Слово 39

To the holy lights of the appearances of the Lord See also other translations: Word 39. To the Holy Lights Word 39. On the holy lights of the appearances of the Lord (ed. 2007) Again my Jesus, and again a sacrament - not a deceptive and unseemly sacrament, not a sacrament of pagan error and drunkenness (as I call the sacraments respected by the pagans and as, I think, every sane person will call them); but a sublime and divine sacrament, imparting to us the heavenly light! For the holy day of lights, which we have achieved and which we are now privileged to celebrate, has its beginning with the baptism of my Christ, “the true light that enlightens every man who comes into the world” (John 1:9), but it cleanses me and helps that light, which we, having first received from Christ from above, darkened and made merged through sin. So, listen to the Divine voice, which for me, who studies and teaches such sacraments (and it would be good if it were for you too!), cries out very clearly: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). And for this, “turn your gaze to Him, and be enlightened, and your faces,” marked by the true light, “will not be ashamed” (Ps. 33:6). Time of revival - let us be reborn from above! Time for re-creation - let us perceive the first Adam! Let us not remain as we are now, but let us become what we were created. “The light shines in the darkness,” that is, in this life - carnal life, and although He is persecuted, the darkness “does not comprehend” (John 1:5), that is, the enemy force that shamelessly approaches the visible Adam, but collides with God and concedes victory; why, having put aside darkness, we will approach the light, and then, as children of perfect Light, we will become perfect light! You see the grace of the day, you see the power of the sacrament: are you not delighted with the earth? Isn’t it obvious that the grief raised by my word and secret teaching has already ascended? And you will be exalted even more when the Word rules the word well. Is this some kind of under-the-law and hidden purification that brings benefit through temporary sprinklings and sprinkles the defiled with ashes? Do the pagans practice anything like this? For me, every ritual and every sacrament is extravagance, a dark invention of demons and the product of a pitiful mind, which time helped and which was hidden by a fable; for what they worship as true, they themselves hide as fabulous. If it is true, it should not be called a fable, but it should be shown that it is not shameful. If it is false, then we must not be amazed at this and not so shamelessly hold the most opposite opinions about the same thing, like those who amuse children or husbands in the square who have completely lost their minds, and not those who reason with men who have intelligence and worship the Word, although they despise this multi-artificial and dirty persuasiveness of the word. Here (I will say, although the pagans will not like it) is not the birth and concealment of Diy - the Cretan ruler, not the cliques and military applause and dances of the Kuretes, drowning out the voice of the weeping god, so that the child-hater father would not hear, because it was dangerous to cry like a baby who was swallowed like a stone. Here are not the distortions of the Phrygians, nor the flutes and Corybantes, nor those frenzies that were committed in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods, by both the dedicators and the initiates (which is befitting the mother of such gods). With us, it is not some maiden who is kidnapped, it is not Demeter who wanders, bringing in some Kelei, Triptolemus and dragons, and now she acts, now she suffers. I am ashamed to expose their nightly rituals to the light, and to turn shameful deeds into a sacrament. Eleusis and the spectators know this of what is given over to silence and is truly worthy of silence. Here it is not Dionysus, not the thigh that gives birth to a premature fetus, as before the head produced something else; not the androgynous god, not a crowd of drunken people, not a pampered army, not the madness of the Thebans who worship Dionysus, not the worship of Perun Semele; not the prodigal mysteries of Aphrodite, who, as they themselves say, was born and honored shamefully, not some Phallas and Iphiphallas, vile both in appearance and in deeds; not killing foreigners among the Tauri; the blood of the Lacedaemonian youths not staining the altar, cutting themselves with whips and in this one inopportunely showing courage in honor of the goddess and, moreover, the maiden, because they both honored gentleness and respected fearlessness. Where do you put the preparation of Pelops for food to treat the hungry gods - disgusting and inhumane hospitality? Where do you place the terrible and gloomy ghosts of Hecate, Trophonius’ deceptions and predictions from underground, or the idle talk of the Dodon oak, or the mutual prophecies of the Delphic tripod, or the gift of foresight communicating the waters of the Castalian spring? There was only one thing they did not predict, namely, that they themselves would be brought into silence. This is not the priestly art of magicians and guessing the future from dissected victims; not Chaldean astronomy and the science of predicting fate by birthday, a science that compares our fate with the movement of heavenly bodies, which cannot know about themselves, what they are, or what they will be. Here are not the orgies of the Thracians, from which, as they say, the word originates: το θρησκέυειν, that is, worship; not the rituals and sacraments of Orpheus, whose wisdom the Greeks marveled at so much that they even invented a fable about his lyre, as if it captivates everything with its sounds; the unfair torture prescribed by Mithra for those who decide to begin such sacraments; not the tearing of Osiris (another disaster revered by the Egyptians); not the unfortunate adventures of Isis; not the most respectable goats of Mendesians; not the manger of Apis, the calf daintyly fattened by the innocence of the inhabitants of Memphis. Here it is not that in their honors they insult the Nile, as they themselves praise, fruitful and good-natured, measuring the prosperity of the inhabitants with their elbows 250. I will not talk about honoring reptiles and reptiles, about wastefulness in shameful matters, so that for each reptile there was some special rite and a special sacrament; although we see one thing in common in all - the unfortunate situation of the worshipers. And if they were to become complete wicked people, completely fall away from the glory of God, giving themselves over to idols, works of art and the works of human hands, then a prudent person would wish them nothing other than to have such objects of honor, and to honor them in such a way that, as the Apostle says, they would receive due “retribution for their error” (Rom. 1:27) in what they honor, not so much honoring what is honored, how much they dishonor themselves, becoming vile in their delusion, and even more vile in the insignificance of what they worship and honor, and in order to become more insensitive than the most revered objects, surpassing them in madness as much as the objects of worship exceed them in insignificance. So, let the Hellenic children and the demons amuse themselves with all this, driving them to madness, appropriating God’s honor for themselves, and dividing them among themselves, instilling in them these or those shameful opinions and concepts. For the demons, from the time when we were removed from the tree of life by the tree of knowledge, from which we ate the fruit at the wrong time and inopportunely, began to attack us as if we were the weakest, stealing our sovereign mind and opening the door to passions. They, being, or rather, out of their own malice, having become an envious and misanthropic nature, did not tolerate that those below were worthy of the heavenly rank, when they themselves had fallen from above to the earth, and that such a transfer would take place in glory and primary natures. Hence the persecution of God's creation! This desecrates the image of God! And since we did not decide to keep the commandment, we were given over to the self-law of deception. And because they were lost, they dishonored themselves by the very thing to which they paid homage. For it is not only terrible that those who were created for good deeds, in order to glorify and praise the Creator and to imitate God as much as possible, became the receptacle of all kinds of passions, to the detriment of feeding and consuming the inner man, but also that the gods were made patrons of the passions, so that sin was recognized not only not subject to responsibility, but even divine, having for itself a strong protection - the very objects of worship. Since it has been granted to us, having avoided superstitious delusion, to come to the truth, to serve the living and true God and to become above creation, leaving behind us everything that is under time and depends on the first movement, then we will learn this, and philosophize about that which relates to God and the Divine. Let us begin to philosophize, starting with where it is best to begin. It’s best to start with what Solomon bequeathed to us. “The beginning of wisdom,” he says, “is to acquire wisdom” (Prov. 4:7). What does it mean? He calls fear the beginning of wisdom. For it is necessary, not having begun with speculation, to end with fear (speculation is unbridled and can very well lead into rapids), but, having learned the basics from fear, having been purified by it and, so to speak, refined, to ascend to heights. Where there is fear, there is observance of the commandments; where there is observance of the commandments, there is cleansing of the flesh - this cloud that darkens the soul and prevents it from clearly seeing the Divine ray; but where there is purification, there is illumination; illumination is the fulfillment of desire for those striving for the highest objects, or for the Highest Object, or for That which is higher than the highest. Therefore, we must first cleanse ourselves and then converse with the pure, if we do not want to suffer the same thing as Israel, who could not bear the glory of the face of Moses and therefore demanded a veil; we do not want to experience and say with Manoah, who was awarded the vision of God: “We, wife, perished, “for we saw God”” (Judges 13:22); We do not want, like Peter, to send Jesus away from the ship as unworthy of such a visit (and when I name Peter, who do I mean? – the one who walked on the waters); We do not want to lose our sight like Paul, who, before being cleansed from persecution, entered into communication with the Persecuted One, or, better to say, with a small brilliance of the great Light; We do not want, asking for healing, like the centurion, out of laudable fear, not to accept the Doctor into the house. And one of us, while he is not cleansed, but still a centurion, takes precedence over many in evil and serves Caesar, the ruler of the world of those drawn down, let him say: “I am not worthy for you to come under my roof” (Matthew 8:8). When he sees Jesus, and although small in spiritual stature, like Zacchaeus, ascends the fig tree, “having mortified the members of the earth” (Col. 3:5) and becoming higher than the “body of humility” (Phil. 3:21), then let him receive the Word and hear: “Now salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:2), and receive salvation, and bring forth the most perfect fruit, beautifully squandering and pouring out what he wickedly gathered. publican For the same Word is both terrible, by nature, for the unworthy, and acceptable, by love of mankind, for those who are prepared. Such are those who, having expelled the unclean and material spirit from the soul, “marked and adorned” their souls with knowledge, did not leave them idle and inactive, so that (since what is inaccessible and desirable) they would not again be occupied with an even greater reserve by the seven spirits of evil (as seven are considered the spirits of virtue), but in addition to removing themselves from evil, they also practice virtue, completely or as much as possible, having infused Christ into themselves, so that the evil force, having occupied some emptiness, again did not fill the soul with itself, which is why “the last will be worse than the first” (Matthew 12:43-45), because the attack is faster, and the security guard is safer, and is overcome with great difficulty. When, “we keep” our soul above all else (Prov. 4:23), “directing paths in our hearts toward you” (Ps. 83:6), “plowing new fields” (Jer. 4:3) and “sowing in righteousness,” as Solomon, David and Jeremiah teach, “we will reap mercy and righteousness” (Hos. 10:12), then “we preach God’s secret, hidden wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:7), and we will shine forth for others. Until then, let us be purified and perfected by the Word in order to benefit ourselves as much as possible, becoming God-like and accepting the Word that came, not only accepting it, but also containing it within ourselves and revealing it to others. Since we have cleansed the disgrace with a word, we will now philosophize a little about the holiday and form a common holiday with lustful and God-loving souls. And since the main thing in the holiday is the memory of God, then let us remember God, for the “voice of joy” (Ps. 41:5) where “the dwelling of all those who sing and play” (Ps. 86:7), in my opinion, is nothing other than God, hymned and glorified by those who are worthy of living there. If the present word contains something that has already been said before, no one should be surprised, for I will begin to say not only the same thing, but also about the same thing, having a trembling tongue, and mind, and heart, every time I speak about God, and wishing you the same praiseworthy and blessed fear. When I pronounce the word God, you are illuminated by a single and threefold light - threefold in relation to special properties, or to Hypostases (if anyone wants to call it that), or to Persons (we will not quarrel at all about names, as long as the words lead to the same thought), - one in relation to the concept of essence and, consequently, Divinity. God is divided, so to speak, inseparably and combined separately, because the Divinity is One in three, and the one is the Three in which the Divine is, or, more precisely, which is the Divinity. As for excess and shortcomings, we will do without them, turning neither unity into unity, nor division into alienation. Let Sabelli's reduction and Aria's division be equally far from us, for both in the opposite sense are bad and equally wicked. For why is it necessary - either to unite God wickedly, or to divide him into unequals? – “But we have one God the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things” (1 Cor. 8:7), and one Holy Spirit, in whom are all things. With the words: from Him (εξ ου), By Him (δι ου) and in Him (εν ω), we do not separate natures (otherwise the prepositions would not be rearranged or the order of names would not change), but we distinguish the personal properties of a single and ununited nature. And this can be seen from the fact that those distinguished are again brought together, if you not without attention read the following words from the same Apostle: “For all things are from Him, and by Him, and to Him” (εις αυτον): “To Him be glory forever, Amen” (Rom. 11:36). “The Father is the Father and is without beginning,” because he has no beginning from anyone. The Son is the Son and is not without beginning, because he is from the Father. But if you understand the beginning in relation to time, then the Son is without beginning, because the Creator of times is not under time. The Spirit is truly the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father, but not as the Son (ουχ υϊκως); because what happens is not generated (γεννητως), but originally (εκορευτως); if for clarity it is necessary to use a new word. Meanwhile, neither the Father is deprived of unbegottenness, because he gave birth; nor the Son - birth, because from the Unbegotten (for how can they be deprived?); neither does the Holy Spirit change into either the Father or the Son, because it proceeds and because God, although it does not seem so godless. For a personal property is immutable, otherwise how could it remain personal if it were moved and transferred? Those who recognize ungeneration and birth as the natures of the gods of the same name, perhaps both Adam and Seth, of whom one is not of the flesh (as God’s creation), and the other from Adam and Eve, will begin to recognize them as alien to each other by nature. So, there is one God in Three, and the Three are one, as we said. Since such are the Three, or such is the One, and it was necessary that the worship of God should not be limited to those on high, but there should also be some worshipers below, and everything would be filled with the glory of God (because everything is God), then for this purpose a person is created, honored by the handiwork and image of God. And so created, when he, through the envy of the devil, through the bitter taste of sin, miserably withdrew from the God who created him, it was not in God’s nature to despise. What is happening? And what is the great mystery about us? – Natures are renewed, and God becomes man. And “he who walks in the heavens of heavens” (Ps. 67:34) of his own glory and lordship is glorified in our baseness and our humility. And the Son of God deigns to become and be called the Son of Man, without changing what he was (for this is unchangeable), but by accepting what he was not (for He is a lover of mankind), so that the Incontainable may become contained, entering into communication with us through the mediating flesh, as through a veil, because it is impossible for a born and corruptible nature to bear His pure Divinity. For this purpose, the incompatible is connected; not only God with birth in time, mind with flesh, pre-temporal with time, unlimited with measure, but also birth with integrity, dishonor with that which is above all honor, impassive with suffering, immortal with perishable. Since the inventor of sin dreamed of being invincible, having caught us with the hope of becoming like God, he himself is caught in the cover of the flesh, so that, touching us like Adam, he can meet God. Thus, the new Adam saved the old, and condemnation was removed from the flesh after the mortification of death by the flesh! But Christmas was celebrated as it should be, and I, the founder of the holiday, and you, and everything, both in the world and above the world. We walked with the star, we worshiped with the wise men, we were illuminated with the shepherds, we praised with the angels, we embraced Simeon, and with Anna, the elderly and chaste, we “confessed to the Lord.” And thanks be to Him who “comes” as a stranger to glorify the stranger! And now there is another act of Christ and another sacrament. I can’t contain the pleasure and become inspired. Almost like John I preach the gospel; and although I am not a forerunner, I am nevertheless from the desert. Christ is enlightened - we too will be illuminated with Him! Christ is baptized - let us descend with Him, so that we may ascend with Him! Jesus is baptized - is it one thing or both that must be taken into account? Who is being baptized? From whom and when is he baptized? – Pure, from John, and when he begins to perform signs. What do we learn from this, what do we learn? – One must purify oneself, be humble, and preach after one has perfected one’s spiritual and physical age. The first is necessary for those who approach baptism carelessly and without preparation and do not provide redemption through skill in goodness. For although this grace, like grace, gives remission of past sins; but then all the more reverence is required from us, so as not to “return” to the same “vomit” (Prov. 26:11). The second is needed by those who exalt themselves against the organizers of the sacraments, if they surpass them in any dignity. The third is needed by those who boldly rely on youth and think that there is always time for teaching or presiding. Jesus is cleansed; and you neglect cleansing? Cleansed from John; and you rebel against your preacher? Purified at the age of thirty; and you, without yet having a beard, teach the elders, or do you think that you can teach without earning respect either by age or even, perhaps, by way of life? Then Daniel appears to you, both of them are young judges, and all the examples are on the tongue, because everyone who acts unjustly is ready to justify himself. But what is rare is not a law for the Church, since one swallow does not show spring, or one line does not make a geometer, or one short voyage does not make a sailor. But John baptizes. Jesus comes, sanctifying, perhaps, the Baptist himself, but most certainly the old Adam, to be buried in water, and before them and for them, sanctifying the Jordan and, as He Himself was spirit and flesh, perfecting spirit and water. The Baptist does not accept - Jesus insists. “I demand that you be baptized” (Matthew 3:14), says the lamp to the Sun, the voice to the Word, the friend to the Bridegroom, the one who is above all among those “born of women” (Matthew 11:11), “Who was born before every creation” (Col. 1:5), leaping in the womb - to the One who, while still in the womb, received worship, the Forerunner and former Forerunner - to the One who appeared and will appear. “I demand that you be baptized,” add: and for you. For the Baptist knew that he would be baptized by martyrdom, or that more than just his feet would be cleansed, like Peter’s. And “Are you coming to me?” And this is the prophecy. For the Baptist knew that just as Pilate would rage after Herod, so Christ would follow the departed Forerunner. What about Jesus? “Leave it now.” This is God's economy. For Jesus knew that He would soon be the Baptist of the Baptist. What does “shovel” mean (Matthew 3:12)? Cleansing. What is “fire”? – Consumption of low-weight foods and burning of the spirit. What is "axe"? – Visitation of the soul, which remains unhealed and covered with “pus”. What is "sword"? - Dissection by words, through which the worst is separated from the best, the faithful are separated from the unfaithful, the son is aroused against the father, the daughter against the mother and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law, the new and recent against the ancient and hidden. What does the “thong of sandals” mean (Mark 1:7), which you do not untie, Baptist of Jesus, inhabitant of the desert, who does not eat food, the new Elijah, “greater than the Prophet” (Matthew 11:9), because you saw the One who was foretold, mediating between the old and the new? -What do you mean he? “Perhaps the doctrine of the coming and incarnation, in which even the most extreme is not easily resolved, not only for carnal people and infants in Christ, but also for those who are similar in spirit to John. But “Jesus comes out of the water,” for he takes the whole world with Him, and sees the “dividing heavens” (Mark 1:10) - the heavens that Adam concluded for himself and for his descendants in the same way as paradise with a flaming weapon. And the Spirit testifies of the Divinity, because it comes to the equal; and a voice from heaven, because He is from heaven, of whom the testimony is given. And the spirit is “like a dove,” because it honors the body (and it is, after deification, God), because physically and at the same time from afar, the visible dove is accustomed to preaching the “cessation of the flood.” If you judge the Divinity by volume and weight - you, who talk petty about the greatest, and the Spirit is small for you because it appeared in the form of a dove, then it is fitting for you to regard the kingdom of heaven as nothing, because it is likened to a mustard seed; It is fitting for the greatness of Jesus to prefer the enemy, because he is called “a great mountain” (Zech. 4:7) and a great whale (Job 3:8), and “king of all who live in the waters” (Job 41:25), and Jesus is called “Lamb” (1 Pet. 1:19), “pearl” (Matt. 13:46), “drop” ( Micah 2:11), and likewise. But since the real triumph is for the sake of Baptism, and we must suffer from evil to some extent with the One who was imagined for us, baptized and crucified, then let us philosophize a little about the differences in baptisms in order to come out of here purified. Moses baptized, but in water, and earlier in “the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:2), and this had an educational meaning, as Paul understands. Water was represented by the sea, the Spirit by the cloud, the bread of life by manna, and Divine drink by drink. John also baptized, no longer in the Jewish way, because not only with water, but also for “repentance” (Matthew 3:11), however, not completely spiritually, because he did not add: “and with the Spirit.” Jesus also baptizes, but with the Spirit: this is perfection. How could it not be that God is the One through whom (I dare say) you too will become a god? I also know the fourth baptism - the baptism of martyrdom and blood, with which Christ Himself was baptized, which is much more honorable than the others, since it is not defiled by new impurities. I also know the fifth – tearful, but most difficult; he who is baptized is “who washes his bed and bed with tears every night” (Ps. 6:7), who “stinks” and “wounds” of sin (Ps. 37:6), who “goes weeping and mourning” (Ps. 35:14), who imitates the conversion of Manasseh, the humility of the pardoned Ninevites, who pronounces the words of the publican in the church and is justified more than the vain Pharisee, who falls with a Canaanite woman, asks for humanity and crumbs - food for the hungriest dog. I confess that man is a fickle being and by nature fickle, and therefore I readily accept this last baptism, I worship the One who gave it and communicate it to others, and with mercy I redeem the mercy for myself. For I know that I myself am “laden with weakness” (Heb. 5:2), and with the measure I use, it will be measured to me. But what are you saying? What law do you give, O new Pharisee, pure in name and not in desire, and instilling in us the rules of Novatus with the same weakness? Don't you accept repentance? Don't you give room for tears? Aren't you crying? May the Judge not treat you like this! Doesn’t the love for mankind of Jesus touch you, Who “took our infirmities” and “carried our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:17), Who came not to the righteous, but to sinners, to call them to repentance, Who wants “mercy, not sacrifice” ( Matthew 9:13), forgives sins “up to seven times seventy times” ( Matthew 18:22)? How blessed would your exaltation be if it were purity, and not arrogance, which gives laws unenforceable for man and ends correction in despair! Equally bad are remission of sins that does not correct, and condemnation that knows no mercy; the former completely weakens the reins, and the latter strangles with excessive tension. Prove to me your purity, and I will approve of your cruelty. And now I’m afraid that you are proving incurability because you yourself are covered with wounds. Will you really not accept David the repentant, in whom repentance also preserved the gift of prophecy? Or the great Peter, who experienced something human during his saving suffering? But Jesus accepted him, and with threefold questioning and confession he healed his threefold denial. Will you really not accept the one who was baptized in blood (and so far will your arrogance extend!) or the Corinthian lawless one? But Paul also affirmed “love” (2 Cor. 2:8), when he saw the correction, and presented the reason, “so that he would not be consumed with excessive sorrow” (2 Cor. 2:7), burdened with excessive punishment. Do you not allow young widows to get married, despite advancing age? But Paul dared to do it; and you, surely, are his teacher, as one who ascended to the fourth heaven, to another paradise, who heard words even more unspeakable, who declared an even larger circle to be the Gospel! “But Paul did not allow this after baptism” - what evidence is there for that? Either prove it or don’t judge. If the matter is doubtful; let philanthropy win. But they say that Novat did not accept those who fell during the persecution. So what of this? If not repentant, fair. And I do not accept those who are either adamant or do not soften enough, and do not reward a bad deed with correction. When I accept them, I assign them a decent place. And if Novat did not accept the tears that flowed, I will not imitate him. And what kind of law do I have for the misanthropy of Novatus, who did not punish covetousness - the second idolatry, but condemned fornication so strictly as being disembodied and incorporeal? What do you say? Do we convince you with these words? Stand on the same side with us - the people. Let us magnify the Lord together. None of you, even if you have too much confidence in yourself, dare to say: “Do not come near me, for I am holy to you” (Is. 65:5), and who is as pure as I am?” Please inform us as well. But we are not convinced? “And we will shed tears for you.” So, these, if they want, let them follow our path and Christ’s; if not, then yours. Perhaps they will be baptized there by fire - this last baptism, the most difficult and lasting, which eats up matter like hay and consumes the lightness of all sin. And now we will honor the Baptism of Christ and will celebrate piously, not satiating the belly, but having spiritual joy. How can we enjoy it? “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean” (Isaiah 1:16). If you are scarlet from sin and not completely bloody, you will be white as snow; if men of blood are perfect and scarlet, then at least come to the whiteness of the wave. In any case, be purified and purified. God rejoices in nothing more than in the correction and salvation of man; for this purpose is the whole word and every sacrament. May you be “as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15) - a life-giving force for other people, and appearing as perfect lights to the great Light, and may you learn the secrets of the light-giving there, illuminated more purely and clearly by the Trinity, from Which you have now received in a small measure one ray from the one Divinity, in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. 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