completely extraordinary and miraculous event. But notice the love of truth of the apostles: they do not hide the shortcomings of either their own or others, but describe them with all the truth. So, Jesus appears again and does not wait until (Thomas) asks Him or says something like that, but even before he said anything, he fulfills his desire, showing that He was with the disciples and while (Thomas) spoke to them. He used the same words, strongly reproaching him and admonishing him for the future. Having said: “Put your finger here and look at My hands; extend your hand and place it in My side,” he added: “And do not be unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27). Do you see that doubt came from unbelief? But this was so before we received the Holy Spirit; and after that - not so: they were already perfect. And Christ reproached not only with these words, but also with further ones. When Thomas, having become convinced, calmed down and exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” , - Christ said: “You believed because you saw Me; Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:28–29). Faith actually consists in receiving the unseen: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). And here He calls blessed not only the disciples, but also those who believe after them. But the disciples, you say, saw and believed? However, they did not demand anything of the kind, but from the burial shrouds they immediately accepted the word of the resurrection and, before they saw Christ himself, they already showed complete faith. So, if anyone now says: how I would like to live in those times and see Christ working miracles! - let him think that “blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.” In this case, one can rightly be perplexed as to how an incorruptible body had nail ulcers on itself, and how was it possible to touch it with a mortal hand? But don't be embarrassed: it was a matter of indulgence. The body was so thin and light that it entered through the closed doors (John 20:26), obviously, it was alien to any plumpness; but Christ shows him this way in order to assure him of the resurrection and to teach that it was He who was crucified, and not another who rose in His place. That is why He was resurrected, having on Himself the signs of the cross; that is why He also eats food. And the apostles very often presented this as evidence of the resurrection, saying: “those who ate and drank with Him” (Acts 10:41). Because before the crucifixion we see Him walking on the waves and yet do not say that His body was of a different nature than ours, so after the resurrection, seeing the wounds on Him, we will not call Him corruptible, because He showed them for the disciple. “Jesus did many other miracles before His disciples” (John 20:30). Since this evangelist said less than others, he says that all the others did not say everything, but as much as was necessary to attract those listening to faith. And if, he says, everything were described, then I think that the world would not contain books (John 21:25). 2. From this it is clear that they did not speak about the miracles they described out of boasting, but solely for benefit. And how is it possible that they described it out of boasting, when most of them were omitted? But why didn’t they tell about everyone? Mainly - due to their multitude; Then they also thought that whoever does not believe what was said will not believe anything more, and whoever accepts this will not need anything else to establish himself in the faith. However, it seems to me that here (the evangelist) speaks only about the signs that happened after the resurrection, which is why he remarks: “before His disciples” (John 20:30). Just as before the resurrection many miracles were needed in order for people to believe that Christ is the Son of God, so after the resurrection - in order to be convinced that He has risen. That’s why he added: “before His disciples,” since after the resurrection he spoke only to them, which is why he said: “The world will see Me no more” (John 14:19). Then, so that you know that all this was done only for the sake of the disciples, he adds: “and believing, they had life in His name” (John 20:31). Here He addresses the speech to people in general and shows that He spoke about this not for the sake of the One in whom we believe, but mainly for our own benefit. “In His name,” that is, through him, because He is “life” (John 14:6). “After this Jesus appeared again to His disciples by the Sea of ​​Tiberias” (John 21:1). Do you see that He does not treat them all the time and in the same way as before? He appeared in the evening and disappeared; then - once more, eight days later, and disappeared again; then now - to the sea, and again with great fear. But what does it mean: “appeared”? From this it is clear that if He had not descended, He would not have been visible, since His body was already incorruptible and immortal. Why did you mention the place? To show that Christ delivered them from excessive fear, so that they left the house and walked everywhere. They no longer sat locked in the house, but, avoiding danger from the Jews, they went to Galilee. And so Simon goes fishing. Since Christ was not constantly with them, and the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to them, and they were then left without any assignment, then, having nothing to do, they turned to their own providence. “There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas,... and Nathanael,” called by Philip, “and the sons of Zebedee, and two others” (John 21:2). Since, I say, they had nothing to do, they went fishing and did it at night because they were afraid. Luke also speaks about catching fish (Luke 5:1–10), but he does not mean this event, but another. The other disciples followed (Peter), since they were no longer separated from each other, but at the same time they wanted to watch the fishing and make good use of their free time. So they work, and when they are tired, Jesus appears to them, but does not immediately reveal Himself, but first enters into conversation with them. He says to them: “Do you have any food?” (John 21:5). – He enters into conversation in a completely human way, as if intending to buy something from them. When they responded that they had nothing, He commanded them to throw to the right: they threw and received a catch. And when they recognized Him, the disciples Peter and John again revealed the peculiarities of their characters. That one was more fiery, and this one more sublime; This one is faster, and this one is more insightful. Therefore, John was the first to recognize Jesus, and Peter was the first to go to Him, since there were no small signs. Which ones exactly? Firstly, a lot of fish were caught; then, the hole did not burst; further, they found coals ready and “a fire laid out and fish and bread lying on it” (John 21:9) before reaching the shore. Now Christ no longer created from a ready-made substance, as according to some opinion he created before. So Peter, as soon as he recognized Him, threw everything away - both the fish and the fish, and girded himself. Do you see both respect and love? Although the disciples were two hundred cubits away, Peter, despite this, did not want to wait until he arrived on the ship, but hurried to swim. What about Jesus? “Come,” he says, “have dinner... No one dared to ask Him” (John 21:12). Now they no longer had their usual courage, they did not dare, as before, and did not address Him with a speech, but in silence, with great fear and reverence, they sat and looked at Him. They knew “that this is the Lord” (John 21:12), and therefore did not ask: “Who are you?” Seeing the changed face, filled with extraordinary grandeur, they were very amazed and would like to ask something about it; but fear and the consciousness that it was not someone else, but Him, kept them from asking the question, and they only tasted what He had created by His high power. Here He no longer looks at heaven and does not do anything human, as it was before, showing that even then it was done out of condescension. And that He did not constantly treat His disciples in the same way as before, the Evangelist speaks about this: “This was the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead” (John 21:14). Christ commands them to bring part of the fish to show that what they see is not a ghost. However, it does not say here that He himself ate with them, but Luke in another place says about Him: “And he took it and ate before them” (Luke 24:43). And he ate with them (Acts 10:41) How it happened, we cannot say. Without a doubt, this happened somehow miraculously, not because nature still needed it, but out of condescension, to prove the resurrection. 3. Hearing about this, perhaps you were inflamed and called blessed those who dealt with Him, as well as those who will be in communion with Him on the day of the general resurrection. Let us use all measures to behold His wonderful face. If now, when we hear about this, we are so inflamed and would like to live in those days when He lived on earth, to hear His voice, to see His face, to come to Him, to touch Him and to serve Him, then think what it means to see Him when He is no longer in a mortal body and does not act like a human, but is carried by 38 angels, when we ourselves will be in an immortal body and, contemplating Him, we will enjoy other things. bliss that surpasses all words. Therefore, I beg you, we will try in every possible way not to lose such glory. And there is nothing difficult in this, if only we want, nothing painful, if we are careful: “if we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). What does it mean: “tolerate”? If we endure sorrows, persecutions, if we walk the narrow path. The narrow path in itself is difficult, but our determination and hope for the future makes it easy. “For our momentary light affliction produces eternal glory in an exceeding abundance, when we look not at what is seen, but at what is unseen: for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18). So, let us lift our eyes to heaven and constantly imagine and contemplate what is there. If we always have this in our thoughts, then the pleasures here will not be attractive to us, and the sorrows will not be painful. We will laugh at this and at similar things, and nothing will be able to enslave or overpower us, if only we rush there with our desire and look at that love. And what am I saying: let us not grieve during real disasters? We won’t even notice them: this is already a property of love. Whom we love and who is not with us, but far from us, is precisely who we imagine every day. Great, truly, is the power of love: it removes the soul from everything and binds it to the beloved object. If we love Christ so much, then everything here will seem like a shadow to us, everything will be just a ghost and a dream. Then we will say: “Who will separate us from the love of God: sorrow, or distress...?” (Rom.8:35). He did not say: property, wealth, beauty, since all this is extremely insignificant and despicable, but pointed to what is considered heavy - hunger, persecution, death. He despised this too as if it were nothing, and because of money we are separated from our lives and removed from the world. Paul prefers love for Him to death, to life, to the present, to the future, and to every creature in general; and we, as soon as we see a little gold, immediately become inflamed and trample on the laws of Christ. If it is unpleasant to hear about it, then all the less is it necessary to endure it in practice. But the trouble is that when we hear this, we are horrified, and when we do it, we are not horrified; on the contrary, we swear frivolously, and break oaths, and are predatory, and demand extravagant interest, and neglect chastity, and abandon diligent prayer, and transgress most of the commandments, and for the sake of money we do not pay any attention to our fellow men. Yes, whoever is addicted to wealth causes a thousand evils to his neighbor, and with it to himself. He is easily irritated, vilifies, calls him a freak, swears, breaks his oath, and does not even observe what the Old Testament law prescribes. He who loves wealth will not even love his neighbor, and yet we are commanded for the sake of the kingdom to love our enemies themselves. And if we, while fulfilling the ancient commandments, cannot reach the kingdom of heaven, “unless our righteousness surpasses” those (Matthew 5:20), then, transgressing them, how will we be justified? He who is partial to wealth will not only not love his enemies, but will also look upon his friends themselves as enemies. 4. What am I talking about friends? Those addicted to wealth often do not recognize nature itself. Such a person does not know kinship, does not remember acquaintances, does not respect age, has no one as a friend, but shows a hostile disposition towards everyone, and most of all - towards himself - not only because he is destroying his soul, but also because he burdens himself with countless worries, labors, and sorrows. He decides to travel, exposes himself to troubles, dangers, intrigues and everything like that, just to have the root of evil and count a lot of gold. What could be more terrible than such a disease! A person obsessed with it renounces luxury and all pleasure, because of which people sin so much, and deprives himself of glory and honor. He who loves wealth suspects everyone and has many accusers, envious people, slanderers and attackers. Those who are offended by him hate him because they suffered evil from him; those who have not yet suffered anything are arming themselves against him, out of fear of suffering and out of sympathy for the victims; and finally, great and powerful people, partly out of indignation at him out of compassion for the lower ones, and partly out of envy, also become his enemies and hate him. But what am I saying about people? Against whom God himself is armed, what hope, what consolation, what consolation remains for him? He who is addicted to wealth will never be able to use it; he will be his slave and his guard, but not his master. Always trying to increase it, he will never want to spend it, but will exhaust himself, will be poorer than all the beggars, because he will never satisfy his passion. But money exists not in order to save it, but in order to use it. If we begin to bury them from others, then can there be anything more pitiful than us when we run everywhere and try to seize everything in order to lock it in our house and remove it from general use? There is, however, another ailment, no less than this. Some bury money in the ground, while others squander it for their belly, on luxury and drunkenness, and thus, along with the punishment for untruth, they incur punishment for voluptuousness. Some use them on parasites and flatterers, others on games and harlots, and others on other similar needs, and thus build for themselves countless paths leading to Gehenna, and leave the straight and lawful path leading to heaven, while this path not only brings benefits, but is also more pleasant than those paths. He who gives to harlots becomes ridiculous and shameful; he will have many quarrels, but the pleasure will be short, or better yet, he will not even get a short one. No matter how much he gives to rejected women, they will not be at all grateful to him: “a stranger’s house is a drilled vessel” (Proverbs 23:27). Moreover, this race is shameless, and Solomon likened the love of such a woman to hell. She only calms down when she sees her lover no longer having anything. It’s better to say that even then she does not calm down, but she magnifies herself even more, tramples on the one lying down, betrays him to great ridicule and does him so much evil that it is impossible to describe. This is not the pleasure of those who are saved. Here no one has a rival in love, but everyone rejoices and is merry - both those who prosper and those who look at them. Neither anger, nor sadness, nor shame, nor reproach disturbs the soul of such a person; on the contrary, there is great peace of conscience and great hope for the future, bright glory and great honor, God's complete favor and security. There is not a single cliff there and no danger; on the contrary, there is a shelter inaccessible to the waves and silence. Imagining all this and comparing one pleasure with another, let us choose the best for ourselves in order to be worthy of future blessings, according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” That is carried on spears (Greek: “grown”). It was the custom for victorious military leaders to be carried in a special way with spears for glorification. You might be interested in: