Беседа 19

Eph.5:15–17. See therefore that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise, Treasuring time, because the days are evil. So, do not be unreasonable, but know what the will of God is. What is the wickedness of the day? – You need to thank God even in misfortune. – The causes of many natural things are unknown. – Regarding divine objects, inquisitiveness is inappropriate. – What is the true motivation for obedience? 1. Again (the apostle) uproots bitterness, again cuts off the occasion for anger. What is he really saying? "Be careful and tread carefully." He knew his Teacher that, sending his disciples like sheep among wolves, He commanded them to also be like doves. “Be... simple,” he says, “like doves” (Matthew 10:16). Since, on the one hand, (Christians) were among the wolves, and on the other hand, they were instructed not to avenge themselves, but to endure insults, that is why they needed such instruction. And the former was already enough to make them more courageous; and when an addition is made to two, then understand that (the instruction given) is already excessive. Look, with what care he warns them, saying: “Tread carefully.” Entire cities waged war against them (the apostles); this war spread to homes. The father armed himself against his son, the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, the daughter against the mother. So what? Where do these divisions come from? They heard Christ say: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). So, so that they do not think that He introduces wars and strife in vain, since great enmity could have occurred if they themselves decided to arm themselves, for this (the apostle) says: “See that you act with caution,” that is, excluding preaching, do not give yourself any other reason for enmity against you - let this alone be the basis of enmity. Let no one accuse you of anything else, show respect and all obedience, if nothing harms the preaching, if nothing hinders piety, because “So give,” it is said, “to everyone their due: to whom you give, give; to whom quitrent, quitrent; to whom fear, fear; to whom is honor, honor” (Rom. 13:7). And when they see you submissive to others, they themselves will be ashamed. “not as fools, but as wise, valuing time.” He exhorts this, not wanting us to be resourceful and dexterous, but his words mean the following: the time is not yours; now you are strangers and strangers, foreigners and strangers; do not seek honor, do not seek glory, do not seek power, do not be vindictive; endure everything, and thereby atone for time; pay a lot, whatever they want from you. This is said in a dark way: I’ll try to clarify with an example. Let us imagine that someone has a magnificent house, then that some come to ruin it, and he gives them a lot and thereby saves himself: then we say that he has redeemed himself. Likewise, you have a great house and true faith; they come to take everything; Give everything, no matter who demands anything from you, just, most importantly, save the faith. “Because,” he says, “the days are evil.” What is the wickedness of the day? The depravity of the day must be characteristic of the day. If you know what depravity is in those around us, you will also know what the depravity of the day is. What is the depravity of the body? Disease. What is the depravity of the soul? Anger. What is the depravity of water? Bitterness. And every kind of depravity is a disorder in the nature of the object to which depravity is attributed. So, if the day can have depravity, then it lies in the day itself, in the hours, in the light. So Christ says: “Every day’s trouble is sufficient” (Matthew 6:34). Through this we can understand that too. So, in what sense does he call the days evil? When is the time for the evil one? Not an essence, not a creation (as he calls it), but what is done in continuation of them. Likewise, we have the custom of saying: “I spent a hard day, a bad one.” Meanwhile, how could it be difficult, if not depending on what happened during it? And what happens during it is good from God, evil from vicious people. Consequently, people are the creators of what is vicious in time, and therefore they say: “evil times.” This is how we call times vicious. “So,” he says, “do not be unreasonable, but know what is the will of the Lord. And do not get drunk with wine, from which there is debauchery” (Eph. 5:17-18), - since intemperance in this too makes us hot-tempered and impudent and impetuous, irritable and intolerable. Wine is given for fun, and not for drunkenness. And now not getting drunk is considered business. effeminate and ridiculous. What hope of salvation? It is ridiculous, you say, not to get drunk, while drunkenness should be ridiculed most of all. It is very good for a private person to be a stranger to drunkenness; and much more so for a warrior who deals with weapons, with blood, and much more so for a military leader, when, even without that, his anger is inflamed by power, by the fact that he constantly lives among people. ambushes and battles. Do you want to know where wine is good? Listen to the words of Scripture: “Give the ax to the perishing and wine to the sorrowful soul” (Prov. 31:6). And it is true: it has the power to soften grief and melancholy and remove sorrow. How does wine lead to drunkenness? Nothing can produce opposite effects. This means that drunkenness does not come from wine, but from immoderation. Wine was not given to us for anything other than the health of the body; but even this is prevented by intemperance. Listen also to that blessed one who writes and says to Timothy: “Drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Tim. 5:23). 2. For this reason, God created our bodies proportionate, requiring little for their saturation, in order to teach us from here that we were created for another life. This is the kind of life He wanted to give us at first; but since we ourselves have become unworthy of it, He postponed it and during the postponement does not allow us to enjoy without measure. A small glass of wine and one piece of bread is enough to fill the human stomach. The ruler of all the dumb (God) created those in need much less in comparison with them, and gave a small body, indicating by this nothing more than that we should strive for another life. “Do not get drunk,” he says, “with wine, which causes debauchery.” It does not save, but destroys not only the body, but also the soul. “But be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ” (Eph. 5:18–21). Do you want to have fun, he says? Do you want to spend the day? I give you spiritual drink. Drunkenness destroys the euphony of speech, causing our tongue to stutter; equally distorts the eyes and everything. Learn to sing psalms, and you will see the sweetness of this matter, because singing psalms are filled with the Holy Spirit, and singing satanic songs are filled with the unclean spirit. What do the words “in your hearts to the Lord” mean? This means - approach this task with attention, because the inattentive sing uselessly, uttering only words, while their heart wanders elsewhere. “Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear” of Christ. That is, let your petitions ascend to God with thanksgiving; Nothing pleases God more than when someone thanks Him. Mostly, we can express our gratitude by removing our soul from the above, by cleansing it from what (the apostle) said. “But be filled,” he says, “with the Spirit.” Is this in our power? Yes, in ours. When we cleanse our souls from lies, cruelty, fornication, impurity and covetousness, when we become good-natured, compassionate, caring about ourselves, when there is no blasphemy in us, when we make ourselves worthy - then what will prevent the Holy Spirit from approaching and flying to us? And He will not only come closer, but will fill our hearts. When there is such light within us, then after that virtue will no longer be difficult for us, but easy and pleasant. “giving thanks,” he says, “always for everything.” How then? Should one give thanks for everything no matter what happens? Truly so, even if it was illness, even poverty. If in the Old Testament a certain sage advised, saying: “Accept everything that happens to you joyfully, and be patient in the vicissitudes of your humiliation” (Sir. 2:4), then all the more so should this be in the new. Although Even if you don’t understand the reason for something, give thanks: this is what gratitude is all about. There is nothing important or surprising in the fact that you give thanks when you are blessed, healthy, everything succeeds and you are happy. It is necessary that you give thanks in misfortunes and sorrows. Do not say anything other than the words: thank you, Lord! But what am I saying about the disasters that happen here (on earth)? For Gehenna itself, for the punishments, for the torment that will be there (beyond the grave), we must thank God. If we are attentive, this matter will bring us great benefit when it is the fear of Gehenna that puts a bridle on our hearts. And not only for obvious benefits, but also for secret ones sent against desire, we must give thanks. (God) benefits us a lot when we don’t want or don’t see it. If you don’t believe me, I’ll explain this matter to you. Think about it, don’t the lawless and godless Hellenes attribute everything to the sun and their idols? Well? Doesn't He send blessings to them too? Do they not owe their lives, health, children and other things to His providence? What about the so-called Marcionites? What about the Manichaeans? Do they not blaspheme Him? So what? Doesn't He do good to them every day? If it benefits those without their knowledge, then how much more to us. And what else is characteristic of God, if not to do good to the human race both in punishments and in blessings? So, it is not only in happiness that we should give thanks, because there is nothing important here. The devil knew this too; That’s why he said: “Is Job fearing God for nothing? Haven't you surrounded him and his house and all that he has? ...but stretch out Your hand and touch everything that he has, will he bless You?” ( Job 1:9–11 ). But this villain (the devil) had no benefit from this, and let it not happen that anything more would come to him regarding us. When poverty, illness, and misfortune befall us, then we should give more thanks. I mean gratitude not in words, not in language, but in actions, deeds, thoughts and heart. Let us thank Him with all our souls. After all, He loves us more than our parents, and the love of God is as different from parental love as goodness is from wickedness. 3. These are not my words, but those of Christ who loves us. Listen to what He says: “Is there a man among you who, when his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? and when he asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? If you, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:9-11)? And again listen to what He says in another place: “Shall a woman forget her suckling child, so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb? but even if she forgot, I will not forget you,” says the Lord (Is. 49:15). If he doesn’t love us, then why did he create us? Did He really need this? Are we doing anything useful and necessary for Him? Does He need any of us? Listen to the words of the prophet: “You are my Lord; You don’t need my blessings” (Ps. 15:2). But those who do not understand and do not feel this say: with the goodness of God there should be equality for everyone. But tell me, ungrateful man, where do you see the lack of God’s goodness, and what do you call equality? One, they say, has been crippled since childhood, another is insane and possessed by a demon, another spent his entire life until a very old age in poverty, another in severe illnesses. Are these the works of Providence? One is deaf, another is dumb, the third is poor, another is evil and lawless, full of countless vices, but has money, supports harlots and parasites, has acquired a magnificent house, and leads a carefree life. And they say a lot of similar things, weaving a long word of condemnation against Divine Providence. So what? No, therefore, Providence? What can we say against them? If it were the Hellenes and they told us: who rules the world? – we would ask them in turn: what? no Providence? Why do you honor gods, worship demons and heroes? After all, if there is Providence, then it is vigilant over everyone. If among Christians and Hellenes there are those who despair and doubt, what should we say to them? Tell me, is it really possible that so many blessings have come from chance: daily light, improvement in existing things, the chorus of stars, the uniform flow of days and nights, the consistency of nature in plants, animals and people? Who, tell me, controls this? If there is no one caring, and everything is supported by chance, then who, overturning the earth and waters, spread out such a beautiful, such a majestic tent - I mean the sky? Who gave fruitful times? Who put such power into seeds and plants? Everything random is completely disorderly, while everything well-ordered is artistic. What is random among us, tell me, that is free from great disorder, great confusion, disorder? I'm not talking about what happens without a reason, but even about someone who does it, but gets down to business without skill. Let, for example, there be wood, stones and lime; let a person who does not know house management take them and begin to build and work. Will he not destroy and ruin everything? Again, let there be a ship without a helmsman with everything that a ship needs to have, except for a helmsman, I don’t say not equipped, but even equipped: it will not be able to sail. Could this land, standing on the water, tell me, stand for so long without a supporting force? And does this make sense? And an opinion of this kind should not be ridiculed thousands of times? If at the same time (water) the sky also carries, that’s another burden. But whether the sky rests on water is another question. All this is the work of Providence. Everything carried on water should not be concave, but convex. Why? Because a convex body, such as in a ship, remains outward and tends upward, while a concave body continues to sink into the water. So, for it (the sky) you need an elastic, hard body, capable of withstanding pressure and bearing the imposed heaviness. Isn't it air that supports the sky? But it is much thinner, looser than water, and cannot offer sufficient resistance to things, even the lightest ones, much less such a bulk. A whole century would not be enough for us if we began to consider all the affairs of Providence, both in general and in particular. I’ll ask a real questioner: did all this happen from Providence, or by chance? - and if he said: there is no Providence, I will ask again: how did this happen? And he can’t find a single reason. From here, especially, you should not find out and try to unravel questions relating to human life. Why? Because man is superior to all this and all this happened for man, not man for this. 4. So, if you do not understand the wisdom and order contained in the providence of him (man), how can you comprehend the reasons contained (in God)? Yes, tell me why (man) was created so small, so far removed from the heights of heaven, that he doubts what is from above? Why are the northern and southern countries uninhabited? Why, tell me, is there more night in winter and less in summer? Why cold, heat, why is the body mortal? I will offer you an abyss of other questions, even if you want, I will not stop asking, and in everything you will be unanswerable before me. This is precisely what Providence consists of, that the reasons are incomprehensible to us. If this did not exceed our understanding, then, perhaps, someone would actually consider man the cause of everything. So-and-so, he says, is poor, and poverty is evil. What is also disease or blindness? All this is nothing, man! There is only one misfortune - to sin, and this alone is what we should talk about. Having abandoned research into the causes of real disasters, we worry too much about outsiders. Why does none of us ever try to find out why he sinned? Is it in my power to sin, or not in mine? There is no need to say much here, I will look for the answer within myself. Have I ever conquered passionate desires, or triumphed over anger out of shame or fear of people? When I find such cases, I will conclude from this that it is in my power to sin. No one is curious about this, no one takes the trouble to find out; but without reflection, according to Job, a mortal “empty ... becomes wise” (Job 11:12). What does it matter to you that one is blind and another is poor? This is not what God commands you to talk about, but about what you yourself are doing. If you doubt whether any power is working for peace, you are the most reckless person; If you are convinced of this, then why do you doubt what should please God? “Giving thanks always,” he says, “for everything to God” (Eph. 5:20). Enter the hospital and, when there is a wounded person there, watch how the doctor cuts and burns him. However, I am not saying this in relation to you - you go into the carpenter’s workshop. And you will not achieve any meaning, you will understand almost nothing of what is happening there; many things will seem stupid to you when, for example, he drills or planes wood. If I lead you to another, simpler art, for example, to painting, then here too you will be confused. Tell me, will it not seem in vain to you to do what (the painter) is doing? Why do outlines and intertwining lines serve him? When he puts down the paints, then the beauty of the art will catch your eye, and yet, even after that, you will not be able to understand anything exactly. But why am I talking about carpenters, painters, slaves like us? Tell me how a bee makes a honeycomb, and then talk about God. Learn the art of the ant, the spider, the swallow, and then talk about God. Explain this to me if you are smart; but you can't. So, won’t you, man, stop looking for what is superfluous - and this is truly unnecessary - won’t you stop being recklessly curious? There is nothing wiser than such ignorance, and those who admit complete ignorance in this case turn out to be smarter than everyone else, and those who are superstitious are the most foolish. Thus, claiming to know does not always show wisdom, and sometimes it shows stupidity. Tell me, if one of two people declared that he would measure the air stretching from earth to sky with stretched ropes, and the other, ridiculing the first, admitted that he does not know this - who, tell me, would we ridicule: the one who calls himself knowledgeable, or the one who does not know? Obviously, a so-called expert. So, the ignorant is wiser than the one who pretends to be knowledgeable. Also: if someone declared that he knew how many glasses (of water) the sea contains, and another declared that he did not know, here again isn’t ignorance wiser than knowledge? Certainly. Why? Because this ignorance is broader (than knowledge). He who admits ignorance knows something. Exactly what? That something is hidden from man; and this is important. The one who says he knows especially does not understand what he says he knows; That's why he deserves ridicule. Alas, how many urges we have to curb inappropriate inquisitiveness and curiosity, and yet we do not restrain ourselves, but interfere in the lives of others (and ask): why is that one poor, why is that one blind? With such questions we will fall into other nonsense - why, for example, is this a woman, why not all men, why is this a donkey, why a bull, why a dog, why a wolf, why a stone, why a tree - and the questions will continue indefinitely. That is why God set a measure for our knowledge and (laid its foundation) in our nature. Look with me at a very curious phenomenon. When we look from the ground at the sky, at such a height, we don’t feel anything heavy, but when we climb some high tower and want to bend down a little and look down, we suddenly feel dizzy and dizzy. Tell me the reason for this; but you will not find why the eye has greater power (than the other senses) and ceases to act at considerable distances 5. And in relation to hearing one can see the same. No one can fill all the air visible with a scream or hear at such a distance. Why do not all members have the same honor, make the same appointment, and occupy the same place? And Paul was curious about this, or better yet, not curious - because he was wise - but, having come to this question, he said: “But God arranged the members, each one in the composition of the body, as He pleased” (1 Cor. 12:18). He attributed everything to the will of God. Having stopped our research, let us just give thanks for everything. Therefore, he says, “always give thanks for everything.” This is characteristic of a wise, prudent and zealous slave, and that (empty curiosity) is characteristic of a talkative, lazy, minding his own business. Don’t you know that among the servants, the most empty and worthless ones are talkative, talkative and try to find out the secrets hidden by the masters, while the prudent, zealous ones only look at how to fulfill their service? He who talks a lot does nothing; He who does a lot says nothing inappropriate. That is why Paul said, writing about widows: “they are accustomed... not only to be idle, but also to talkatively” (1 Tim. 5:13). Tell me, where is the greater difference: between our age and childhood, or between God and people? Between us and mosquitoes, or between us and God? Obviously, between us and God. So why are you so nosy? Give thanks for everything. But you say: what will I answer if a Hellene asks me and wants to know from me whether there is a trade, and he himself says that there is no one doing business? Ask him in turn. But he says that there is no one working? That there is a providence is clear from what has been said; Regarding the incomprehensible (point out that) we do not understand its meaning. If in human affairs we do not understand much, how things are done, and although much seems inappropriate to us, we nevertheless yield, then all the more (we must do so) in relation to God. There is nothing inappropriate for believers in God. Therefore, let us give thanks for everything, let us glorify Him for everything. “Submiting,” he says, “to one another in the fear of God” (Eph. 5:21). If you obey out of submission, out of money, or out of shame, then much more (obey) out of the fear of God. Let there be mutual retribution for slavery and submission; then there will be no more slavery. Let one not exclusively occupy the place of a free man and the other a slave, but it is better if masters and servants serve each other mutually. It is much better to be a slave in this way than to be free in any other way. Here is the proof: let someone have a hundred servants and none of them serve him; let, on the other hand, there be a hundred friends mutually serving each other. Which of them will live better, who will have more joy, more fun? There is no anger, no annoyance, no irritation, nothing like that, here there is fear and slavery; here everything is by necessity, there everything is by free choice; here they serve out of compulsion, there out of love for each other. This is what God wanted, so he washed the disciples’ feet. Even more: gentlemen, if you want to judge carefully, are obliged to reward each other with mutual service. What would happen if pride did not allow reciprocation? When someone performs carnal service, you feed his body, take care of food, clothing, shoes, and this is one of the types of service. If you do not fulfill your service, then he will not fulfill his; no law will force him to serve if you do not feed him. If this happens to slaves, what is inappropriate if it also happens to free people? “In the fear of Christ,” he says, “obeying.” What kind of mercy is this when we also have reward (for service)? But he doesn't want to obey you? Submit to him, and not just obey, but submit. Serve everyone as masters, and soon you will have them as servants, enslaved by power, the strongest power of the harshest tyrant. You will gain them even more if, without receiving anything from them, you give them yours. “Obeying one another in the fear” of Christ means that we curb all passions, serve God, nourish love for each other, and then we can be worthy of God’s love for mankind, grace and bounties (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). You might be interested in: