A Word about Blessed Abraham

In church affairs, old age does not interfere. – Why didn’t Abraham reveal to his wife his intention to sacrifice Isaac? – Parental love is instilled in the listeners. – God foretold great things per umbras. 1. Have you seen young gray hair and blooming old age? Have you ever seen a courageous warrior who fought with nature and his heart? Have you ever seen a husband who is stronger than adamant in old age? The strength of his body has weakened, but the strength of his faith has grown strong. Such are the works of the ministry of the church that weakness of the body does not in the least harm the vigor of faith; decrepit gray hair, combined with inspired faith, serves as an adornment for the church, and the church especially rejoices in this. In external affairs the elder is useless and incapable of anything, but in everything he deserves an apology, due to his weakness not being able to be useful in necessary matters. For example, an old man cannot go out to war, nor mount a horse, nor throw a spear, nor turn a shield, nor endure the heat of the sun, nor endure the length of a journey, nor endure the cruelty of hunger and the severity of anxiety, but he sits in a calm place, finding justification for himself in his gray hair. The same can be seen on ships: the old man can neither steer the helm, nor cut the seas, nor use an oar, nor raise sails, nor fight contrary winds, nor endure the cruelty of the cold, nor do anything else similar, but sits in the ship, finding an excuse for his age. The same can be seen among farmers: the old man can neither pull the plow, nor draw furrows, nor tame horses, nor maintain the strength of powerful oxen, nor endure the heat and intense heat and the weight of the spade, or anything else necessary in agriculture, but sits at home, finding an excuse for himself in his gray hair. But the affairs of the church are not like that - but when those who live virtuously grow old, then they become most useful, because what is required here is not the strength of the body, but the strength of faith. Such was Abraham, weak in body but strong in faith. He was old, but in his ripe old age he fought against nature and erected great trophies of victory; He was old, but he turned out to be stronger than iron and harder than adamant. When he was in his youth he did nothing so glorious, but when the time of that age had passed, then he erected a trophy of victory; he was very old, but old age was not an obstacle for him. Therefore, God, knowing his firmness, appears to him and says: “Get out of your land, from your kindred and from your father’s house... to the land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). Abraham obeyed these words, although he was already old and weak in body, and did not say to himself: where will I go in my old age? How can I leave my father’s house and the land in which I was born, where I have abundance of wealth and noble parents, where I have precious property and a pleasant company of friends? Of course, on this occasion he was sad, but he did not disobey; as a lover of the fatherland, he regretted leaving it, but as a lover of God, he obeyed and obeyed. And the surprising thing is that God did not even tell him which place (to go), but by the silence of the name he tested his will. If God had said to him: I will take you to a land flowing with honey and milk, it would seem that Abraham did not obey the voice of God, but preferred one land to another. So Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going. Do you see gray hair, venerable in business? Such, as I said before, are our affairs; neither the powerlessness of old age weakens them, nor time destroys them, because this gray hair is not in the body, but in the soul; that is why there is no old age here. Thus Abraham went out, taking nothing with him, but still living in the tents; and did not give in to unbelief and did not lose heart, because he had a sure guarantee - the voice of the One who called. He was barren and had no children, as well as Sarah his wife, but according to the promise he received a son Isaac; when nature refused, then it bestowed grace; he received a worthy reward for obedience, but without knowing it in advance, because if he had known, he would not have done anything praiseworthy. And in order for you to be convinced that he did not obey for this reward, look at how even when he received the command to slay his son, he does not resist the command, but rejects nature and devotes himself to the love of God, tramples on his womb and does not retreat from Him who called him. What did God tell him? "Abraham! He said: Here am I... And he said: Take your son... whom you love, Isaac... and... offer it as a burnt offering on one of the mountains about which I will tell you” (Gen. 22:1-2). God did not even announce the mountain to him, and by keeping silent about the mountain he plunged him into greater despondency; however, nothing confused Abraham, or better, confused him, as having human feelings, but did not lead him to sin; he was overwhelmed by the waves, like a father, but did not drown, like one who loves God; his insides burned, but faith won. Do not say that Abraham did not suffer at all; Imagine the flame in which he was burning, tormented internally, and look at his wisdom. He didn’t even tell Sarah about it, fearing that she might interfere with the sacrament. If he had told her, she would probably have started to hold him back and said: where are you taking your son, whom I received beyond my expectations, whom I received for my love of strangeness, whom God gave me in my old age? Where are you taking him? Where are you taking it? No one appeared to you: how is it possible for God to appear to you and demand the son He gave me beyond my expectations? He Himself gave and He Himself takes away? If He gave it in order to take it away, then it would be better if He did not give it, because it is not so much hard not to have as it is to receive and lose. Imagine Sarah, heated, inflamed and moved by the impulse of nature, her womb tormented and her heart agitated; women are sensitive to this, and the more tender and sensitive she was, the more she would have objected to Abraham, and would have prevented the sacrifice, and the sacrament would not have been performed. What, in fact, would not Sarah do to take away her son? She could not allow a son born beyond her aspirations to be killed, a son given to her in her old age to be slaughtered, a father to commit infanticide at his hands; Sarah would not have endured this, but would have caused a great quarrel with Abraham, and the quarrel would inevitably have been followed by some trick, and the trick would have prevented the sacrament from being performed. That is why Abraham did not tell his wife, so that there would be no contradiction, so that the contradiction would not lead to a quarrel, so that after the quarrel there would not be a quarrel over his son, so that, as a result of the quarrel over his son, the fulfillment of the promise would not be delayed, so that if there was a delay in the fulfillment of the promise, no trick would be used, so that the sacrament would not be left unfulfilled by the cunning. 2. But the wise Abraham, this warrior who fought with nature, fought with his heart, armed himself against nature, did not disobey, but, obeying the command of God, listened to the calling and immediately took his son. With pleasure I dwell on these words: “Take your son... whom you love, Isaac... and... offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you” (Gen. 22:2); and Abraham took Isaac, and the donkey, and two servants, and set out. Then, when they reached a certain place, he says to the slaves: “You stay here..., and I and my son will go there and worship, and return to you” (Gen. 22:5). Here Abraham unwittingly uttered a prophecy with the help of divine grace. You go to slay your son, and say: shall we return? So, trying to hide this intention from the slaves, he becomes a prophet. And he put the wood on Isaac's shoulders and, taking fire and a knife, went up the mountain. What does Isaac say to his father? “My father! He answered: Here I am, my son. He said, “Here is the fire and the wood; where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” This one answers him: “God will provide for Himself a lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Gen. 22:7–8). Here is the second prophecy. I can’t ignore any words or actions. Imagine these names soon to lose their essential meaning. He calls him father, and he calls him son; at this time they were valid names, but later had to lose meaning. Imagine how Abraham felt when Isaac, whom he intended to slay, called him “father.” How did his knees not fall apart? How were its members not crushed? How was his mind not troubled when he heard this from his son Isaac? However, he raised and bound Isaac, and took the knife in his right hand to slay his son. O right hand, armed against the son! I don’t know how to describe this event in words. How is your hand not numb? How did the knife not fall out of your hand? How did he not become completely weak and exhausted? How could he stand and look at Isaac tied up? How did he not immediately fall dead? How did his nerves continue to serve him? How did the mind remain active? I don’t know how to describe this event in words. You, fathers and mothers, gather together, extend your hand, help my word; this matter exceeds my strength; forgive me, and give me help yourself. Often another has five or six sons and daughters; but when one of them becomes sick, the father walks around his bed, kisses his son’s eyes, caresses his hands, considers day night and light darkness, not because the elements have changed, but because the bitterness of sadness does not allow him to enjoy them; soft beds are laid out, doctors and many servants sit next to the patient, and the father is completely exhausted; whether he has great wealth, it becomes hateful to him; whether he has many worries, leaves them all, unable to be encouraged by the dejection of grief - and the whole world seems to him to be suffering incurably from this disease. In the same way, the mother walks around, torn, confused and all in flames, looking for a means - to share the disease with her son, or - better - to take it all on herself so that the suffering child can get rid of the disease. Nothing for her is the present life, nothing for her is the future, but all this seems more valuable to her than to take upon herself the whole illness of her son. I don't know how to portray such suffering. Imagine Abraham, feeling the same way, and yet wise and obeying the command; he trampled nature, and the command (of God) was more powerful than his heart. He felt like a man, as I said before, but he philosophized as one who loves God. And it was necessary to see Isaac, a martyr living and no longer alive, dead and not yet dead. According to his father’s intention, he died, but according to God’s love for mankind, he did not die. He was the prototype and likeness of the Lord; the type was completed, and the truth followed. Then Isaac is bound, but not slain, because a voice descended from above, filled with mercy and love for mankind, and restrained the forefather, who was all eager and ready for the slaughter, saying to him: Abraham, Abraham, do not lay your hands on the youth “Abraham! Abraham!.. do not lay your hand on the child" 1 (Gen. 22:11-12). Why not against the boy, but against the child? Why does he call him so derogatory? Because he was a man; but we needed a Son, not a child, not a slave, but the true Only Begotten Son, sent to us from the Father. “Do not lay your hand on the child”; You have accomplished enough of the foreshadowing; let the truth follow. And, hiding his intention from the slaves, Abraham prophesied, and (now) he sees the truth coming true according to his words - what exactly is he saying? “You stay here..., and my son and I will go there and worship, and return to you” (Gen. 22:5). What he said was not what he had in mind; but it happened as he said, and not as he thought. He leaves the slaves in order not to be forced to act against the will of God, so that they do not think that he, as an old man, is possessed by some kind of senile illness, and do not begin to restrain his desire for sacrifice, saying: what are you doing, sir? Do you really want to sacrifice a son, born of the promise, beloved, God-given, a nourisher in old age, an heir, your successor, the son of Sarah? Consider what you are doing, consult with your wife, a participant in the birth, who endured the pain of giving birth to a son, kill us first, and then your son. But the wise old man does not take with him slaves who could interfere with him, but makes the sacrifice itself carry firewood, so that it serves as a prototype of the Savior carrying the cross. Carrying them and talking, the son touches the heart of his father, but does not turn him away from love for God. What is he saying? Father. Imagine what that word was like: father. After all, when we want to slaughter a lamb or some other animal and hear it bleating and calling to us in a quiet, although not articulate, voice, we pity it and show compassion. Imagine what this sheep would have done if it had said to a weak man: “Father..., here is the fire and the wood, where is the lamb for the burnt offering” (Gen. 22:7)? And here the speaker himself was in the father’s thoughts this sheep, arousing compassion in the priest. Abraham did not learn from Christ, Who says: “Whoever loves father or mother..., or son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy Me” (Matthew 10:37), and at the same time imitated the Father, about whom it is said: “Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32). God will see the sheep for a burnt offering, my child; not a servant, but a Son. This was the only begotten, and God is the only begotten; this one carried firewood on his shoulders, and Christ carried the cross on his shoulders; this one, without committing any sin, was about to be slain, and the Son of God, without committing any sin, was crucified; this one was both slain and not slain, and the only begotten Son of God was both slain and not slain, and died and did not die; this one died by intention, but at the end of the event he did not die, and the Son of God died according to the flesh, but His divinity remained impassive. 3. God, intending to accomplish a great work among people, always warns and delineates it in the shadows, so that when the truth appears, they do not doubt it, so that, having in mind the previous image, they do not remain unbelievers of the truth. For example: the Blessed Virgin was about to give birth; it was an incredible thing - how can a virgin give birth contrary to the law of nature? Such a birth is not in the order of nature; Who has ever seen a virgin give birth? Therefore, so that the Jews do not fall into great unbelief, God warns and ordains this truth in Sarah, so that when they are perplexed about how the virgin gave birth, they, remembering, say better, how Sarah gave birth, or - even better - how did the virgin land give birth? There was no plow yet; there was no farmer to cultivate it; the rain did not go away; no grass grew on it; no furrows were made on it; it was not cultivated, did not accept seeds; the dew did not moisten it. Tell me: how did she, being a virgin, produce countless genera of plants? You cannot explain this event, but you say: it was God’s will. Think about Virgo in the same way. When perplexity arises in you, try not to investigate what God is doing; do not ask whether it is in accordance with nature when the Creator of nature acts; don't be curious. He said: “Let the earth produce flowers” ​​(Gen. 1:11) - and immediately this word penetrated into the bowels of the earth, aroused it to birth, and the virgin gave birth. First, one word was spoken - and countless genera of plants grew, and the earth received its decoration through this word. And it was necessary to see how the earth began to move, how birds, fish, earthly animals, meadows, flowers, trees, grapes, olives and countless genera of plants appeared, early and late bearing fruit, located in the fields, by the sea, by lakes, by rivers, by springs, on the mountains. One word was effective, and the earth received its beauty. How is this? Explain to me, Jew; but you can't. Do you see how error is overthrown by itself? Listen carefully. When God, as I said, intends to do some thing that may seem incredible to people, he first presents its image and shadow, so that the truth, appearing suddenly, does not plunge them into unbelief. Thus, the Son of God had to come and baptize the human race, put to death the old man, renew those who wanted it, drown sin, return the blessing, destroy the curse, grant justification and make people angels; He needed to take the prodigal and make him a son, as He did, he needed to take the unworthy of earth and make him worthy of heaven. It was a great and, for many, incredible miracle - how one and the same essence kills a person and justifies, destroys sin and restores the truth; therefore, so that the Jews do not say that Christian teaching is a fable - how, for example, can the same water both kill and give life, how can it, being one water, produce two effects - what does God do first to expose the shamelessness of the Jews? The children of Israel in Egypt were exhausted from labor, oppressed by making bricks and other work, and they cried out with weeping and screaming: who will deliver us from the slavery of Egypt? We are perishing, perishing from hard work! So what? God heard them and sends Moses, armed with signs and wonders. Moses came and brought plagues on Pharaoh; he brought an army of evil locusts, commanded a midge - and it appeared, turned water into blood, produced inflammatory scabs on people and four-legged animals; then, when Pharaoh did not submit after these executions, God finally brought death upon the firstborn; then, I will say briefly (because it is necessary to shorten the speech, so that, while talking about this, the promise will not be left unfulfilled), they left the land of Egypt and came to the sea. Pharaoh pursued them with many chariots and horses; and when the Israelites saw this army, they were afraid. They had already arrived at the seashore, and God said to Moses: “Why are you crying out to Me?” ( Ex. 14:15 ) – although Moses did not say anything. But I am God, he says, Who hears not only what comes from the lips, but also knows what is in the heart, so that you know that prayer does not consist in cries, but in the mood of the soul. “Why are you crying out to Me?” Moses' mouth did not speak, but his heart cried; prayer should be from a good heart, and not consist of a strong cry. “Why are you crying out to Me?.. Lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea,” and you and all Israel will pass through (Ex. 14:15–16). And Moses stretched out the rod that was in his hand and struck the water, and the stormy streams of water exposed the dry land, forgetting about their nature. When God commands, then this element forgets about its own nature and curbs its activity. The sea, like a devoted servant, seeing the servant of the Lord, obeyed and submitted out of reverence, not to the dry tree, but to the One who was to be crucified on the tree. It saw the image and immediately understood the truth - and retreated. Pass on, says God, you and all the people of Israel. And he and all Israel passed through; and the Egyptians who pursued them followed—Pharaoh and his chariots and horsemen. Then, when the children of Israel passed by, the water came and covered the Egyptians. Tell me, Jew, who asks how water in baptism produces two effects, killing one and giving life to another - tell me how that sea, being one in nature, gave life to some and killed others, drowned some, and became a path for others, although there were the same stormy streams of water? How did it honor some like a slave, and treat others like an enemy? Explain this to me, Jew, who does not believe in the cross, how did the same water kill these people and save them? There was one water, one sea, but it did not even wet the feet of some, and did not leave a trace of others, but taking them, it covered them all with water, so that the sea became a common tomb for the entire Egyptian people. Tell me, how did this happen? Do you see how a shadow came before the truth was believed, how this was a shadow, and that was the truth, this was a shadow, and that was the very thing? Do you see that, as I said, when God intends to do some extraordinary thing, He first foreshadows it and foreshadows it, so that the truth thus represented may be acceptable? However, the image must be more imperfect than the truth; if he were completely perfect, then he would no longer be a shadow, but the truth. The shadow precedes, and then the truth (hidden in) the shadow comes and reveals the pure object. So, this was an image, and that is the very thing, just like with the lamb. The universe had to be freed and freed from the oath of the blood of Christ. Since this is again a great and incredible miracle for the foolish soul of the Jews, God arranges and prefigures it through the lamb. When He intended to kill the firstborn of Egypt, so that the firstborn of the sons of Israel would not be killed together, what does He do? So that the destroying angel, says Moses, would not destroy the firstborn of the children of Israel, then what? God said to him: tell the children of Israel to take a lamb, one year old, without blemish, male, according to their families; if there are not enough of them, then let a neighbor call a neighbor and a relative call a relative, and thus, taking a lamb, a virgin lamb, male, one year old, slaughter it, he says, according to kindreds and families; eat its meat, baked on the fire, and let nothing remain of it, and anoint your thresholds with its blood. Eat it, he says, girded around your loins, with boots on your feet - this is the sign of a traveler - and with lighted lamps (Ex. 12). Why? Because night was coming. Why should you eat like travelers? Why? I'll tell you. This is both for the sake of the image and for the sake of truth. Since Pharaoh was repeatedly slain and did not let them go, and Moses told them: today he will be slain and will let them go, and yet he, being slain, did not let go, nine times he was slain and did not let them go, but on the tenth he had to let them go, then he says: take on the appearance of travelers, because after you eat, you will have nothing in common with Egypt. Take, he says, a lamb, immaculate, male, one year old, and kill it, and anoint your thresholds with its blood, so that the passing angel, if not for the sake of people, then for the sake of the image of this blood, may spare (your firstborns). This was not done for the sake of the angel, but for the sake of the blood that saved me, because could not the angel distinguish between the Jews and the Egyptians? Could he who distinguished the firstborn not distinguish between the Egyptians and the Hebrews? So, when a Jew begins to reproach you, how you hope for blood, then you also tell him; Aren't you ashamed, shameless one? You have been saved by the blood of the lamb, and shall I not be saved by the blood of the Lord? So the Jew, having tasted it, hastened to be freed from Egypt, and you, Christian, having tasted it, hastened to be freed from the world. And Paul exhorts you this way: “Put on the breastplate of righteousness, and shod your feet with the preparation of preaching peace” (Eph. 6:14-15). There are shoes, and there are shoes; there is a rod, there is armor; there Moses, as for travelers, here Paul, as for soldiers; they went from earth to earth, and therefore they are travelers, but I go from earth to heaven, and therefore I am a warrior; Why? Because air enemies attack me on the way, demons meet me. For this I have open boldness, for this I have the breastplate of righteousness, for this I have the girdle of truth; I am not only a traveler, but also a warrior. “Narrow and strait is the way that leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). Observe, then, what suggestions Paul offers and what images Moses presents, what are sensual objects and what are spiritual. Let us also, beloved, imitate Abraham, so that we may be accepted into his bosom, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Gr. παιδάριον. In Russian translation "youth". Gr. the word παίδον means not only “youth”, but also “servant, slave” - I.I. The word belongs to St. John Chrysostom is questioned on the basis mainly of syllable characteristics. In Minh's edition it belongs to the Dubia department.