Слово об умерших («Блаженны мертвые, умирающие в Господе!» (Откр. 14:13))

Who is blessed when he dies? The one who dies for the Lord. Who dies for the Lord? One who pleases God by never sinning mortally. Who pleases God without ever sinning mortally? The one who has the thought of death before his eyes, for Scripture says: “Remember your death, and you will never sin” (Sir. 7:39). For nothing keeps a person from evil deeds, teaching him good deeds, than the memory of death. It is not for nothing that St. Chrysostom called death a teacher for this reason. Preaching the word of God in Troas, Saint Paul continued his word until midnight. “During a long conversation with Paul, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the window, dozed off, and sleepily fell down from the third floor, and was raised dead” (Acts 20:9). Святой Павел, не окончив проповеди, встал и пошел к мертвому. Сказал бы кто-нибудь: «Павел святой! Ты имеешь дух пророческий, и знал, что этот отрок будет жив, воскреснет. Leave him and do not stop preaching the word of God until you finish it, until you conclude it with an “amen,” and when you say “amen,” then you will go to the dead.” But Saint Paul, without finishing his words, stops preaching and goes to the fallen man. Reasoning about this, Saint Chrysostom says: “This fall was instead of a teacher; the death of the fallen youth served as a teacher for people.” And truly, death is a teacher for everyone, for cunning speech, sweet-voiced words, lengthy sermons do not teach as much as the sight of death in the eyes of people. Death is a teacher, for although it has lips sealed with death, a motionless, bent tongue and a voiceless larynx, yet it cries louder than a trumpet, and its voice penetrates the hearts of all. He cries out in these words of Scripture: “Remember your death!” So, we will not make a mistake if we call death the universal teacher, for it cries out to everyone in the universe: “You will die, you will die, you will not escape death by any tricks! Look at the dead corpse in the coffin and heed the fact that, if not in word, then in deed itself, he tells you: “I was the same as you are now; but as I am now, so you will soon be; what is for me now is for you tomorrow. “Remember your death” so as not to sin, remember death so as not to sin mortally.” This is what kind of teacher death is for us: death can be a teacher. The once enemy of God, Pharaoh, fell into grave sins; he did not want to let the people of Israel leave Egypt, but he reluctantly let them go. Who persuaded such a fierce one? Who softened his stony heart? Who taught you to let them go? The death of the firstborn of Egypt, killed everywhere in one night by the hand of an Angel: death was his teacher (see Exod. 12). Saul was also bitter, but when he heard from the prophet Samuel about death: “In the morning,” he told him, “you and your sons will die,” he immediately fell to the ground and was afraid. Who taught such a proud and fearless sinner humility and fear? Death was his teacher (see 1 Samuel 28:19–20). Hezekiah fell ill, burdened with many sins, and the prophet of God Isaiah came to him and said: “You will die. And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and began to weep and pray” (2 Kings 20:1–2). Who taught him such heartfelt contrition and tender prayer? The prophetic word: “You will die,” death was his teacher. One can be surprised at the evangelical marriage that those invited refused, making excuses: one with the village, another with the purchase of oxen, the third with marriage. But then many came, who happened to be at crossroads, good and bad, without any excuses or denial, and “the marriage was filled with those reclining” (see Luke 14:16–24). Who persuaded them, who taught them not to refuse, but to immediately agree to the invitation? What taught them was that they saw the corpses of those who had died and been beaten. For, as the Gospel relates, the king was angry with those who did not come and, sending servants, killed them. Others, seeing this, immediately went to the marriage. Their teacher was death. You, my pious listeners, always remember the words of Scripture: “Remember your death, and you will never sin.” Amen.