Беседа 6

1 Thessalonians 4:9, 10. There is no need to write to you about brotherly love; for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for this is what you do to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. We beseech you, brothers, to prosper more and more. One should not mourn for the dead. – The reason for such sorrow is unbelief. 1. What does it mean that (the apostle), having talked a lot with them about chastity and intending to talk at just as much length about the fact that one should work and not grieve for the dead, the head of all good things, love, as it were, puts aside, saying: we have no need to write to you? This also stems from his great prudence and spiritual wisdom. Through this, he achieves two goals: firstly, he shows that this virtue is so necessary that it is unnecessary to learn it, since everyone knows what is of particular importance to everyone; secondly, by expressing himself in this way, he admonishes them more than if he had addressed them directly with edification. Assuming that they lead a righteous life - even if they did not live like that - and therefore not urging them to this, he rather leads them (to such a life). And note, he does not speak about love for everyone, but about love for the brethren. We have no need to write to you. Of course, if there was no need, then one should remain silent and not say anything. But now, saying that there is no need, he did more than if he had said (i.e. about love) “For you yourselves have been taught by God.” Look at the honor he gives them by saying that God himself teaches them this! You don’t need, he says, to learn from a person. The prophet says about this: “And all your sons will be taught by the Lord” (Isa. 54:13; cf. John 6:45). “For you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for this is what you do to all the brothers throughout Macedonia”: and to all others, he says. This serves as a strong incentive to fulfill (the duty of love). And it is not without reason that I say that “you yourselves have been taught by God,” but I know this from your deeds. So he told them a lot about this too. “We urge you, brethren, to abound (abundant, prosper) more,” that is, to prosper more, “and be diligent in living quietly, doing your own work, and working with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may act decently before outsiders and not lack for anything” (1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12). This makes it clear how many evils are caused by idleness, and vice versa. how many benefits are hard work, and he explains this by referring to what happens among us. He often does this and does it very prudently, because in this way people are more easily taught than through speculation. The duty of love to others is not to receive from them, but to give to them. Note his prudence: intending to instruct and exhort them, he begins to talk about what he sees good in them, so that they will be encouraged after the previous ones. admonishments and reproaches (expressed) in the words: “So he who is disobedient is not obedient to man, but to God,” and so that in this way they do not fall away. And this depends on hard work - so as not to accept (from others anything) and not to live in idleness, but by working to give to others: “It is more blessed,” it is said, “to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). “And to work,” he says, “with your own hands.” So, where are those who are zealous only for spiritual achievement? You see how he took away from them every excuse for apologizing for themselves, saying: “with their own hands.” Does anyone perform an all-night vigil with his hands? Of course, no one will say this; he is talking about spiritual labor, because giving to others from one’s labors is a truly spiritual feat, and there is nothing equal to it, “So that you, he says, act decently.” Do you see how he treats them? He did not say: do not disgrace yourself by begging; but he made the same thing clear, although he used a condescending way of expression, in order to make them feel (how indecent it was) and not to upset them too much. In fact, if our brethren are tempted by such things, then those from outside, who seek a thousand accusations and reproaches, are all the more tempted when they see that a healthy person, who can feed himself, asks for alms and needs the help of others. That is why they call us sellers of Christ: by this, he says, “the name of God is blasphemed” (Rom. 2:24). But he didn’t show anything like that, but only what could especially touch them, namely, indecency. “I do not want you, brothers, to be ignorant about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). 2. They, like all people, were especially crushed by these two disasters - poverty and sorrow. Look how he heals them. Their poverty came from the plunder of their property. If he commands those whose property was plundered for Christ to eat through labor, then how much more so to others. And that their property was plundered is evident from the words: “You, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus, which are in Judea” (1 Thessalonians 2:14). How? Them; that, writing to the latter, (he too) said: “And they accepted the plunder of your goods with joy” (Heb. 10:34). Then here he talks about the resurrection - and for what? Didn't he tell them about this? But here there is some other secret in thought. Which one exactly? “We,” he says, “who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not warn the dead.” Of course, the word about the resurrection can calm those who mourn, and what is said now can make the resurrection certain. But first we must say about what (the apostle) himself said: “I do not want to leave you, brethren, in ignorance about the dead, 6 so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope.” Look how he speaks meekly here too! He did not say to them, as he did to the Corinthians: you are so senseless, so reckless that, knowing about the resurrection, you grieve like unbelievers; but he said very meekly: “I don’t want to,” out of respect for their other virtue. And he did not say: “about the dead,” immediately, at the very beginning, giving consolation. “So that you do not grieve,” he says, “like others who have no hope.” Consequently, it is natural for those who have no hope to grieve for those who have departed. And authentic. The soul, completely unaware of the resurrection and considering this death to be death, naturally grieves (for the dead) as for the dead, laments and cries inconsolably; and you, who long for resurrection, why are you crying? So, it is natural for those who have no hope to cry. Listen, wives, who love to cry and indulge in immeasurable sorrow: you are acting like a pagan. If it is common for pagans to grieve for the dead, then tell me, to whom is it fitting to grieve and lacerate the cheeks? Why do you cry if you believe that the dead will be resurrected, that he has not perished, that death is sleep and peace? Then, you say that in him I lost my husband, protector, trustee and assistant in all matters and needs. But when you lost your son in infancy, who could not do anything for you, then why do you cry, what do you regret? He, you say, showed good hopes, and I expected that he would take care of me. That’s why I regret my husband, that’s why I regret my son, that’s why I’m tormented and weeping - not because I don’t believe in the resurrection, but because I’ve become helpless and have lost my patron, my cohabitant, my accomplice in everything, my comforter. That's why I'm crying. I know that he will be resurrected, but I cannot bear the temporary separation. A lot of trouble threatens me: anyone who wants to can offend me; slaves, formerly feared, are now despised and insulted; whoever was benefited by the deceased has forgotten his good deeds; whoever was offended by him, out of malice towards him, pours out anger on me. That is why I cannot endure widowhood with indifference and not cry bitterly, that is why I am tormented, that is why I cry. So, how can we console them? What shall we say? How shall we satisfy their sorrow? First, I will try to prove to them that their crying does not come from these reasons, but from reckless passion. In fact, if you grieve for these reasons, then you should grieve for the deceased incessantly. If, after one year, you forget him so much that it’s as if nothing happened to you, then obviously you are not mourning the deceased, and not his protection. But you cannot bear the separation and end of the marriage? What will those who entered into a second marriage say? Of course, they no longer regret their former husbands. However, we will not speak to them, but to those who have sincere affection for the dead. Why are you crying about your son, why about your husband? You speak about the first because he did not bring me the expected joy, and about the second because I hoped to share joy with him longer. But isn’t it a matter of extreme unbelief to think that your husband or son will protect you, and not God? How can you not think that you are insulting God by this? This is why He often takes them away, so that you are not attached to them to such an extent that you place your only hopes on them. God is jealous and wants us to love Him above all else, and this comes from the fact that He loves us very much. You know that this is the property of those who love passionately: they are extremely jealous and would rather lose their life than see their rivals triumph. That's why God took him away - precisely for these reasons. 3. In fact, why, tell me, in ancient times there was no premature widowhood or orphanhood? Why did (God) allow Abraham and Isaac to live for a long time? Of course, because (Abraham), even when he lived (Isaac), preferred God to him. God said: kill, and he killed. Why did He continue Sarah's life until such an old age? Because throughout her life Abraham obeyed God more than her. That is why God said to him: (listen to your wife Sarah) (Gen. 21:12). Then no one incurred the wrath of God either by love for a husband, or love for a wife, or caring for a son. Now, since we are partial to earthly things and have fallen deeply, and husbands love their wives more than God, and wives honor their husbands more than God, He wants to force us to love Himself against our will. Do not love your husband more than God, and you will never experience widowhood, and even if it befalls you, you will not feel it (the burden). Why? Because you have the Immortal as your patron, who loves you more. If you love God more, then do not cry: the More Beloved is immortal and will not allow you to grieve the loss of the one you love less. Let me explain this to you with an example. If you had a husband who acted in everything according to your wishes, respectable, loving you, if you were happy with him and had a child with him, who would then die before reaching adulthood, then tell me, would you really begin to grieve with grief? No, because his loss would have been made up for by your more beloved (husband). So in the present case, if you love God more than your husband, then He, of course, will not take him soon, and if he did, you would not grieve bitterly. That is why blessed Job did not give in to grief at all when he heard about the sudden death of his children, because he loved God more than them. Therefore, this loss could not sadden him, because the One Whom he loved was alive. What are you saying, wife? Would a husband or son be your protection? Doesn't God care about you? And who gave it to you? Isn't He? And who created you? Isn't He? Is it possible that the One who brought you from non-existence into existence, breathed a soul into you, put a mind into you, deigned to give you knowledge of Himself, and who did not spare His only begotten Son for you, does not pity you, but will pity you just like you, servant? What great anger do these words excite! What did you get from your husband like that? You can't point to anything. If he did you any favor, he did it, having been favored by you in advance. But no one can say anything like that about God: God does good to us not so as to repay our previously shown benefits to Him, but, having no need for anything, to do good to the human race out of His goodness alone. He promised you a kingdom, gave you eternal life, glory, brotherhood, adoption, made you a joint heir with the Only Begotten; and after so many blessings, do you still remember your husband? What did he give you? (God) commanded His sun to rise, sent rain, and nourishes with fruits that grow annually. Woe to us extremely ungrateful people! This is why God takes away your husband, so that you are not (exclusively) attached to him, and you, even after his death, would like to have him, and you leave God, whereas you should thank Him and turn completely to Him. What did you receive from your husband? Illnesses of childbirth, labor, insults, frequent reproaches, reprimands and grief - isn’t this what (wives endure) from their husbands? But on the other hand, you say, there are benefits. What are these? Did he dress you up in expensive clothes? Have you placed gold jewelry on your face? Made everyone respect you? But if you want, then (God) will adorn you with a decoration much better than the deceased. Honesty adorns a woman more than gold jewelry. This King also has clothes, but not the same, but much better. If you want, dress up in these clothes. What are these? This is a robe with golden cassocks, with which, if you want, you can clothe your soul. But with him I wasn’t held in contempt by people? What's so important about this? For this reason, widowhood will prevent you from being reproached by demons. Then you ruled your slaves, if you truly ruled; and now, instead of a domestic servant, you have power over ethereal forces, principles, authorities - over the ruler of the world. Besides, you don’t talk about the troubles that you shared with him, such as the fear of bosses, the preference of peers for him? Now you are free from all this - from fear and fear. But do you care who will feed the remaining children? Father of orphans! Who gave them, tell me? Do you not hear what Christ says in the Gospel: “Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing” (Matthew 6:25)? 4. Do you see that the reason for crying is not widowhood, but unbelief? But after the death of the father, the children become less famous? Why? They have God as their father and become less famous? How many I will show you who were raised by widows and became famous! How many, on the other hand, are there who were raised by their fathers and yet died! If you raise them from a young age as you should, it will be much more beneficial for them than if they enjoyed the protection of their father. And that widows are really obligated to raise children, listen to what Paul says: “if she has raised children” (1 Tim. 5:10), and also: “however, she will be saved through bearing children—he did not say: for her husband’s sake—if she continues in faith and love and in holiness with chastity” (1 Tim. 2:15). From a young age, instill in them the fear of God, and he will protect them better than any father, he will be an unbreakable wall. After all, when this guardian dwells within us, then we do not need any external fences; and when it is not there, everything external is in vain. He will be for them wealth, and glory, and adornment; he will make them glorious not only on earth, but also in heaven. Do not look at those girded with golden belts, nor at those who ride on horses, who shine in the royal palaces for the merits of their ancestors, and who walk with guides and mentors. Maybe this makes widows cry over the fate of orphans, because each of them thinks; that my son, if his father were alive, would enjoy the same happiness, but now he is humiliated and unknown, so that no one even wants to talk to him. But don’t think about this, woman, but soar with your thoughts beyond the gates of heaven, look at the royal palaces there, look at the King sitting there, think whether these earthly lucky ones can be more glorious there than your son - and then mourn. And you don’t even need to think about this, that anyone is famous on earth. He can, if you want, become a warrior in heaven, the army can enroll in this. Those recorded there do not ride horses, but are carried on clouds, do not walk on the earth, but admire the sky, and their guides are not slaves, but angels themselves. They stand not before a mortal king, but an immortal one, the King of kings and Lord of lords; They are not girded around their loins with leather belts, but with that indescribable glory, for the sake of which they become more famous than the kings themselves and, in general, all people who have ever become famous. In those royal palaces, neither wealth, nor nobility, nor anything else is required, but only virtue, and if it is there, then nothing else is needed in order to become one of the first. If we judge correctly, we will not find anything like this; that could upset us. Look at the sky and see how much more brilliant it is than the roof of the royal palaces. If the foot of the high royal palaces is so much more majestic than the lower ones that the latter in comparison with the first can be considered dirt, then how blessed would he consider himself who would be honored to examine in detail these very royal palaces? “The true one,” he says, “is widowed and lonely and trusts in God” (1 Tim. 5:5). To whom is this said? To those who have children, because they are more worthy of honor and have more means to please God, since all ties are broken from them. There is no one to hold them, no one to force them to drag these chains. You are separated from your husband, but united with God; You do not have a slave equal to you as an interlocutor, but you have the Lord. When you pray, aren’t you talking to God, tell me? When you read, listen to how He talks to you. But what is He telling you? Words incomparably sweeter than the husband speaks. Even if a husband speaks kindly, it is not a great honor, because he is a slave (like you); but when the Lord speaks kindly to a servant, this is a sign of the highest favor. How does He comfort us? Listen to the words in which He expresses this. “Come,” he says, “to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). And he also cries through the prophet, saying: “Will 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” (Isaiah 49:15). What necessary love is in these words! And again: “turn to Me”; and in another place: “Turn to Me, and you will be saved” (Isa. 45:22, 44:22). If anyone wants to borrow (a saying) from the book of the Song of Songs, then, reading these most mysterious songs, he will hear the Lord say to the soul devoted to Him: “my beloved, my beautiful” (Song. 2:10)! What's sweeter than these words? Do you see how God speaks to people? So tell me? Don’t you know how many of these blessed wives’ children died and are resting in coffins - how many of them suffered even greater misfortunes, losing their children along with their husbands? Let us pay attention to this, we will remember this, and nothing sorrowful will happen for us, but we will spend all our time in spiritual joy, and we will enjoy the eternal blessings, of which may we all be worthy by grace and love for mankind (Our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen). These conversations were delivered by the saint in Constantinople in 399. Exact translation: “about the departed” (κοιμωμενων). - And. N. You might be interested in: